Uptown Pink Tea Cup Plans Scrapped for Upscale Wine Lounge
December 15, 2011 7:03am | By Jeff Mays, DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
Auberge Laurent owner Lawrence Page says he wants his new wine lounge to be about good conversation and good friends. (DNAinfo/Jeff Mays)
HARLEM — Auberge Laurent, the name of Lawrence Page's new upscale French wine lounge on Lenox Avenue, translates loosely as "Lawrence's House or Inn."
Stepping inside the location at 120th Street, it is filled with personal effects from the restaurateur's homes. There's a metal trough from his farm and a bear skin rug, along with funky wall paper.
"I designed it like a house, like a Parisian living room," said Page. And he's having a New Year's Eve housewarming party in his living room that will serve as the lounge's grand opening.
"This is for people who want to enjoy good conversation, fun, good friends and good wine," said Page.
The lounge's new concept comes after Page was forced to abandon plans to open a Harlem outpost of the beloved Village soul food restaurant The Pink Tea Cup. Page, who is also a movie producer, has owned The Pink Teacup since 2010 when he revived it after it had closed.
Auberge Laurent, an upscale wine lounge on Lenox Avenue, is scheduled to open on New Year's Eve. (DNAinfo/Jeff Mays)
When he leased the Lenox Avenue location, Page thought it was eligible for a full liquor license, which he would need to make the Pink Teacup viable, and had been granted one in the past. But because the location is too close to a church, he found out that the eligibility was in question.
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