What Happens When

The real prohibition didn't last, so it isn't that surprising that the prohibition party at the pop-up "experimental restaurant" What Happens When isn't lasting either. In the wake of the SLA's decision to strip the well-regarded restaurant's liquor license, chef and owner John Fraser has decided to simply shut the joint down after Saturday's service.

“The SLA was pretty gracious about the whole thing, and granted us a new hearing,” Fraser told Diner's Journal, “but under the circumstances I thought it was better to just throw in the towel instead of fighting and spending more money.”

The restaurant opened in January and was supposed to continue through October with a new theme each month. After the license was pulled from them, the restaurant's staff made a go at the dry life but, despite a reported 700 dinners a week, it just wasn't to be. Fraser says that he will do his best to move What Happens When employees up to his more conventional (but very tasty) Upper West Side restaurant, Dovetail.