Non-Openings

Matt Shendell Squashes Rumors of ‘Frat House’ in Allen & Delancey Space

Photo: Julie Mack

Earlier today, a tipster told Guest of a Guest that Matt Shendell of the Ainsworth, Proof, and the Hill was hoping to turn the Allen & Delancey space into a “high-end sports bar aka a frat house” that would be open till 4 a.m. When we asked Shendell if there was any truth to it, however, he told us “Guest of a Guest never knows what they’re talking about.” Uh-oh.

Shendell says: “We were interested in the space for a couple of days but we’re not going forward with the deal.” He says that although he was scheduled to appear before the community board in May (you can see the docket for that meeting at CB3’s website) to ask for a liquor license that would go till 1 a.m. (not 4 a.m. as rumored), he withdrew because of the space’s “legal issues and landlord/previous tenant issues.” (Add to that, several other players are said to be vying for it, including possibly Michael Huynh.) For the moment, Shandell is looking at other spaces in Soho and the Lower East Side and still plans to try to open what he says will be “emphatically not a frat bar,” but rather a restaurant “at the Spotted Pig/gastropub level.”

Frat Bar to Replace Allen & Delancey? [Guest of a Guest]

Matt Shendell Squashes Rumors of ‘Frat House’ in Allen & Delancey