Shoptalk has learned that the Economy Shoe Shop (1663 Argyle Street, 423-7463) has given up its back half. “The Atrium”—containing two party rooms and some of the storied restaurant’s coolest nooks—was not owned by Shoe Shop big cheese Victor Syperek, but in fact by the King of Barrington, Lou Reznick. “He doesn’t seem to know what he wants to do with the space,” says Syperek. “He won’t sign a lease so our hands are tied.”
The good news is that Syperek is just using this time to update the popular eatery with renovations that “are going to be ongoing,” including centralizing the bathrooms and utilizing natural gas that will free space currently occupied by propane tanks. “We’re not going to lose a lot of capacity,” he says, and adds that the menu is also being changed with a new head chef installed, though he assures us the ‘Shoe will continue to offer it’s Best of Food readers’ poll Hall of Fame nachos.
This article appears in Oct 22-28, 2009.
Shoptalk has since learned that the new chef at the ‘Shoe is James Freeman, formerly of Tempest in Wolfville.