Bar Bashers: Not in my Turtle Bay!
Aspiring nightlife honcho Jonathan Hoo has apparently pulled the plug on his controversial plan to convert an abandoned Chinese restaurant into an upscale sports bar called “Embassy.”
Last month, Hoo’s attorney formally withdrew his application for an alcoholic-beverage license, according to the State Liquor Authority. His plan to sling suds at the 862 Second Avenue location had been previously approved, but a Manhattan Supreme Court judge later invalidated that ruling, at the urging of neighborhood watering-hole watchdog group, Ban the Bar.
(See our previous coverage here.)
In addition to quitting the licensing process, Hoo also appears to have backed out on the rent. And real-estate taxes. And insurance. A “NOTICE TO TENANT” recently posted on the empty storefront indicates that Hoo owes the landlord more than $100,000 for use of the unfinished tavern space.
If he doesn’t pay up by Oct. 15, the sign says, the beleaguered restaubar entrepreneur must then “surrender up the possession of said premises.”
– Chris Shott
