Cafe 27 is no more? Restructuring reportedly is underway.

(8:30 p.m.: I've altered the banner to reflect seeing a Fb posting earlier, in which it is implied that the new menu is Cafe 27's new menu. To be honest, I'm not sure which is Liquidz, which is Cafe 27, and whether Who remains on first. It is very confusing)

Ever since last Friday, when a Fb friend reported Cafe 27's impending closure, I've been trying to gather information. It has been foggy, so here is what can be discerned.

Cafe 27, as constituted since opening in May of 2013, is no more. This from Chef Zack Wolf's page at Fb:

Just to let everyone know. I am no longer the chef at Cafe 27, nor do I have any more affiliation with that place. I am moving on to bigger and better things and will be keeping everyone posted as I transition into something more stable. I want to thank everyone I met, worked with, and served over the past year. It was my pleasure to work with all of you, and serve Southern Indiana some great food! I will be staying locally and will hopefully be keeping some of the loved menu items into my next venture. Keep checking back as I will update as more info becomes available!

Given that Liquidz, the club/bar component, is ongoing, there remains a food menu. It was posted just last evening at the Cafe 27 Fb page (the Cafe 27 web site is gone).

Please bare with us while we are restructuring... We still have great homemade food, just a much smaller menu . Will we be building up the menu as we grow. Please join us at liquidz tonight for Lindaz Lazer city karaoke and DJ S DOT starting at 9:00

The new menu was pictured:

Last weekend, a Twitter friend close to the situation suggested that the owners of Cafe 27 might be negotiating with representatives of Le Gallo Rosso, an Italian eatery in Louisville that closed earlier this summer (lease issues, if I recall). Mike Kopp confirmed this rumor earlier this week at the merchant mixer meeting. Now I'm told this is off the table, and that the Le Gallo Rosso people are looking elsewhere in New Albany.

Is there such a thing as an Italian/Irish joint?

To reiterate something I've written previously, downtown business conditions have been rocky this summer. Vectren has been dynamiting sidewalks since winter, and the Main Street Deforestation Project has disrupted traffic. The Big Four Bridge has shifted attention to Jeffersonville. Best of luck to the Cafe 27/Liquidz folks as they plot new courses. I know how hard that can be, believe me.

These Cafe 27 posts at NAC provide an overview. Note that Jackson's is no longer with us, either.

June 22, 2009

Information, please: Jackson's Seafood and Liquidz Bar & Grill.

September 8, 2012

Cafe 27 opening to be pushed back a bit, says Chef.

May 26, 2013

Cafe 27 opens for business on Memorial Day.

July 2, 2014

New Cafe 27 business hours.

Welcome: Cafe 27 catches us by surprise, kinda sorta.

Perhaps to be filed under "Better Late Than Never" is the news that the long-gestating Liquidz on Main Street will instead be called Cafe 27. In January, Business First was sticking with the previous name (and sign). Here at NAC, we've been watching the build-out since 2009, and while everyone's had eyes fixed on Exchange just down the street, Cafe 27 now sneaks into the burgeoning downtown eatery mix.

So, follow the link, look for the "Media and Press" tab at the web site, and view the eight-page press release (pdf format) for your reading and viewing pleasure.

Welcome to Cafe 27

Cafe 27 is going to be New Albany's premier dining spot featuring a seasonal menu, courteous staff, and an eclectic atmosphere. Come Celebrate with us at our Grand Opening Event on October 5th, 2012.

Located in the heart of Downtown New Albany, Cafe 27 provides a break from the normal routine and offers our patrons a fun and satisfying dining experience.

Windows? On Main Street? Is it a dream?

Windows?

No plywood or metal coverings?

Could it be a trend?

Might it extend to furniture corner on the west and the Reisz building on the south?

Kinda giddy, you know. Suddenly anything seems possible.

Liquidz progress ... Paul's?

The (by now) somewhat long and winding road for Liquidz Bar & Grill perhaps approaches a fruitful juncture, as the establishment has erected a Facebook page. It has a handful of revealing photos of the interior refit at 147-151 E. Main, and outlines a scheme for VIP cards that entices with mention of performances by "national" acts.

Meanwhile, folks on Twitter yesterday suggested that Paul's One World Cafe in the Bergman Building on Market has finished. I drove past yesterday at 3:30 p.m., and there were neither lights nor activity. Readers, do you have any information? If so, please post here, and withhold from Dan Coffey -- he's happier that way.

Wick's has an ATC hearing and will open on October 7 ... and an excellent LEO review for the Windsor.

According to the legal notices in Tuesday's Tribune, the owners of Wick's have a spot on the agenda during the next local alcoholic beverage board meeting on Tuesday, October 6.

HD2226179 RETAILER - BEER, WINE AND LIQUOR NEW STATE STREET WICKS LLC, 225 STATE ST, NEW ALBANY D/B/A WICKS PIZZA & PUB

I'd have predicted an October 7 opening date, but the newspaper's Daniel Suddeath beat me to it on Twitter earlier this evening.

