Dans le Noir Surfaces Once Again, This Time in Midtown

Once more unto the breach ...

Speaking ofFrench fiascoes, it looks like Dans le Noir, the Paris-based restaurant chain that hires blind waiters to serve customers under the cover of total darkness, has surfaced yet again, this time in the old Andrews Coffee Shop space on West 38th Street.

Eater snagged a shot of the storefront, which bears a sign announcing the restaurant's arrival this fall. Based on its prior history, you may not want to hold your breath. To recap:

- In August 2009, Dans le Noir announced its plans to come to New York with a location in the East or West Village. The restaurant's website claimed that it would open before the end of the year. It didn't.

- In August 2010, the chain signaled its intentions to take over the old Tonic space on Norfolk Street. It was supposed to open in November. It didn't.

- Instead, in November 2010, representatives from Dans le Noir showed up at Tribeca's CB1 meeting to discuss their plans to open a location in the neighborhood. The proposed restaurant would have 98 seats and communal tables, refuse entry to children under 15, serve a $65 prix-fixe menu, and be outfitted with panic buttons. The restaurant's reps told the board that they expected tourists to comprise 40 percent of their clientele. If the restaurant ever opened. It didn't.

Which brings us to Midtown, where the restaurant will have no trouble sucking tourists into its darkened confines. If, of course, it actually opens.

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