Taavo Somer Bringing Diners Back

Downtown tastemaker Taavo Somer has our back! We hoped that our petition to save the New York diner wouldn't fall on deaf ears. Now, we're thrilled to find that it so quickly inspired the retro-loving team behind Freemans and The Rusty Knot to open a new greasy spoon on Bowery and 4th. -

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Last night, the men in plaid got approval from the East Village's famously contentious community board to forge ahead on the duplex venture in the long-vacant Kelly & Ping space. Why did CB3 relent? Well, apparently a buzzing hipster magnet is preferable to what the dark corner had become: a locus of drug activity and muggings. That seems pretty old school Bowery to me, but if Somers (who has already made hunting lodges and beach shacks cool again) brings anything approaching the deliciousness of the Freemans artichoke dip to the block, I'll be a happy camper.

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Let's just hope he doesn't stray too far from the timeless diner formula and that the new place is more than a theme park version of the neighborhood's past.

Photos Courtesy of www.lindsayism.com and Nymag.com