A famous New York restaurant now files for bankruptcy after being conned out of $45,000 and being unable to pay its debts.
Gotham Restaurants, the New York City restaurant recently in the news for being conned out of $45,000, has now 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.
However, there is more to the story.
Court documents indicate the restaurant, once one of New York’s most celebrated fine-dining establishments, had much more severe problems than simply being swindled by con artists posing as representatives of a payroll processing firm.
The court filing indicates that the restaurant was in debt 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 completely off when he failed to receive an email verifying the transfer of funds, as this was a typical occurrence.
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 opened in 1984 and was originally known as Gotham Grill & Bar.
It soon drew acclaim for the culinary work of its chef, Albert Portale, who would remain in the kitchen until his departure in 2019.
However, the restaurant never drew the same critical stature after Portale’s departure.
He now runs a restaurant under his own name about half a mile away.
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 remains unclear if that plan will change by the company’s latest bankruptcy filing.
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Also Read: Another Mall Clothing Retailer Now At High Risk of Bankruptcy
Other Economy News Today
A massive rental company with 34k locations now shuts down its operations after filing for bankruptcy and 22 years in business.
Users of movie rental company Redbox were left saddened after it was announced that it would be shutting down operations.
The announcement comes after the rental company’s parent company, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
According to court documents obtained by the Washington Post, the Connecticut-based company claimed to be one billion dollars in debt.
As a result, Redbox, which was a staple of many grocery stores including Walgreens, and CVS will be shuttered.
Many fans took to social media to express how upset they were with the loss.
“I knew it was coming, sadly,” UltraVada wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“It was inevitable,” a second person mourned.
“I knew this would happen when I heard they filed for Bankruptcy but its still sad to hear. I have a lot of fun memories of Redbox,” a third person lamented.
“I still don’t think this will be or ever be the end of physical media as we do still get remasters of some movies in 4k/Bluray.”
One person revealed that they had forgotten the rental service had existed.
Some users were not surprised by the announcement.
“Not surprised since nobody really rents videos anymore with the rise of streaming and what not,” one user admitted.
“Also kinda remember getting into a feud with them on here.”
One user also pointed out that the last remaining Blockbuster, located in Bend, Oregon, managed to outlive Redbox.
Redbox was acquired by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (CSSE) in 2022 and became one of the company’s flagship video-on-demand streaming services.
At its peak, CSSE operated more than 20,000 DVD rental kiosks across the country.
The company’s filing means that the company’s more than 1,000 employees will be laid off, per The Wall Street Journal.
It was also reported by Deadline that many employees at CSSE hadn’t received their paychecks and had medical benefits cut in late June.
Also Read: This Massive Mall Retailer Is Now Closing In California
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