Mirin's departure leads the August Top Ten at NA Confidential.

Many obituary readers, too few patrons. Weird.

Thanks for reading NA Confidential, where we enjoy reconnoitering the neglected periphery for uniquely local perspectives on life in New Albany. Otherwise your only choice would be the Jeffersonville News and Evangelbune, and that's a fate almost as unrewarding as light beer.

Year in and year out, business is slower in August, so we'll restrict the survey to the top ten alone in ascending order, sans honorable mentions.

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736

To park or not to park? Conflicting signage is the question.

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758

Remembering Matt Brewer, bidding Williams Plumbing an affectionate farewell and beseeching City Hall to give a damn about public safety.

In fact these commercial vehicles have blocked sight lines at this corner since 1987, when Williams Plumbing bought the building and converted it to what amounts to an industrial use, which in practice has meant neglecting it consistently into a neighborhood eyesore.

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803

ON THE AVENUES: The whys and wherefores can drive a man to drink; our lives just ARE, and that's that.

Birthdays get piled into desk drawers alongside rusty paper clips, obsolete business cards and bits of senseless plastic that somehow have evaded landing in the ocean. It would be pleasant bonus if the annual birthday observance yielded something genuinely revelatory; to paraphrase Michael McDonald, we'd trade it all right now for just one minute of real insight.

Beats me. I'm just a bozo on this bus, and perfectly content to watch from one side of the bar or the other for so long as Dear Leader rises from bed to flip the switch that makes the sun rise each morning, because the open air museum never looks more fetching than by dawn's early light.

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854

Learning nothing from the the Ohio River Bridges Project, INDOT bureaucrats refuse to conduct a formal economic impact study in the run up to Sherman Minton project work.

Well then, screw the state's project team. Join me in wondering how many of them have any experience owning indie businesses. As with Gahan's crack team of paper-shufflers, assuredly none do.

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966

The Fork (and Cheese) in the Road has not been seen because Jeff Gahan is holding it hostage until someone gives him more campaign finance gravy.

Many people have asked what became of Fork in the Road, the sculpture removed by Gahan's mercenary thugs in the run-up to unnecessary Market Street beautification.

The city has not commented on the whereabouts of the Fork (and cheese) in the Road. What we'll get instead of a unique, iconic locally produced sculpture is an HWC IKEA ceremonial gate that looks like every other such Disney-fried atrocity in every other place where money-grubbing politicians farm art to aesthetic assassins -- like HWC.

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1,033

Gahan commits violence against our most vulnerable because our most beautiful can't get enough of "sanitary conditions."

"We were out of town when Mayor Gahan lied to and then destroyed a community of homeless people here in New Albany. His personal actions and the usual lack of substantive response from other Democratic officials are deplorable but not at all surprising given their consistent track records of subsidizing the wealthy while seeking to limit or penalize nearly everyone else."

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1,066

Hull & High Water announcement: "On top of our seafood menu, we have now decided to launch a full Southern BBQ program."

"We have decided to change a few things here at Hull to add a more diverse dining experience with added catering options as well. You could only keep me away from southern cuisine for so long. On top of our seafood menu, we have now decided to launch a full Southern BBQ program. We miss the likes of Feast BBQ and Shawn's Southern BBQ downtown and would like to fill that hole with much due respect."

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1,088

Downtown taco turmoil: Sinaloa and El Rico Taco are gone, but Tacolicious To Go opens Tuesday at 111 W. Market Street in New Albany.

Last week all traces of El Rico Taco disappeared from Destinations Booksellers (604 E. Spring St.), and that's too bad. They were friendly people and their food was quite good. I'll remember those tamales for a long while.

It's worth remembering that even in such a restaurant incubator setting, eatery owners need operating capital to get through the first six months to a year. Goodbye, El Rico Taco. It seems we hardly knew ye.

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1,134

LIVE TO EAT: This commentary is a postscript to the Mirin New Albany closing.

Would the advent of the Reisz Mahal have helped pull Mirin New Albany through the doldrums? Maybe, except I'm having trouble imagining the aesthetic assassins who populate Gahan's regime finding comfort in sophisticated Asian noodles. Gahan's more the Bud Light and White Castle ramen sort, and his minions shamelessly pander to his stunted tastes in an effort to avoid 2:00 a.m. phone calls.

