Amy ScattergoodOkay, let's try this again. The Gorbals, Ilan Hall's new downtown restaurant, will open this Saturday night, according to the restaurant's co-owner Natan Zion. Or at least he's pretty sure it will open. “About 80%” sure. Apparently they were good to go when the electricity went out just as the inspectors showed up the other day. But hey, Hall and Zion are getting used to the wire-and-string-and-sledgehammer approach to opening a restaurant. (Re)opening a restaurant on Halloween seems somehow fitting.
If you recall, The Gorbals was open for just a few days before there were boiler issues, and they had to shut down. The boiler was fixed, but there were plumbing problems, walls that needed to be torn down, more inspections, etc. When we stopped by yesterday, the lights were back on, a new sign was blowing in the ridiculous wind, and Zion was circumspect about the whole thing.
The restaurant was still in disarray, so he took us on an ad hoc tour of the building and mused about how awesome it would be to host a Halloween party in the 1906 slightly dilapidated hotel. (Old fixtures, chains on doors, and, according to Zion, some of the scenes from The Shining were filmed in the old ballroom next door to the restaurant.) Will there be an opening? Will there be a Halloween party? The odds are good, but with The Gorbals, it's anyone's guess. Maybe if Hall dresses up as Stanley Kubrick for Halloween.
Credit: A. Scattergood
imagine Jack Nicolson here; Credit: A. Scattergood
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