By Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
TRIBECA — Edgy downtown restaurant Il Matto dropped its plans to bring in a DJ and stay open later after a vociferous opposition from neighbors this week.
Neighbors said they worried the well-reviewed, but financially struggling Il Matto was trying to rebrand itself as a club to recusitate its business. Known for its savory cocktails and offbeat cuisine, the restaurant at Church and White streets closed this week to give the owners time to rethink the concept.
Alex Lloyd, who lives directly above Il Matto, said he wanted to see the restaurant succeed, but not at the expense of its neighbors. Lloyd, 31, said that for the first six months after Il Matto opened, the music was so loud that he could hear the lyrics from his apartment, despite his many complaints to the owners.
"[They] so pointedly and aggressively and over such a long term said neighbors are not a priority," said Lloyd, who presented a letter from his building's board to Community Board 1 Wednesday night. "We're adamantly against the extension of hours."
After several other neighbors spoke against the changes at CB1's Tribeca Committee meeting, owner Gian Perugini and chef Matteo Boglione agreed to maintain their original hours, when they stop serving alcohol at 11 p.m. on weeknights and midnight on Friday and Saturday. They also agreed not to hire a DJ.
"We want to be a successful restaurant," Perugini said, adding that he never wanted to turn Il Matto into a club. Perugini promised to keep a closer eye on the establishment from now on to ensure it wasn't causing any problems.
Perugini and Boglione also presented plans to change the layout of Il Matto, in response to complaints that it was uncomfortable.
"People came because of the reviews, [but] then they never came back," Boglione said.
The owners will replace the S-shaped bar with a traditional straight one and will add more wood and heavy drapes "to achieve that family ambiance that Tribeca is all about," Boglione and Perugini said in a written proposal.
They will also add soundproofing and more comfortable seating and will offer a new menu of fried, hot and cold foods, including more traditional items like fried calamari and home-cut French fries.
The neighbors did not object to these changes, and CB1's Tribeca Committee took an advisory vote to approve them.
