By Nicole Breskin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
WEST VILLAGE — The pork chops are almost back, but this time they could be served with a mint julep and a touch of the blues.
Beloved soul food restaurant Pink Tea Cup is inching closer to reopening at a new space in the West Village after being forced to shutter its 55-year-old restaurant earlier this year
This time around, the new owner want to expand the restaurant’s offerings to include a bar and live music, a move that was approved unanimously by the full board of Community Board 2 on Thursday.
The former Pink Tea Cup on Grove Street — frequented by such stars as Bill Cosby, Susan Sarandon and Whoopi Goldberg — was best known for its gravy-smothered pork chops and sumptuous grits. And even though Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye had been loyal customers, they never sang or drank the hard stuff at Pink Tea Cup.
“Pink Tea Cup is going to be 100 times different and better,” new owner Lawrence Page told DNAinfo. “Drinking, entertaining and eating makes up the soul culture. It’s not just about the food.”
When the restaurant reopens at its new location at 88 Seventh Ave., just around the corner from its old space, diners can expect to see quintessentially Southern cocktails on the menu, such as Alabama Slammers and Down Home Punch.
Page also said new management has been approaching old-time and contemporary soul singers, such as Alicia Keys and Erykah Badu, for guest appearances at the restaurant’s live music performances.
“It will be a great addition,” said Page. “It’s part of the experience to feel how the drink and some good blues jazz finishes the meal off.”
Pink Tea Cup had been located at 42 Grove St., near Bleecker Street, when third-generation owner Lisa Ford announced in December that the store would shutter due to tough economic times and the rising cost of operating the business.
Following an outcry from its longtime regulars and a group that dubbed itself “Save the Pink Tea Cup,” the restaurant grabbed the attention of Page, a Manhattan independent filmmaker and Birmingham, Ala., native who owns the Actor’s Playhouse just down the street from the new space. He decided he couldn’t let the soul spot go.
However, Page acknowledged changes to the new restaurant would be substantial and that half of the former employees would not be returning.
Contrary to earlier reports, former Pink Tea Cup manager Vincent Pinkney will no longer head up the restaurant and a new chef will man the kitchen, serving up old favorites while adding new items like bacon-wrapped jumbo shrimp with gouda cheese and sweet potato pancakes with pecan sauce.
With construction mostly complete on the space and only cosmetic touches being added, Page estimates the restaurant will be open for business by May.
“I think we’re there,” he said.
