But that plan would not come to pass.
2011
The Observer later reported: "Rocco’s owner threatened to take the landlord to court, and the classic neon red ROCCO sign with him... One thing about the Torrrisi boys’ growth into the old Rocco space is certain, however: They are definitely keeping the sign."
The new restaurant is called Carbone, after one of the Torrisi team members, and now the name has officially been added to the property--superimposed over Rocco Stanziano's.
the new old sign today (thanks to Frank for the pics)
The old neon tubes have been stripped out, the once-crooked WINES - LIQUORS has been rehabbed and straightened, and like an awkward tattoo cover up, in hot-pink neon the name CARBONE will soon be blazing across the belly of Rocco's rusted hulk.
"Carbone"
Again and again, in recent years, we've seen a trend where fashionable restaurateurs rehab the neon signs of classic joints when they take over and keep the existing name, i.e., the Beatrice Inn, the Minetta Tavern, Fedora.
In this case, we've got a hybrid, a new name on a classic sign, the new topping the old, keeping the souvenir of the past maintained for--what? A melancholy homage to the lost? Or cool cachet? Either way, it's a memento mori--a reminder that this, too, shall pass.
*Update: Grub Street follows up this post and asks some important questions: "So what does it mean, if anything, that the 'once-crooked' neon sign is hanging again with a new name on Thompson Street? Does New York have a nostalgia problem? As time goes on, more old, well-loved restaurants will certainly close and reopen as 'fashionable' spots, but if the new owners are essentially food-history geeks who are invested in tradition, does that make them tomb-raiders of New York City's restaurant history, really, or just keepers of the old-school flame? In other words, is the new sign cool or not?"
Further Reading:
Rocco Ristorante
Rocco's Update
Torrisi on Rocco
Rocco's and Bill's
Red-Sauce Joints
Like a cover band claiming to be great artists.How do they sleep at night?
ReplyDeleteMy reaction is that I can't tell if they are paying homage to the previous establishment. Or if they are slapping it in the face. Or if they are exploiting a nostalgia that doesn't belong to them.
ReplyDeleteWould have been cooler to just leave up the old sign as it was, but to go by the new name.
ReplyDeleteSlapping it in the face while exploiting its storied history.
ReplyDeleteJust awful
I say slapping it in the face and exploiting it,because they could open up anywhere with their own new sign.It is after all a new business with no connection to the past.Lame.What's next?A new hipster grocery where Manganaro's was?
ReplyDeleteSince the prior owners wanted the sign and the new owners refused to accommodate their request, I would say that is both a slap in the face and a poor attempt to piggyback onto the success of Rocco's. This is not "keeping the flame" it is disrespectful
ReplyDelete