Chronicles of El Chod: 'Kobe Club is Not Closing Ever'
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
For most restaurateurs, even the very best ones, we have On the House, our regular feature written by the owners and operators of our city's finest establishments. For Jeffrey Chodrow (below), however, a man who needs an introduction like vibrator needs an owners manual, we have Chronicles of El Chod. Now and then he or his chief spokesperson, Karine Bakhoum, checks in with us to clarify something, say hello, what have you. These are our stories of those stories.
Late yesterday, El Chod himself phoned to tell us to get our heads out of our asses (our words) in regards to Eater Hospice resident Kobe Club. First of all, a promise to us: "Kobe Club is not closing, ever." Next, a scoop: "Not only is Kobe Club not closing, but we're opening more of them, first in Miami."
Now, onto more mundane matters. About that Hospice update, in which 1) our correspondent suggested Kobe seems to be a ghost town and 2) El Chod was overheard at Sarabeth's talking to someone about keeping costs down for needed Kobe Club repairs. Again, he kindly asks us to shut down our crazy train. Regarding the first, Kobe Club did 102 covers on Saturday night (if you're doing the turns math, the place has a capacity around 80). So, there. Plus, it's a later kind of scene, El Chod suggests, and it's quite possible our tipster went early (it's possible, this is true). Second, regarding the convo, wrong again: the Chodorow was eating with his lovely wife and was on the phone with his designers. Here's the thing: there is an issue with the stingray bar top currently installed at the restaurant. Just didn't hold up. "When you experiment with new materials, sometimes the solutions aren't that easy," says El Chod. Now on order is not the cheap stuff, but this stuff (click "stingray parquet"), which promises to be more durable. While repairs are being made, there is a temporary covering on the bar. So, that's that. And now, please excuse us while we return to our regularly scheduled Deathwatching of Kobe Club.
· Eater Hospice: Kobe Club Downgraded to Critical Condition [~E~]
· Deathwatch: Kobe Club [~E~]
A disillusioned, egotistical, drug-induced, "has been", who no longer has any idea as to what the pulse of NYC is anymore. Kudos JC for being an innovator. However, it's over and you have no more tricks. Go away with your stolen concept of share tables and bulk food selections.
102 covers? Hardly. A small bistro in Tribeca that holds 60 at one seating was doing 300 covers on a Saturday night. Do the math. I give it 6 months and thats being generous.
Although I am not a big fan of the El Chod. I have to say that whenever Eater puts a restaurant on Deathwatch, it's pretty much putting the nails on the coffin. Therefore, even if a restaurant is struggling and may have a chance to get through a rough patch, Eater pretty much kills it. Let's try to remember that there are jobs at risk here and Deathwatching may actually be a preemptive striking.
They should close Kobe Club, Wild Salmon, and Borough F&D and give them to young promising restauranteurs. Chodorow have been past his prime for a good 5 years now, and his management team sucks.
Yes, do the math. Saturday night is a weekend and anything less than 2.5 full seatings (200 covers in this case) is a failure. Those numbers can be endured for a few slow weeks after the winter holidays, but right now? Very bad sign. Dunzo.
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Late yesterday, El Chod himself phoned to tell us to get our heads out of our asses (our words) in regards to Eater Hospice resident Kobe Club. First of all, a promise to us: "Kobe Club is not closing, ever." Next, a scoop: "Not only is Kobe Club not closing, but we're opening more of them, first in Miami." 
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