Bad news from Batali and Bastianich land: Dr. Vino drops the bomb that several of the group’s restaurants, including Babbo, Eataly and Del Posto, may be in danger of losing their liquor license, which would mean no more booze during dinner.
An item posted to the agenda for an SLA meeting happening on March 25th notes that there will be a discussion on “interlocking interest” and “false material statement” which is likely related to the fact that partner Joe Bastianich is a wine importer who sells his own wine at the restaurants. Conflict of interest and such.
If they found guilty, the SLA will impose a $500,000 civil penalty, six month suspension of Eataly Wine LLC together with removal of Principal Lidia Bastianich from Eataly Wine LLC.
In a nutshell: no booze at the restaurants for six months.
Meanwhile, the group tells Eater, “EATALY and B&B HG have been and remain committed to fully addressing any concerns the Board may have.”
Stay tuned for more.
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