NOW THE DAILY NEWS HAS THE SHOPSIN’S STORY. IT’S AN ONLY IN NEW YORK KIND OF THING. WEST VILLAGE RESTAURANT MOVES TO BROOKLYN: BIG NEWS
Shopsin’s, the West Village diner made famous for its 900-item menu and odd rules, such as no more than four to a table, could be hauling its celeb-studded digs to Carroll Gardens.
"You’re right – I’m thinking about moving to Brooklyn," owner and chef Kenny Shopsin told the Daily News. "I don’t know what else to tell you."
Shopsin and his wife, Eve, are reportedly considering the move because of skyrocketing rent at their 34-seat Carmine St. digs, where they’ve been serving oddball entrees like the "sausage walnut potato volcano" since 2002.
But when asked about a West Village rent hike, Shopsin insisted his decision wasn’t based on money.
"My landlord is a fair and honest businessperson, and I have a good lease," said Shopsin, 63, who enforces a strict ban on cell phones. "That’s all. That’s it."
When pressed for his reason for considering a move to Brooklyn, Shopsin would only say: "Two of my five children live in Brooklyn and are happy there. When I visit them, I feel pretty good too."
For more than two decades, diners have poured into Shopsin’s as much for the spinach walnut pancakes as for notables like Lizzie Grubman, Drew Barrymore and her rocker boyfriend Fabrizio Moretti.
But if Shopsin decides to leave Manhattan, he won’t have to do it at the expense of his celebrity clientele. Besides Barrymore, who told New York magazine she would follow Shopsin, Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams have been spotted dining out near their Dean St. home.
"We’ve got plenty of them living around here," said South Brooklyn Local Development Corp. President Bette Stoltz of the notable names in the neighborhood. "Between the movie stars and the literati, we’re doing okay."
The move wouldn’t be Shopsin’s first. Four years ago, he moved to his current digs after a rent hike at his original spot around the corner on Morton St. But on Smith St., where fine dining is the norm, the soup-and-sandwich joint might not make the cut, one local predicted.
Shopsin’s "used to be a legend when it had this perfect little corner spot," sniffed Saul Bolton, owner of Smith St. eatery Saul. "It’s a grimy, moldy, musty place where they make food out of a can. I wouldn’t be interested in going there now. Even if it was my neighbor."
Right now, Shopsin’s only immediate connection to Brooklyn seemed to be a beef gumbo and poached egg combination on the menu named for writer Truman Capote, who lived in Brooklyn Heights.