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Turns out a potential reason that celebrity chef Anne Burrell’s Cobble HIll restaurant suddenly closed its doors last week is a tiff between her and business partner Phil Casaceli.
Page Six reports that Phil & Anne’s Good Time Lounge, at 196 Smith St. between Warren and Baltic streets, may reopen eventually, but disagreements between the two made “running a restaurant together impossible,” a Burrell representative said. Her rep also claimed that Casaceli hasn’t agreed to meet to figure things out. Meanwhile, Casaceli is calling BS and says Burrell’s the real issue here. He claims he’s sent a letter, called, texted, and emailed the spiky-haired TV celebrity.
Burrell’s rep did not have further comment; Casaceli over at West Village bar Daddy-O’s could not immediately comment further.
The restaurant opened less than a year ago, serving everything from crowd-pleasers like burgers and pigs in a blanket to seemingly more upscale dishes like braised lamb shanks with polenta. It also had wildcards like a Cheetos-crusted fried pickle dish (Burrell has a history of partnering with the snack brand). On an early visit to the place, Eater critic Robert Sietsema found that the it lacked a unifying idea.
Restaurants run by chefs known for their TV appearances have had a rough go in New York as of late; at least eight have closed in the last year, including Guy Fieri’s American Kitchen and Bar, Cat Cora’s Fatbird, Carla Hall’s Southern Kitchen, and Top Chef alum Sam Talbot’s Pretty Southern. Burrell used to work in NYC kitchens but has spent most of the last decade as a TV personality on shows like Worst Cooks in America.
Whether or not Phil & Anne’s will reopen is still up in the air, but at least one detail from the Page Six story is suspect: Sources told the paper that the restaurant’s been busy, but neighbors tell Eater that it was rarely full when still in business.
