Radar

Rumor Mill
Is Balthazar's Keith McNally Buying the Beatrice Inn?

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INN OR OUT? Beatrice
A source inside one of Manhattan restaurateur Keith McNally's popular eateries tells Radar he is in talks to buy not-so-secret celebrity den and low-slung Olsen grotto, The Beatrice Inn. Would it finally drag the dark and still somewhat underground haunt into the light? McNally does have a reputation for opening see-and-be-seen downtown eateries—Balthazar, Pastis, Schiller's, and the like.

"This is the first I've heard of it," Paul Sevigny, part-owner of Beatrice Inn, tells Radar, but he adds that it doesn't mean McNally's not making a move on the building. It seems unlikely given the building's asking price of $8 or $9 million and the fact that Beatrice is directly across the street from McNally's ex-wife Lynn Wagenknecht's place, Café Cluny. Sevigny said his nightspot isn't technically for sale but admitted anything is for the right price. He also joked that an offer could have been made early this morning while he was sleeping—he works the night shift.

Calls to the usually press-shy McNally at his home and office seeking comment weren't immediately returned.

UPDATE: A representative for Keith McNally called back to relay a message from him claiming that he is not buying Beatrice Inn.

By Tyler Gray   05/12/08 2:40 PM
Related: Balthazar, Keith McNally, Pop, Rumor Mill, The Beatrice Inn
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