More "renaissance" news! NEWSFLASH-

    The Wine Down Lounge @ 613 Union St. that was to revitalize lower Union Street has shut its doors! The phone has been disconnected. The reason are poor business environment, high County taxes and shabby treatment by governmental authorities. All plans to fix old Beyers Furs and other business nearby have now been scrapped. Further details will be forthcoming...............

Oh isnt that SUCK

Let's see how long and the phony reasons the MSM give for this closure. Read all about it here never there. Another Metrograft flop is rapidly unfolding.

    All revitalization plans for lower State St have now been scraped by this owner who is disgusted with Metrograft and Death Ray.

this is the result of that bushes recession he and the repubs screwed the whole economy up

No-this is the result of only the County Krats and Death Ray. They killed another local business.

   Want to hear the usual MSM spin and will report the second half of this story. Another Metrograft induced flop-more job losses.

This is another complete flop that can be traced to Death Ray's door. They made a business decision to stop doing business in Schenectady.

  Alternative Living Center is leaving Jay St for Colonie, the Gun Store on Erie is closing and moving to Troy and Wine Down has shut. In one week 75 jobs have fled Downtown Schenectady. And Death Ray continues to lie and self promote and nobody knows from nuthin.....

Quoted Text

SCHENECTADY
Winedown owner upset with tenants
Popular Union Street restaurant closed temporarily following oversight dispute
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Kathleen Moore at 395-3120 or moore@dailygazette.com.

    The landlord of the Winedown Lounge has briefly shuttered the restaurant because he says he’s not satisfied with the way his tenant was running it.
    Landlord Reza Mahoutchian, who owns most of the buildings on that block of Union Street, said he wants a more hands-on operator. The previous operators, identified as Mark Allen and Bill Darnell, could not be reached for comment. Mahoutchian said Darnell, who lives in Arizona, hired chefs and wait staff sight unseen. The situation led to some disorganization, and Mahoutchian said he wanted more supervision.
    “You need someone who is really watching things, who is present at all times, or it can lead to things down the road,” Mahoutchian said. “I want a very classy place, an upscale, flawless operation. They weren’t living up to that.”
    He closed down the restaurant two weeks ago, using a clause in his contract that allows him to search for a better operator. The new operator is now negotiating with the former proprietor on a purchase price for equipment and official permission to use the liquor license.
    Mahoutchian hopes the restaurant will reopen in April.
    The restaurant’s format, with high-quality food and a special wine-tasting room, will remain. Under that format, business was good, Mahoutchian said.
    “They had a special following that’s kind of different from most places,” he said.
    Not only was the restaurant popular on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, but it drew visitors regularly who were not interested in pubs.
    To judge the restaurant’s popularity, Mahoutchian sat outside in a car last Tuesday and counted the number of customers who walked up to the locked front door from 6 to 7 p.m.
    “There were 22 people. For a Tuesday night, that was surprising,” he said. “I watched to see if they would go to the next place over, the Manhattan Exchange, and not a single one of them did. That tells me that the Winedown is what they were looking for, that atmosphere.”
    The Winedown won a historic preservation award last summer for painstaking work that returned the Beyer Fur Company building to its roots as a Victorian house. Even the concrete, windowless fur safe was turned into a bright, multi-level music venue.
    Workers could have simply gutted the interior, but instead found ways to use every room without moving the walls.
    Mahoutchian is now turning those talents to renovating two other buildings on the block, which will become an Internet cafe and a coal-fired pizza parlor. The cafe will feature New York City pastries, while Mahoutchian plans to advertise the pizza parlor as the only place in the region with a coal-fired oven. Both are slated to open when Union College students return for the fall semester.
    It’s those investments that made Mahoutchian switch operators at the Winedown.
    “I’m heavily invested in that block,” he said. “I want a certain image. There are enough pubs in .............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01000

Two weeks later the Gazetto finally has a story! Great way to transfer management and he's worried about "image"?

Why the heck would this guy close the doors of a so called 'profitable' business because of the owners? Why  not keep it open until there was new ownership?

Looks like they are looking to re-open very soon, in April.  It's a long-shot, sure...but it's possible that these reasons really are so, and that he's in a position where he would forego some income for a short period of time to ensure long-term success.  Time will tell, with this one.

Quoted from bumblethru

Why the heck would this guy close the doors of a so called 'profitable' business because of the owners? Why  not keep it open until there was new ownership?

Somebody else with some business expertise. Great customer "image". And its so easy to transfer ownership and a State liquor license? People travel in to find a locked business. Wonderful pr. Gee I wonder why the Gazetto finally printed this? Salami Strikes Again-another victory lap for truth.

It was also poor positioning by the gazette. Why wasn't it placed in the business section? Apparently they were countering the 'salami' report, huh? Too funny!

The Gazetto must be dragged kicking and screaming to any Downtown story. They refuse to print anything that contridicts with their cheerleader mindset. Then they wonder why circulation is in the pishaloo?

  Anyone who spends 10 seconds Downtown especially on State St below Erie knows what a complete failure Metrograft and Death Ray has been. Still waiting for some moron to praise Metrograft for the "impending" re-launch. This will happen on the same day the Big Hose opens! April Fools!

They all will open so drop it and but out of the business that isnt yours over here  -  maybe you need to get a law-suit like Surhad got when he slandered the other businesses down there to.

Right on cue, enter stage left.....