Gotham Restaurants, the New York City restaurant recently in the news for being conned out of $45,000, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The Greenwich Village restaurant was already closed, with Managing Partner Bret Csencsitz attributing his decision to the restaurant being scammed. But court documents indicate the restaurant, once one of New York’s most celebrated fine-dining establishments, had more severe problems than being swindled by con artists posing as representatives of a payroll processing firm.
The filing indicates that the restaurant was in arrears for more than $1 million, including nearly $500,000 in state taxes.
The documents indicate the restaurant values its assets at just $50,000.
Csencsitz had gone public about being scammed, saying he wanted to prevent fellow operators from falling prey to the same ruse. According to the recount he shared with Restaurant Business and a host of other media, someone posing as a representative of Paychex, the payroll processing firm, had directed Csencsitz to wire $45,000 to the company to cover the restaurant’s most recent pay period. The managing partner realized something was awry when he failed to receive an email verifying the transfer of funds, as was usual.
Csencsitz said the loss forced him to close the restaurant temporarily.
It remains shuttered, but visitors to its website are advised to check out the restaurant’s bar, which carries its own identity as Billy’s Bar.
Gotham, originally known as Gotham Grill & Bar, opened in 1984. It soon drew acclaim for the culinary work of its chef, Albert Portale, who would remain in the kitchen until his departure in 2019. He now runs a restaurant under his own name about half a mile away.
The restaurant earned a trophy store’s worth of awards and accolades. Four successive New York Times restaurant critics anointed it with three stars, a rare occurrence. Famed food writer and New York magazine critic Gael Greene said it was her favorite restaurant.
The restaurant never drew the same critical stature after Portale’s departure. It closed in 2020 because of the pandemic and reopened under its current management.
The current ownership also sells high-end candy bars under the name Gotham Chocolates.
A recording alerts callers to Gotham that the restaurant will be closed through July for “improvements,” with lunch and dinner service resuming in August. It is not clear if that plan has been changed by the bankruptcy filing.
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