Friday, September 05, 2014

Business First demeans the late Exit, then chronicles its Italian transformation.

Last week, NAC broke the Irish Exit's closing: Irish Exit makes its ... exit. Now Business First offers details in The Irish Exit in New Albany is going Italian (by Caitlin Bowling), but not before two strange lead sentences.

The Irish Exit, a rundown bar in downtown New Albany, is changing nationalities.

“The Irish Exit has exited the building and exited the universe, hopefully," said Cyle Mullikin, who is now leasing the property.

Why is the word "rundown" necessary to the story?

Why is the snarky "exited the universe" quote necessary to the story?

They're jarring, and more appropriate to a blog mike mine than Business First. Has it scrapped the stodgy traditional style template in a bid to emulate the breezy breathlessness of Insider Louisville's business coverage?

And then there's this little matter of consistency in spelling.

Mullikin and his wife, Ulrike Mullikin, who used to work as a restaurant manager at The Brown Hotel, will open an upscale Italian restaurant called Don Vito’s Italian Bistro in the former Irish Exit location. They have hired Annette Saco, owner and chef at the now-closed La Gallo Rosso in the Highlands, as their head chef.

Kyle Mullikin described the cuisine for Don Vito's as fresh, rustic Italian and the restaurant's ambiance as an Italian speakeasy. The bar will serve signature cocktails, and the menu will include sea bass, risotto, scallops and stuffed chicken breast.

First Cyle, then Kyle.

This is the second time in a week that I've read a Business First piece about New Albany and scratched my head. The first one, also written by Caitlin Bowling, was here: New Albany mayor, business owner talk about city’s growth. It read as though it had been randomly edited by dartboard, and didn't coherently tie together comments by the mayor and Ian Hall.

Of course, there remains a larger issue: Does downtown New Albany really need two Italian restaurants? I suppose the market can decide that one.

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