The Sunburnt Cow, the East Village's pre-eminent Australian all-you-can-drink brunch emporium, was shuttered last night due to "criminal sale and possession of controlled substances," which in layman's terms, means: dudes were selling drugs! (Okay, it means someone was using the restaurant as a space to sell drugs, but still.)
Representatives from the restaurant sent a statement today about the situation:
On Thursday, December 15th, The Sunburnt Cow was closed due to suspected illegal drug activity taking place on the premises. This activity comes as a shock to the entire Moo Life Group family and is not something that we endorse, condone or had prior knowledge of. We are currently working with the New York City Police Department to ensure that justice is served so we can get back to serving the public very soon. The health and safety of our patrons is a priority to us and we will do everything we can in order to make sure that our establishments support that mission.
A rep told us that "we're just trying to get the final okay from the cops" but they hope to be open tonight, and have "full bookings" all weekend. "We were as surprised as anyone else," she added. The signage on the shuttered space identified the controlled substance as marijuana, which is so much less exciting than what we were hoping for.
