‘Brigitte’ Finally Fills the Void at 37 Canal Street with French Fare
Two years after the fall of Skal (and those Starbucks rumors), its replacement venture is on the way. Of course, we’ve heard this story before.
We first caught wind that Brigitte would be opening at 37 Canal Street last summer. The contractors onsite had mentioned an opening later that fall, a promise that was broken. Instead, the cornershop continued its slow march toward completion, and finally announced itself with official fanfare on its various social media pages last month.
There is even a logo to tease, and a tentative launch date of next month.
Brigitte is a French restaurant that seems to harken back to the store’s pedigree as former location of Les Enfants Terribles. That esteemed locals haunt served this area of Chinatown/Lower East Side for a decade before foundering in 2012. Skal followed, but couldn’t quite turn it out, and folded in.
As previously reported, an application for corporate change was initially filed, and later approved by Community Board 3 in late-2015. That motion allowed new principals – Scott Alling, Anthony Coppers, and Thomas Besnard of Convivium Catering – to acquire an 81% stake of the corporation. One year later, additional paperwork was filed to add David Goodman as minority owner to the new endeavor. It’s worth noting that Fabrice Vautrin, who originally opened Les Enfants Terribles with Stefan Jonot (and later Skal), subsequently left the business. His partner Oli Stephensen remains.
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