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1,483

Mirin's second location in New Albany has closed, according to its owner.

Mirin New Albany, the second location of Griffin Paulin's eatery in Louisville, has closed. The story broke at Food & Dining Magazine.

LIVE TO EAT: This commentary is a postscript to the Mirin New Albany closing.

Last Friday afternoon (August 9) the Courier-Journal eventually caught up with the Mirin New Albany closing story, which I'd already broken at Food & Dining Magazine. As of today (the 16th), the News and Tribune still hasn't noticed.

But dude, the newspaper is RIGHT ON TOP of what happens within a three-block radius of the newspaper's Jeffersonville digs.

Mirin's location in Louisville remains vibrant, and owner/chef Griffin Paulin was open and up front with the C-J as to the issues he experienced in New Albany.

'Something had to give': Mirin restaurant closes in New Albany after 6 months, by Dahlia Ghabour

 ... What ended up giving, he said, was six months of losing money incrementally — and then losing $5,000 in one day when the restaurant lost power on Aug. 7 and lost all of its food.

Paulin said he didn't blame the New Albany community. He thinks the concept could have worked if he could have held out longer. But multiple closures due to weather damage, a long-pending liquor license and inconsistent traffic added up, and the calculated risk he took fell flat.

As we've discussed numerous times in this space, money almost always is the issue -- whenever someone says it isn't about the money, the opposite is true -- but the precise monetary details invariably are subject to a matrix of numerous reasons, most often connected, although at times truly random.

The heavy metal commentator Eddie Trunk is fond of saying that somewhere around 95% of music-related disputes are about money, and this percentage probably reflects reality in the food and drink sector.

Not enough money = not much of a future.

At the same time, each of these cases is entirely unique. It’s all about location -- except when it isn’t. Prices were too high, or not high enough. Bad service and noisy ambiance, too-hard barstools, unclean bathrooms, filthy smoking areas, awful on-line ratings; the list goes on and on, with enough variables to prompt doctoral dissertations.

I don't know Griffin, who is a colorful figure in a vocation heavily populated with them. I respect him tremendously, just like anyone else who chooses to enter the food and drink business. The pressures and stressors are many, and the rewards often alarmingly few.

Speaking personally, Griffin's social media announcement last week about Mirin New Albany's closing triggered me in an unexpected way, especially his comments about the gut-wrenching task of discharging employees.

Of course, I experienced the same emotional intensity when we closed the kitchen at NABC's Bank Street Brewhouse in 2014. Doing this killed a piece of me, and it's still dead.

There were aspects of social media commentary following the Mirin New Albany closing announcement that strike me as important, but before I document them, allow me to repeat Griffin's words in the C-J, because he clearly gets it.

"Paulin said he didn't blame the New Albany community."

Interestingly, several Mirin fans quite clearly did blame the community. 

By contrast, residents of New Albany (and Southern Indiana) had a completely different view of the situation.

Admittedly I bristled a bit at those negative comments obviously coming from Louisville residents. I'm a fierce critic of New Albany's shortcomings, and I'll maintain that's my prerogative given residency; we may fight like cats and dogs here in town, but don't talk smack about us from similarly dysfunctional burgs located elsewhere.

Besides, the scene is markedly different downtown compared with the recent past -- or else Griffin wouldn't have chanced an outpost of Mirin here in the first place. As far as I'm concerned, it's one metro area even if a state line happens to pass through the middle of it.

I might cock an eyebrow at New Albany residents not knowing about Mirin's presence downtown, and yet (a) it was only six months, and (b) in a car-centric community where walking is still regarded as suspicious to the point of communism, Mirin New Albany was hurt by the lack of a prominent outdoor sign.

Would the advent of the Reisz Mahal have helped pull Mirin New Albany through the doldrums? Maybe, except I'm having trouble imagining the aesthetic assassins who populate Gahan's regime finding comfort in sophisticated Asian noodles. Gahan's more the Bud Light and White Castle ramen sort, and his minions shamelessly pander to his stunted tastes in an effort to avoid 2:00 a.m. phone calls.

Finally, if you're saying to yourself, "nothing works out in that space," then consider how many tenants preceded Adrienne's in their space on Market Street.

Best wishes to Griffin Paulin and his Louisville culinary team. I appreciate your efforts, and I'm sorry it didn't work out here in New Albany. I know what it feels like when the lights go out.

