A Sudden End for Alto and Convivio

LAST Friday, the career of the restaurateur Chris Cannon seemed to thud to a halt when, without explanation, he abruptly closed Alto and Convivio, the highly regarded Italian restaurants where he had been the managing partner.

Even in an industry notorious for failure, the news was startling. Mr. Cannon has been a fixture on the fine-dining scene in New York for years. Just four months ago, he was a partner in three of the most acclaimed restaurants in the city. He lost one in a split with his chef and business partner Michael White. Now the other two are gone.

Regular customers were shocked. There had been no word of troubles at the restaurants, which Mr. Cannon had founded and had retained after severing ties with Mr. White. Taken by surprise, too, were the two chefs he had hired about a month ago.

This week, he moved swiftly to wind down his businesses. On Monday, as first reported by Crain’s New York Business, Michael Amodeo & Company auctioned off virtually all of Alto’s furniture and kitchen equipment.

Mr. Cannon has not returned calls asking for comment. His lawyer, Jordan A. Fisch, issued a statement on Saturday saying the closings were due to “a confluence of unforeseen business circumstances that resulted in significant financial hardship” and he dismissed speculation that they were due to a lawsuit by employees claiming that tips had been misappropriated and wage laws violated at Alto.

Rachel M. Bien, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, also said she did not think the lawsuit could have caused the closings, even if the workers had eventually won everything they were seeking.

Mr. Fisch elaborated a bit on Monday with a statement saying, “Due to a number of unforeseeable operational and financial circumstances related to the restaurants during the last few weeks, including unanticipated turnover and changes in staff and decreased revenue, management concluded that the closure of both restaurants was the only viable option and the approach most likely to yield the best recovery for trade creditors.”

But some regulars said that both restaurants seemed very busy and that reservations were not easy to come by. Giuliano Matarese, whom Mr. Cannon named as executive chef at Convivio on Feb. 9, said he was stunned. “I only got this job a month ago,” he said. “And business looked good.” As for Alto, Patrick Garrivier, the general manager, said, “Business was not down.”

Two of Mr. Cannon’s partners did not respond to requests for comment. Mr. White said that as far as he knew, the restaurants’ leases were on “solid financial ground.”

Last year, Mr. Cannon seemed to be on top of the New York restaurant world. He and Mr. White had won three stars from The New York Times for Alto and Convivio in Midtown, and went on to win three stars for Marea, on Central Park South. They were about to open the casual Osteria Morini and the high-end Ai Fiori. Then their partnership shattered, also without explanation.

In a legal settlement in January, Mr. Cannon retained ownership of Alto, at 11 East 53rd Street, and Convivio, in Tudor City. Mr. White, with the investor Ahmass Fakahany, kept the rest. Alto and Convivio’s chefs de cuisine, hired and trained by Mr. White, left.

A rift with a chef is not unfamiliar for Mr. Cannon.

After building a career as the face in the front of the house at Palio, Remi and elsewhere, and a partnership at Judson Grill, he opened L’Impero, his first venture as a managing partner, in 2002, with Scott Conant as chef. The two then opened Alto.

But in 2007 he and Mr. Conant broke up, with Mr. Conant going on to open Scarpetta downtown and then in other locations.

With Mr. White on board, L’Impero became Convivio.

In 2009, Mr. Cannon told The New York Observer, “I never really got any notoriety or any reputation or anything.”

“The nature of the business in the last 25 years has been very chef-driven,” he said, adding, “The chef felt that, because I was getting no notoriety, that he could do whatever he wanted.” Mr. Conant told The Observer he was sorry to hear the comments: “At the end of the day, I have real affection for Chris.”

As for the future, Mr. Cannon’s lawyer said that the management of Alto and Convivio “wishes to thank its loyal customer base and looks forward to serving them again.”