AVONDALE — A Lettuce Entertain You spokeswoman said Wednesday evening that the restaurant group is not partnering with the Eclipse Restaurant Lounge as the owner had claimed.
Eclipse closed abruptly closed its doors Saturday and fired the entire staff.
Eclipse owner Rais Usmani said Tuesday that he planned to renovate the restaurant and reopen next month, and said he would be partnering with the well-known Chicago-based restaurant group.
But a Lettuce Entertain You spokewoman said in an email Wednesday that this is not the case.
"We are NOT in any sort of partnership with him, nor plan to be," she wrote.
Usmani said later Wednesday that he had simply hoped to partner with Lettuce Entertain You, but acknowledged a deal was never finalized.
The restaurant had been the subject of numerous neighborhood complaints.