Contrary to Internet rumors over at the NewRaleigh blog, the principals of the beloved seafood restaurant Fins are happy to be in business on East Davie Street downtown and have no plans to close. Lisa D’Auvray, who runs the front of the house and is married to the chef, was shocked to hear of online speculation today that her restaurant was going the way of Riviera, which closed last week.
Any official comment? “I don’t know,” Lisa D’Auvray told Indy food writer Jane Hobson Snyder, laughing. “We’re surviving!”
(More than surviving: Bon Appetit just named Fins No. 2 on its Hot List for Seafood.)
Chef William called Snyder back to weigh in with his take: “To say we’re closing, there’s no way. I have no intentions of doing that. I don’t even have contingencies for that, I’m not even thinking of that right now. Gossip is gossip.”
On Riviera, and the downshifting economy that drove its demise, William D’Auvray adds: “Gorgeous, well-run, what have you, if you’re not making any money you’re not making any money, you can only hold on to it for so long … Raleigh’s got to do their job, if they want all these nice restaurants to be around, they need to patronize us, it’s real simple.”
As to the companion speculation that The Mint is not long for the capital city scene, we’re looking into it.
