Trotter in NYC?

[Fat Guy]

The current issue of Jay Weston's restaurant newsletter states that Charlie Trotter will be opening in the AOL Time Warner building alongside Thomas Keller. Has anybody heard anything about this?

[NeroW]

The current issue of Jay Weston's restaurant newsletter states that Charlie Trotter will be opening in the AOL Time Warner building alongside Thomas Keller. Has anybody heard anything about this?

Whoa.

[Schielke]

We need the scoop from the sponge!

[NeroW]

Awbrig?

[pixelchef]

Umm.. words escape me. Next we'll hear Ardria is gonna open El Whythehellnot in the new AOL building too.

[Schielke]

Dude, I am opening in the AOL building.

[Fat Guy]

I'm not even going to say what else I've heard until we get this confirmed.

[awbrig]

Charlie is looking at this exact spot you mentioned but talks are still on going and no formal decision has been made either way - thats all I know...

[Lady T]

Brother. Now wouldn't that be The American Table?

[inventolux]

I worked for Charlie Trotter for four years and I can tell you from personal experience there will not be a Charlie Trotters NYC. (My last day was in January of this year)

[awbrig]

I worked for Charlie Trotter for four years and I can tell you from personal experience there will not be a Charlie Trotters NYC. (My last day was in January of this year)

You may be thinking of the Ritz Carlton deal that fell through last year...I spoke with Katie @ Trotters and they told me that talks are definately happening...

What did you do @ Trotters BTW?

Edited June 5, 2003 by awbrig (log)

[inventolux]

I was his sous chef. The only reliable source for information is to either speak with charlie himself or talk to a guy named Mark Signorio.

Dont believe everthing you hear.........examples of other charlie trotter openings:

London.....gone

Vegas......gone

Sonoma....gone

San Francisco......gone

NYC........gone

Charlie has told me personally that we (the restaurant) will open another Charlie Trotters when we get this one (chicago) right. That day in his mind will never come. Thats why he will always have on of the top 10 restaurants in the world. He builds the anticipation to open another restaurant to make the one he already has even more exclusive. Its brilliant marketing and high standards put to the true test. He is in his restaurant almost every night for service doing everything from looking for crumbs on the hotline during service to making sure the guest restrooms are cleaned after each use. There is NO WAY he will ever relinquish that control because he upholds it on a minute by minute basis from the office to the dining room to the kitchen to the garbage can in the alley.

Edited June 5, 2003 by inventolux (log)

[awbrig]

I know Mark pretty well..Ill ask him when I see him at the store...

I think I may have met you a few times in the kitchen, in fact I think I even showed you and Matthias a magic trick in the kitchen one night...

[inventolux]

whats your name?

[Fat Guy]

His name is Mark Wahlberg.

What I found so interesting was that Jay Weston reported it like it was a fact everyone already knew. The guy is such an insider, I don't know where he gets his stuff from. He by the way was the first to call Hesser winsome.

I ran this by a very senior guy in the Chicago CVB and he knew about it too, so it's at least a real rumor (as opposed to a fake rumor).

[KNorthrup]

The current issue of Jay Weston's restaurant newsletter states that Charlie Trotter will be opening in the AOL Time Warner building alongside Thomas Keller. Has anybody heard anything about this?

You guys can end up with Vegas East.

[snoop]

inventolux, are you still cooking somewhere?

[inventolux]

Im working on my own restaurant due to open sometime this fall.

www.motorestaurant.com

Edited June 6, 2003 by inventolux (log)

[rstarobi]

Im working on my own restaurant due to open sometime this fall.

www.motorestaurant.com

Inventolux, you might want to consider putting a "skip intro" button onto your site. People tend to get frustrated with flash intros that they can't get past, and will click away rather than wait to get to the meat of the site.

[Lady T]

I doubt this too, at least for any time soon. Rumors have been circulating for six to eight years now (that I can think of, anyhow) about Trotter looking for a suitable place in NYC. It's hard to imagine a group of investors that can/would offer CT a deal he'd accept with the total control he'd want, for the length of time he'd want it, in this economy.

I'll believe it when the paper's signed...hmm, no, cancel that. I'll believe it when they seat me and I can dig a fork into it.

[Schielke]

Im working on my own restaurant due to open sometime this fall.

www.motorestaurant.com

Inventolux, you might want to consider putting a "skip intro" button onto your site. People tend to get frustrated with flash intros that they can't get past, and will click away rather than wait to get to the meat of the site.

That is what I was thinking until I realized that it is just a placeholder for a future page. A 'skip intro' would go nowhere.

But when there is content behind the page, 'skip intro' is very welcomed.

Good luck with your new place inventolux!!!!

Ben

[Andy Lynes]

Awbrig, I know I've asked this before, about other things, but any chance Chef Trotter would come online and tell us himself. I bet he's internet savvy isn't he?

[rstarobi]

Im working on my own restaurant due to open sometime this fall.

www.motorestaurant.com

Inventolux, you might want to consider putting a "skip intro" button onto your site. People tend to get frustrated with flash intros that they can't get past, and will click away rather than wait to get to the meat of the site.

You can't put a skip button when there is nothing to skip to...

Good point - I suppose I got too frustrated with the flash intro to see that it was the whole of the site.

[awbrig]

Tough Crowd.

[Fat Guy]

Yo: start a new thread if you want to talk about invento's site.