Here's a final thought:

Mirin's second location in New Albany has closed, according to its owner.

Mirin New Albany, the second location of Griffin Paulin's eatery in Louisville, has closed. The story broke at Food & Dining Magazine.

Paulin revealed the closure in a Facebook post this morning and says there'll be an official announcement at some juncture. Pending this, I don't seek to belabor the point because personally, I know all too well how he's feeling right about now. Indies almost always are undercapitalized and over-stressed. It's a murderous business, y'all.

Let's leave it there for now.

A good deal at Mirin New Albany THIS WEEK.

Mirin New Albany is located at 145 E Main, directly opposite 410 Bakery.

• Read Griffin Paulin's words below
• Go to Mirin, and mention his Fb post (the original is here)
• Pick a dish that's normally more than $10 -- and get it for only $10

Thanks for supporting New Albany's food and drink community.


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We’re still learning about Indiana. Few things!

1. We’re trying to get involved in different organizations, events, meet more people, etc.. So! If you have an event, please tell us how we can get involved. If we can, we *will*. You can stop by and chat in person, call us, or send a message to this page.

2. Our menu is changing next week. We’re still figuring out what does and does not work for the New Albany community. We aren’t getting rid of everything, just altering some stuff, trying some new things out, etc.

3. It’s not been a sweltering start business wise, and we’re at a bit of a crossroads. None of us, not me, not my chefs, not my FOH staff are built to throw in the towel, so we aren’t. We decided we’re investing back in to the restaurant, and, for that reason, and the reasons listed above, I would like to inform you all that, when you mention this post, everything on the menu that is over $10 will cost $10 this week. Spicy Double- $10. Tonkotsu- $10. Burger- $10. Chicken Fourplay- $10. You name it. If it costs more than $10, it is now TEN DOLLARS. If you haven’t tried our food yet, this is the week to do it! If you have and you want a good deal- this is the week to do it! If you hate us and hope we die sad, alone, and full of regrets- come rip us off this week, because we are literally going to make zero dollars on menu items regularly priced over ten dollars (all of which, I will remind you, are TEN DOLLARS THIS WEEK). That’s 100 dimes. 1000 pennies. 200 nickels. 191.3 pesos.

Thanks for reading!

-Griffin, Owner/Operator

LIVE TO EAT (AND DRINK): La Catrina Mexican Kitchen is open, and The Earl will be next week.

Photo credit: New Albany Social.

La Catrina Mexican Kitchen has launched in the former Dragon King Daughter's space at the southeastern corner of Elm and Bank.

New restaurant from Señor Iguanas owners opens, by Bridgett Weaver (Louisville Business First)

... "I lived in Mexico for about two years, and in the time I spent there, I realized the best food you're going to find is on the street," she said.

(Roza) Segoviano grew up in Ohio, but her husband, Juan Segoviano, is from Mexico and they moved there when she was in her early 20s.

La Catrina is the third concept for the Segoviano family. They also own Señor Iguanas, which has four Louisville locations and one in Clarksville, as well as Taqueria Don Juan, on Eastern Boulevard in Clarksville.

The new restaurant was actually born out of the Don Juan concept, Segoviano said, which sells only ceviche and tacos.

"We saw the Americans who were coming in were really digging the authenticity," she said. "So we look that concept and expanded on it. [La Catrina] is like a taco truck, but you don't have to stand up to eat" ...

Meanwhile, I can scarcely recall an establishment during these past few years coming to fruition with as little advance hype as The Earl, a new bar coming to the former Comfy Cow spot on Market Street, although this guy on Yelp awards five stars to a bar that hasn't even opened.

I'll never understand how something that doesn't exist can be reviewed, but okay. Consider the spuriousness of the platform, I suppose. Anyway, according to the far more reputable local source New Albany Social, The Earl will indeed be open on Tuesday, January 8.

Still to come in 2019: the second location of Mirin, in the Main Street storefront where Roadrunner Kitchen was doing business until it announced new digs (coming soon) at Underground Station.

LIVE TO EAT: The advent of La Catrina, Mirin and The Earl proves that investments in food and drink downtown are not abating.

Got all that? It's an election year, and we know who's queuing up to take credit for all these entrepreneurial investments -- you know, the guy who's never been an entrepreneur, not even once.

