Coppola opened City Grille in January after the space became available last year, figuring, he says, that "it could pretty much run itself." That turned out to be a mistake, he readily admits. "I was blinded," he says. "It was way too much to try to manage two places at once." Coppola closed City Grille after just three months and was getting ready to sell it when things took another turn. With Bistro 24, he's teamed up with Pierre Mange, opening sous chef at Contigo. Instead of City Grille's diner approach, Bistro 24 will serve, in Mange's words, "contemporary American comfort food with Mediterranean influences."(Remember Coppola's plans for City Grille? "Classic American fare.")
Opening Date? Next Week.
As for Contigo, Brett Emerson has been posting ads for a sous chef and line cooks since mid-May. We try not to read too much into job descriptions, but experience has shown they're often written with a prior employee in mind. Just speculating, but it's a good bet Brett isn't too happy about this development.
[SFGate: Inside Scoop: Second Chances]
[NVSF: Announced: Bistro 24]
3 comments:
Is Stefano Coppola related to Francis Ford Coppola?
If this Coppola guy already owns Lupa, doesn't he realize that Noe Valley doesn't need another mid-priced bistro? In this economy, we need restaurants that serve good, healthy, inexpensive food. A place like Pluto's would make a killing on 24th street.
malia, totally agree.....
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