Katz's Delicatessen, one of the few remaining members of the Old Lower East Side (and seen above nestled in on the New New Lower East Side™), stands in the center of a continual swirl of rumors about whether it'll be torn down to make way for condos. (First Curbed mention of said rumor: September 13, 2005.) With the rumors again making the rounds as of late, NYT food critic Frank Bruni uses his review of Katz's today to get to the heart of the biggest real estate issue of our time:
When I asked [owner Fred] Austin about the latest rumors that Katz’s was being sold, he said it was entirely possible that somebody could come along and "offer me an amount I can't walk away from," but that none of the many offers made so far were sufficiently tempting. I remarked that his response seemed to leave him plenty of wiggle room. "How about that?" he said mischievously. Then he laughed.
To provide a touch more definitiveness, Curbed has it on fresh authority this morning that no deal for Katz's is imminent, or even on the table. We'll see you back around the rumor mill in another year or two.
· Go, Eat, You Never Know [NYTimes]
· Rumblings and Bumblings: Pastrami and Cell Towers [Curbed]