LIVE TO EAT: The advent of La Catrina, Mirin and The Earl proves that investments in food and drink downtown are not abating.

It may seem as if there is no connection between The Onion's all-time classic "War Declared by All" and the restaurant/bar scene in downtown New Albany, but look closely at the arrows on the above map.

This is how it seems.

Last summer, Longboard's and Pints&union opened. Dragon King's Daughter moved to a new space, and now La Catrina's will occupy DKD's former address. Double Barrel began where Match used to be, and next to it, Roadrunner occupied the square footage formerly used by Urban Bread.

Now Roadrunner will shift to a nearby address, and a second location of Mirin will take its place. Meanwhile, seemingly out of nowhere, Big Four Burgers ceased and Cox's Hot Chicken & Sports emerged. During all this, Floyd County Brewing Company expanded what amounts to an adjacent sister business, Grain Haus, by adding a wood-fired pizza oven.

No, I personally don't know anything more about River City Winery's operating issues than anyone else does. We need RCW back at full strength.

Finally  ... across the street from Pints&union, where Comfy Cow once held court, there'll be a new bar called The Earl ... and the Gospel Bird floor plan remains up for grabs by a fresh, new contestant.

Before offering a few links to explain at least some of these arrows, just this point: For many onlookers, changes in the food and dining scene connote instability, but while there'll always be an inherent fragility, there's also an ebb and flow to any healthy business segment. It's like an ecosystem.

The glass half full: Each night of the week, even Monday, there are hundreds more customers eating and drinking at downtown New Albany establishments than there were only a few years ago.

It's probably 95% more than it was in the barren wasteland time of 2003, when we bought our house on the 1100 block of Spring. For some current purveyors, it won't be enough. For others, it will. There's always more we can do to promote and project, although often, everyone's in the weeds.

Things will change ... and change is good.

Three links follow. 

La Catrina restaurant in New Albany to offer authentic Mexican street food, by Brooke McAfee (Tome May Content Multiplier)

NEW ALBANY — Chef Roza Segoviano found some of her favorite food from street vendors while spending a few years in Mexico. In early 2019, she will bring an authentic taste of that culinary scene to downtown New Albany.

La Catrina Mexican Kitchen, located at 202 Elm St., will present a grand opening on Jan. 4. The building was previously home to Dragon King's Daughter.

Griffin Paulin of Mirin previewed the New Albany location in a Facebook post, and then Insider Louisville analyzed these social media comments. Following is the text of Paulin's post.

It’s true, we are opening a 2nd Mirin in downtown New Albany. Here’s some info:

We are setting a goal of February 1st for an opening date. This is ambitious and may not happen. Please don’t hold us to this date. There is much to be done, but we have hit the ground running.

We will be taking over the space currently occupied by Roadrunner Kitchen, who I believe will continue operating through December. They aren’t closing- just moving. Check them out in the meantime- really cool people who do Good Shit™️. 145 E. Main Street, New Albany.

Executive Chef at the new location will be Jon Kaelin. Y’all know Jon’s pedigree. Dudes a tank and way talented. Stoked to have him, obviously.

My guy Levi Crandall will be working in conjunction with Jon as his front of house counterpart. He brings necessary experience that Mirin needs to continue to grow and evolve. He is a New Albany resident. And he’s quite handsome.

Michael and David will maintain a role at both restaurants, though the specifics of those roles are gonna be free flowing- we’ll figure it out, man. David is taking an immediate “promotion” to Sous Chef, but he was basically already the Sous Chef, so it’s kind of whatever. Michael will continue to be my go to guy for all Mirin related things.

Cody Graudick will be getting an expanded role at the Mirin in Louisville, so, like, ayyy, TONY!!!

The menu will be similar to Mirin Louisville, but different. We haven’t finalized it yet. Just scrawled some shit on the back of a Fire Greens invoice. But we’ve gone through enough menus at Mirin.... the actual food is honestly the last of our worries.

Oh, and I am HIRING SO HARD RIGHT NOW PLEASE HELP.

Thanks for reading and have a lovely day!

Little is yet known about The Earl. I'm told the owners are veterans of Doc Crow's and the short-lived (but wonderful) Red Herring, both in Louisville. At the moment, their ATC license is waiting in escrow, and interior work is underway.

Courtesy of Facebook, here's the logo.