In other downtown news, the Windsor Restaurant and Garden scored a great review by veteran food writer Robin Garr in Wednesday's LEO Weekly.

Young co-chefs Justin McMillen and Cory Cuff were barely old enough to legally sample their own wine list when the classy dining room and bar, with its lovable New Orleans-style patio, reopened in the old New Albany Inn last year.

Their style belies their age, with a sophisticated and consistently well-prepared evening menu and a fine, simpler set of soup, salad and sandwiches at the noonday hour.

It’s well worth the trip, even for Hoosier-wary Kentuckians.

Finally, it appears that Liquidz, a bar projected for Main Street, is not to be. I learned Wednesday night that the prospective operators have been unable to secure financing, and the sign pictured here back in June is gone. According to the rumorama, the plan had been to ask for permission to paint the building flagrant purple and open a gay bar. Maybe some day.

Previously at NAC: Toast on Market sez: Open September 29.

Dueling Grounds coffee shop (at Destinations Booksellers) and a downtown status report from Mike Kopp.

Randy Smith at Destinations Booksellers provides this look at progress toward completing the store's coffee shop project (both at 604 E. Spring St.) Contact Randy with questions.

Coffee Shop Update

There's a certain amount of madness, or as one local political aspirant would say, a "curtain" level of craziness going on right now. If you haven't visited recently, you will have missed the new construction work, but that's nothing compared to what's in store over the next two months.

I'm trying to run the store (luckily, we've hired some great new employees to work with Mark and Sophie) while planning a full kitchen build-out and we've just about finalized all of our equipment selections for the new coffee shop. It will be called The Dueling Grounds Café at Destinations Booksellers, and despite previous conjectures, we're going to incorporate the shop into the bookstore building. Next year, we'll probably build a deck out back for al fresco dining where you can enjoy your hot or cold beverages, soups, sandwiches, and desserts.

We're trying to get our final plan drawings completed in the next few days so we can submit them to the state building inspector's office and then we can begin the construction of the kitchen and coffee bar. You smarties who've discovered the rear parking lot may want to avoid the back entrance for awhile, though. We'll be sealing off everything south of my office while the build-out takes place.

While I'm committed to roasting our beans on-site, the capital expenditure right now is enormous, and we are giving strong consideration to sourcing our roasted beans from one of the fine local roasters until next year.

Mike Kopp, local realtor and president of Develop New Albany, recently circulated the following to DNA’s mailing list.

It's official: HobKnobb Coffee will be landing downtown at the former Joy's Coffee Nook on State Street (near State and Spring). Owner Barb Fischer will offer basically what she has at her other location in Floyds Knobs, and I think it will be a welcomed establishment with a good product.

Also official: The vacant building at 501 Pearl Street (formerly the John Vernia & Son Monument Co at the corner of Pearl and Elm) has sold and chances are if you drove by today you will see improvements already being made. This space is being prepared for office occupancy and may be completed by the end of October with a new tenant.

Though we have not closed on the building, there is a new owner coming to spruce up the service station at the corner of Oak and State Streets (former known as EZ Auto). This will be a new look, and it is planned for an official NAPA Auto Center. They, too, will be a U-Haul center but the new owners plan to provide fresh landscaping, renovation and a new look for the entire building, including resurfacing the parking lot and all new lighting for property as well. This will be noticed by September 1st.

A major retailer has downtown New Albany in its sights, so we're still in the running. These folks are out of Chicago and will need 5-10k square feet. They are an “apparel and more” retailer. This will not happen until after the first of the year, should I be successful in convincing them this is where they belong.

Liquidz Bar and Grill will be opening soon at the former Russ's Tavern on E. Main Street (between Pearl and Bank), and 211 E. Main (formerly Ermin’s and B & B, next to Studio’s) is the new location for the Redmens Club as Steinert’s moves in to their new location at 401 E. Main, which had been constructed by the Redmen in 2005.

The Parthenon at 203 E. Main continues to get a facelift as the columns are being repaired, and is it being made ready for a new tenant to be announced. There are new tenants at the southeast corner of Pearl and E Main (Merchants National Bank building). It is a spa of some kind, and that’s all I know, as I did not do the deal. The people from Louisville’s Green Building hope to meet with the city this week, as we have requested an appointment. They have their eyes on the Baptist Tabernacle Church (318 E. 4th) and the Reisz Building on Main Street.

Be sure to participate in one or all of the happenings in downtown. Great things continue to be said about our Farmers Market and the new activity on Fridays at the Amphitheater. Help clear up a few things: Both Wick’s Pizza in the former Speakeasy building on State, and Toast on Market on E. Market will be open soon, and both will have liquor licenses.

Information, please: Jackson's Seafood and Liquidz Bar & Grill.

Above is the remodeled Orchid, now Jackson's Seafood on West Main. The sign on the door suggests it will be open this week. Below are two views of the storefront on East Main, opposite the old Reisz Furniture building, billed as Liquidz. Readers, do you have any information on these new businesses?