NA Confidential: Cafe 27 is no more? Restructuring reportedly is underway.

Friday, August 22, 2014

Cafe 27 is no more? Restructuring reportedly is underway.

(8:30 p.m.: I've altered the banner to reflect seeing a Fb posting earlier, in which it is implied that the new menu is Cafe 27's new menu. To be honest, I'm not sure which is Liquidz, which is Cafe 27, and whether Who remains on first. It is very confusing)

Ever since last Friday, when a Fb friend reported Cafe 27's impending closure, I've been trying to gather information. It has been foggy, so here is what can be discerned.

Cafe 27, as constituted since opening in May of 2013, is no more. This from Chef Zack Wolf's page at Fb:

Just to let everyone know. I am no longer the chef at Cafe 27, nor do I have any more affiliation with that place. I am moving on to bigger and better things and will be keeping everyone posted as I transition into something more stable. I want to thank everyone I met, worked with, and served over the past year. It was my pleasure to work with all of you, and serve Southern Indiana some great food! I will be staying locally and will hopefully be keeping some of the loved menu items into my next venture. Keep checking back as I will update as more info becomes available!

Given that Liquidz, the club/bar component, is ongoing, there remains a food menu. It was posted just last evening at the Cafe 27 Fb page (the Cafe 27 web site is gone).

Please bare with us while we are restructuring... We still have great homemade food, just a much smaller menu . Will we be building up the menu as we grow. Please join us at liquidz tonight for Lindaz Lazer city karaoke and DJ S DOT starting at 9:00

The new menu was pictured:

Last weekend, a Twitter friend close to the situation suggested that the owners of Cafe 27 might be negotiating with representatives of Le Gallo Rosso, an Italian eatery in Louisville that closed earlier this summer (lease issues, if I recall). Mike Kopp confirmed this rumor earlier this week at the merchant mixer meeting. Now I'm told this is off the table, and that the Le Gallo Rosso people are looking elsewhere in New Albany.

Is there such a thing as an Italian/Irish joint?

To reiterate something I've written previously, downtown business conditions have been rocky this summer. Vectren has been dynamiting sidewalks since winter, and the Main Street Deforestation Project has disrupted traffic. The Big Four Bridge has shifted attention to Jeffersonville. Best of luck to the Cafe 27/Liquidz folks as they plot new courses. I know how hard that can be, believe me.

These Cafe 27 posts at NAC provide an overview. Note that Jackson's is no longer with us, either.

June 22, 2009