Recession hits the Happy Valley?

Well, of course I lied and haven't posted my pictures yet and I'm still working today so I'm just driving by. I'll at least post a couple of pics tonight if I have to keep my eyes open with toothpicks.

Meanwhile, I was reading the Gazette yesterday and see The Del Raye is closing down and Claudio is going to turn it into another sports bar. I can see why they would be having trouble. Five years ago it cost about $100 for dinner for two with a couple of drinks but I was surprised to see Claudio's restaurant empire is in something of a shambles what with unpaid taxes and unpaid city service fees.

Even more surprising was seeing Bobby McGovern say he was downgrading Packards menu to more affordable items. I never thought of Packards as a high end dinner venue. Noho was always kind of recession proof. If these guys are having trouble, then we're all in for a rough ride.