We suspected something was up when Chef Marco Ferraro was replaced at Wynwood Kitchen recently (though, truly, we felt the caliber of his food was markedly better at Wish), but it still came as a surprise when an insider told us he had left the kitchen at Wish this week, too. His public relations rep confirmed it ywsterday, stating, "Chef Marco Ferraro, no longer there, is exploring many opportunities." We can attempt to read into that, but why bother? The guy's gone. Sob.
Perhaps his departure justifies that Wish has also decided to stop serving dinner until late fall. This little tidbit was explained in a statement from restaurant co-owner, Jessica Goldman Srebnick, COO of Goldman Properties Hospitality Division. Hmm. How 'bout we provide details of the statement along with our interpretation:
Statement: "Wish will be closed for dinner service through October/November 2011, at which time Goldman Properties will determine the next evolution of the restaurant."
Short Order: You locals aren't eating here often enough and there aren't enough tourists to sustain us until season returns. Oh, and when you come back, this place may not look or taste like Wish any longer. But it may be something much cooler. Like Wynwood Kitchen cool. But waaay more chic. We're gonna see if Shepard Fairey has some spare time over the summer.
Statement: "In the interim, Wish will continue to provide breakfast and lunch service, hotel room service and pool service. In addition, the Wish bar will be open nightly providing 'lite bites' and the restaurant and property will continue to be available for private events."
Short Order: Guests, don't worry. You'll still get your freakin' meals. Corporate event planners -- we've got your back, too. Just because Ferraro's gone doesn't mean we can't whip up barrels of good grub at a moment's notice. We're the Goldmans for goodness' sakes. We've got more connections than AT&T.
Statement: "We are grateful to the thousands of loyal customers that we have had pleasure of serving for the last 13 years and look forward to bringing you new and exciting concepts as we have throughout the past 40 years of our company's history."
Short Order: Unlike those other fly-by-night, crummy restaurants that come to town with a lot of flash but don't last, we've survived all the craziness brought on by this century's first decade. We've lasted through hurricanes, economic depressions, and much more drama than, frankly, we care to recall. And we also fed you at the hands of talented chefs, including Andrea Curto-Randazzo (Top Chef), Michael Bloise (SushiSamba), E. Michael Reidt (Area 31), and Marco Ferraro (TBD). So come in for lunch, eat up and stay tuned. We've got a few tricks up our sleeves.
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