Rainbow Room to Close 'Grill' Restaurant, Cites Economy

The recession has reached the ritzy Rainbow Room, the fabled special-occasion spot that looks out over Rockefeller Center reports the Associated Press.

The owners plan to close the Italian-themed Rainbow Grill restaurant temporarily, while keeping the establishment's bar, banquet space and dinner-dancing going.

Cipriani International chief operating officer John Higgins told WNBC that the decision was "due to the current economic crisis" and a lease dispute. Giuseppe Cipriani and his father Arrigo Cipriani, the owners, pleaded guilty in July 2007 to evading $10 million in state and city taxes.

A spokeswoman for landlord Tishman Speyer didn't  return callss to the press today.

The Rainbow Room has symbolized glamour since it opened in 1934, in the thick of the Great Depression. The Room is home many a theatre related gala, and several events have already been scheduled for the early months of 2009.