Sunday, July 17, 2011

Strega being sold, and more restaurant fun.

I was perusing licensing board meeting minutes (yeah, I know) when I came across a discussion held with Linda Cappuccio of Strega, regarding the fact that she closed the restaurant without notifying the licensing board, in violation of her license. She told the board she was trying to sell the restaurant, as well as doing some needed renovations. She'd reopen if the sale fell through, the buyer was working on financing. At the July 13 meeting, one of the agenda items was:

13. Application for Transfer of Liquor License. Applicant: Red LuLu, transfer from Strega, 94 Lafayette Street. (Continued from June 13, 2011 meeting)

So when Strega says on Facebook that they are reopening late summer, what they mean is, we're stringing you along, just in case our sale falls through, but don't expect to see us again. It would appear that it has been Ms. Cappuccio's intention to sell the restaurant since she closed, as a P&S agreement has been in place since at least April. Why string along your customers at that point?

Let's hope that Red LuLu, doesn't mean this Red Lulu, which seems to be the ultimate hipster douchebag hangout.

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I was out for a stroll downtown yesterday and picked up some interesting tidbits when I ran into a someone heavily involved in the downtown. Is it true that the new paint job on Murphy's, which you can see here, is because the owner is trying to sell? That's what this Salem person told me yesterday. I also mentioned that I'd had a less than stellar meal at Adriatic a few days earlier, and was surprised that Florian Cela, the extremely hard working young man who started the place with his sister, was "no longer there," and is working in Boston now.

The story I heard from this person then shocked me. Is it really possible that Florian, and his business partner/brother-in-law Vini Kurti came to blows on New Years Eve, and now have matching restraining orders against each other, prohibiting either from actually entering the restaurant? It sounds like this establishment may be for sale as well, though they don't want to say so too loud. It's really too bad, if true. I think Florian was the heart and soul of the place, while by my observation, Vini seemed to spend more time sitting at the bar and holding court than anything else. I imagine that Florian and his sister's relationship must be extremely strained by this as well. Why do I think that the fight probably had something to do with the work ethic of one of the parties on one of the busiest nights of the year?

I noticed that the restaurant still doesn't do lunch. They were going to try at one point, if they didn't,  and that the original Facebook page for them is gone, replaced with a new one that only goes back to June 6th. So someone deleted the one that had hundreds of followers. Let's hope that since Florian is no longer there at least 40 hours a week, as required of a manager, that Adriatic notified the Licensing Board of a change in management, as required by law.

3 comments:

  1. Was just reading the LB agenda you linked to. No wonder the police are "too busy" to monitor the Point. They're monitoring the hell out of Murphy's. Derby Lofts certainly keeps 'em busy.

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  2. No way Salem can support as many restaurants as we currently have. The good will survive and the mediocre to bad will fall by the wayside. Nothing unusual about any of this. As long as Red's is in business I am content.

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  3. Whoa!! Nice to hear the news about Adriatic. I wonder where Florian is working in Boston. He was my favorite server there.
    It'd be awesome to have a 'klassy' place go into Murphy's!
    Every Fri. & Sat. night when I am coming home from work, Derby Street is littered with obnoxious drunks! Obese girls spilling out of their too tight clothes leaning on cars & fat, frat-boy types all over the street..."the drunker you get the better i look" late-night hook-up strip! it's f*ckin' gross.

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Don't forget, keep it klassy!