Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, (65th floor of New York’s Rockefeller Centre to be precise) there’s a land that I heard of, (unsurprising – Frank Sinatra and numerous A-listers frequented it) once in a lullaby (or swing band) – Manhattan’s famous Rainbow Room is the latest victim of the distinctly unglamorous credit crunch…
The Rainbow Room has been as much of a New York institution as Katz’ deli or the naked cowboy on Times Square, but no pot of gold was found at the end of the rainbow and so the glitzy Rainbow Grill, which has played host to numerous legends of stage and screen, has been forced to shut up shop.
Born in the midst of the Great Depression of the 1930’s, the Rainbow Room has seen the economy come full circle and fall from starry highs of champagne celebrities to the miserable lows of the credit crunch.
It has stood as a symbol of elegance for more than 70 years, coming to be considered the main destination for special events.
Frank Sinatra once showed up on the same night as Bob Dylan and unruly Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards even donned a tie to see a Marianne Faithfull show there.
The Cipriani family, the restaurateurs famed for starting Harry’s Bar in Venice and who have run the Rainbow Grill since 1998, is pulling down the shutters on the restaurant, citing tough times and a dispute with the Rainbow Room’s landlord Tishman Speyer Properties.
“It’s a very difficult decision to make, given the sort of status of the Rainbow Room as one of these quote-unquote New York City icons,†said Ben Branham, a Spokesman for the Cipriani restaurant empire.
“The move is made, definitely, as one of protecting the venue but around 30 to 40 of the Rainbow Room’s 120 workers will lose their jobs,†added Branham.
The famed Art Deco bar and ballroom with revolving dance floor and striking city views are staying open. For now.
Tishman Spokesman Robert Lawson said, “The Rainbow Room is one of our city’s great institutions, and we will immediately seek another great restaurateur to operate the space in the first-class manner that New Yorkers and visitors deserve.â€
So, is the closure in fact more to do with the landlord/tenant dispute than with the economic crisis? Apparently, Cipriani was four months behind on its whopping £580,000 -a-month rent for the location.
The Rainbow Room has been a dazzling fantasy and now it has had to face the reality of these troubled times.
It’s just a shame economic troubles don’t melt like lemon drop.
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