Florent was an all-night

diner A diner is a type of restaurant found across the United States and Canada, as well as parts of Western Europe and Australia. Diners offer a wide range of cuisine, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a comb ...

in the

Meatpacking District The Meatpacking District is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan that runs from West 14th Street south to Gansevoort Street, and from the Hudson River east to Hudson Street. The Meatpacking Business Improvement District alo ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

that opened in 1985 and closed in 2008.

History

Florent was located at 69

Gansevoort Street Gansevoort may refer to any one of the following: __NOTOC__ People * Guert Gansevoort (1812–1868), US Navy officer * Harmen Harmense Gansevoort (ca. 1634–1709), early American settler, landowner and beer brewer * Leonard Gansevoort (1751–1810 ...

, one of the few remaining

sett A sett or set is a badger's den. It usually consists of a network of tunnels and numerous entrances. The largest setts are spacious enough to accommodate 15 or more animals with up to of tunnels and as many as 40 openings. Such elaborate setts ...

-paved streets in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In 1985 Florent Morellet took over the R&L Restaurant, which had opened in 1943, and renamed it Florent. The following January, a reporter for ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

'' magazine referred to it as "New York's hottest downtown eating spot". Florent was a hub of gay New York. Morellet was diagnosed

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

-positive in 1987 and used to post his

T-cell T cells (also known as T lymphocytes) are an important part of the immune system and play a central role in the adaptive immune response. T cells can be distinguished from other lymphocytes by the presence of a T-cell receptor (TCR) on their ce ...

count on the restaurant's wall menu along with the daily specials. It attracted a highly eclectic clientele. It was also known for its

Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. It is referred to, both legally and commonly, as () in French, though ''la fête nationale'' is also u ...

celebrations, which started in 1989, the year of the French bicentennial. Other major annual celebrations were

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

, and Oscar Night. Morellet campaigned for the preservation of the neighborhood and became known as "Unofficial Mayor of the Meatpacking District"; he preferred "Unofficial Queen". The graphic design for the restaurant was designed by

Tibor Kalman Tibor George Kalman (; July 6, 1949 – May 2, 1999) was an American graphic designer of Hungarian origin, well known for his work as editor-in-chief of ''Colors'' magazine. Early life Kalman was born on July 6, 1949, in Budapest, to parents ...

and Douglas Riccardi from M&Co, in exchange for free meals; examples are now in the

MoMA The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

design collection. Florent Morellet, the eponymous owner of the restaurant, is the youngest son of French conceptual artist,

François Morellet François Morellet (30 April 1926 – 10 May 2016) was a French contemporary abstract painter, sculptor, and light artist. His early work prefigured minimal art and conceptual art and he played a prominent role in the development of geometrica ...

. Erica De Mane, the

food journalist Food journalism is a field of journalism that focuses on news and current events related to food, its production, and the cultures of producing and consuming that food. Typically, food journalism includes a scope broader than the work of food crit ...

and cookbook writer, began her cooking career at Florent in 1985. Florent closed on June 29, 2008, after the landlord raised the rent considerably. In the last weeks, Morellet held five parties themed after the

stages of grief According to the model of the five stages of grief, or the Kübler-Ross model, those experiencing sudden grief following an abrupt realization (shock) go through five emotions: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Critics of t ...

Films

In May 2011, Magic Lantern released ''Florent: Queen of the Meat Market'', a documentary history of the restaurant directed by David Sigal. ,

Alan Cumming Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a Scottish actor, writer and presenter. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, two Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and an Olivier Award. He re ...

is planning to co-produce with Sigal and star in a

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

biography of Morellet focusing on Florent.

References

External links

''Florent: Queen of the Meat Market''
on the

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Florent Defunct French restaurants in Manhattan Defunct diners in the United States Diners in New York (state) Meatpacking District, Manhattan 1985 establishments in New York City Restaurants established in 1985 2008 disestablishments in New York (state) Restaurants disestablished in 2008

History

Films

See also

References

External links