THE GREEN MOUSE: Match Cigar Bar NA is no more, but what's up with the restaurant rumored to be coming to the space?

I'll skip the post mortems, because I feel absolutely awful about Match Cigar Bar closing after only seven months in business.

The original Match/Riverside location remains open in Jeffersonville, and so all the best to Jeff Mouttet and his team, both now and in the future. I'm a tremendous fan of what he's accomplished in Jeffersonville, and I wish it had turned out differently here in New Albany.

Now, into the future.

The three conjoined buildings that comprise the (now) former Match Cigar Bar and Urban Bread Company floor plans, located on the north side of Main Street between Pearl and Bank, were purchased by 145-151 East Main Street LLC as of January 20, 2017.

This doesn't tell us much, does it?

They're directly across Main Street from the long moribund Reisz Furniture building. Match Cigar Bar opened in June, and the Urban Bread Company ceased operations at its New Albany location in September. When Urban Bread left, we were surprised to hear a frankly extortionate quote for monthly rent in the vacated space, which never filled during the remaining months of Match's tenure.

In between these June and September markers (on August 8), it was announced that City Hall would move to the Reisz building, slated for renovation by the Denton Floyd real estate and construction firm.

Fast forward to two tips the Green Mouse has received in recent days.

On December 21, this.

I wanted to let you know this is the second time I've seen some of the bigger real estate guys in from Louisville in downtown New Albany. I have a feeling something is brewing.

Then on December 31:

(Match's bartender) said a bunch of guys in suits were being toured through it around the time it closed, looking at the property.

Finally, the Fb post at the top of the page, referring to Match.

A guy came out and says it's just going to be a restaurant in about a month.

The Green Mouse knows at one time Tom O'Shea was looking at New Albany as a possible location for one of his family's excellent Irish-themed eateries. Supposedly his plans changed

More intriguingly, it's also known that some of Denton Floyd's key players are among the investors in the DOERS restaurant group, which owns the Parlour and Portage House restaurants in Jeffersonville.

Of course, before David Duggins surrendered his economic development brief (but did he really?) for a better paying job demolishing public housing units, he was a key element in all the preceding machinations.

Were they talking about Main Street options during that infamous day at Keeneland, or did the paid eye candy prove too much of a distraction?

It's smelling like a City Hall fix-is-in concept to us, but a month isn't much, and Team Gahan likes keeping us in the dark until the press release has been crafted to such a fine bureaucratic sheen that any stray soul is removed, so if you know the inside story, please pass it along.