Charles in Charge -- Revisited

Regular shipments of bottled water and booze find their way into the not-yet-officially-open restaurant Charles (click to chug a few bottles)

Early in October, Eater reported on a pre-opening dinner at a new restaurant at 234 West 4th Street (at W. 10th Street), which had previously been home to

Les Deux Gamins, once the flagship of a mighty fleet. The new restaurant was called Charles, and the consulting chef was to be John DeLucie of the Waverly Inn. Fair enough -- a clone of the Inn just a few blocks away, and another place destined to be parked up with idling limos all evening.

Well, I got news for everyone. Even though the windows remain papered over, crowds have been standing outside the front door every evening sucking furtively on cigs for the last few months, while regular shipments of booze and bottled water made their way down the basement hatchway, as evidenced by the above picture. I assumed the place was being operated semi-legally as a sort of speakeasy, and kept my mouth shut.

Then a friend--after seeing the original of this post earlier today--emailed me to let me know the place has been operating as a fully licensed restaurant all along, while keeping the windows paperered up, as if the place is perpertually not yet open. This is presumably done to discourage the likes of you and me from trying to eat there.

Fine with me, assholes! I promise never to eat in your restaurant. Meanwhile, the boarded up place is a neighborhood eyesore, with the tattered remains of the awning from the previous establishment flapping in the breeze, and the window boxes broken and unmended.