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Pommes Frites faces liquor license hurdle at new West Village location

Pommes Frites is facing another obstacle in its plans to reopen.

After seeing their longstanding business have to close following the East Village fire that destroyed multiple buildings, owners Suzanne Levinson and Omer Shorshi found a new spot in the West Village on MacDougal Street. It’s much bigger, and the owners want to sell beer and wine until closing time at 4 a.m. 

The local Community Board, which provides recommendations to the State Liquor Authority (the agency which grants licenses to businesses) objects.

According to DNAinfo, the board wants Pommes Frites to cease serving alcohol at midnight or 1 a.m., but the owners say that will kill their business. 

“We need the income to stay afloat,” Shorshi said. “The rent here compared to what it is on Second Avenue is like, triple.”

To which one board member replied, “That’s not our problem.”

The Community Board says the area is already saturated with bars and restaurants selling booze into the wee hours. They unanimously voted to ask the SLA to deny the liquor application, but the vote is only advisory. Stay tuned.

In other Pommes Frites news, the IndieGoGo campaign to raise funds for the new location ends in 17 days. It’s only 34% funded.