B. Smith’s Restaurant May Close Due to Rent Increase

By: Nov. 25, 2011
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B. Smith's, the Restaurant Row eatery known to host diners such August Wilson, Angela Bassett, Liza Minnelli and more may have to close its doors, according to the New York Post.

The building, run by Local 1 of the stagehands union, plans to increase the rent from around $13,500 a month to about $50,000 going up to $60,000 a month within five years, the report states.

The restaurant is described as "always bustling for happy hour with a hip multi-ethnic clientele including the theater crowd, business and entertainment executives, tourists, and viewers familiar with B. from her TV show and publications. This list also includes everyone from heads of state and captains of industry to artists, celebrities and the guy and gal next door. Sunday Jazz Brunch, served until 3pm, features a selection of gourmet omelets and Pan Scrambled Eggs, Sweet Potato Pancakes, French Toasted Butter Crackle Brioche and a Petrossian Smoked Salmon Platter.

The restaurant seats 175 people with a Private Dining Area that holds up to 25 and a mezzanine that seats 50. Catering is available for parties of 12 to 300 people."

"The very nature of the money they are asking says they don’t want us here," owner and television personality Barbara Smith told the Post. "Our attitude is that we survived 11 years and gave the building and Restaurant Row more value than it had previously."

Read the New York Post article here.

Photo: B. Smith's Restaurant


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