Since Savannah Supper Club in Costa Mesa closed last week, rumors have been floating around about the status of its better-known sister brand, French 75.
Both restaurants and the two remaining Savannah eateries in Laguna Niguel and Huntington Beach are owned by Newport Beach-based Culinary Adventures, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year. As part of its restructuring, Culinary has been unloading unprofitable eateries such as Wilhelm’s Chophouse and Savannah Supper Club (formerly Chat Noir.)
The latest two being scrapped from Culinary’s dwindling portfolio: the last two French 75 restaurants in Orange County. One will be rebranded, while the other will operate under a new owner, Culinary Chief executive John Martin confirmed Wednesday.
Here’s what is happening:
French 75 in Laguna Beach has been sold to a new owner, and it will continue to operate as is, said Martin who, along with celebrity chef David Wilhelm, founded Culinary Adventures in 1997.
The Laguna Beach French 75 will be the only one left in Orange County as the Fashion Island restaurant will soon disappear and reopen under the name Brasserie Pascal.
Chef Pascal
The new French eatery is being developed privately by Martin, Culinary’s Chief financial officer Bob Rourke and popular Orange County chef, Pascal Olhats. The French-born chef, who owns Tradition by Pascal in Newport Beach, will be devising a new look and menu for the brasserie.
“I can’t wait to see what he going to do,” said Martin.
The new bistro will be less formal and should change its name in six to eight weeks, he said. Until the switch, it will continue to operate as French 75.
More news on the shuttered Savannah: Martin said the Costa Mesa eatery was sold to a new owner who plans to reopen it in two months. He declined to reveal the name of the new owner.
“They are known and experienced (restaurateurs), but I can’t say anymore,” he said. ” It (the restaurant) will be coming back to life in a slightly different form. It will be something totally different.”
Culinary Adventures was forced to file for bankruptcy protection last summer after expanding its upscale fine dining concepts too aggressively during a down economy. At its peak, it had nine restaurants.
Martin said the proceeds from the sale of the restaurants will allow Culinary to pay off its creditors and emerge from bankruptcy later this year. Culinary Adventures will continue to operate the two Savannah restaurants in O.C. because they are profitable. Next month, Culinary plans to move its headquarters to smaller offices in Santa Ana.
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I certainly won’t miss them. The couple of times I went there the food was mediocre and the service was down right terrible. We asked for some guidance on the menu and were basically scoffed at. Not guidance on what the food is, but which food is good for someone with allergies.
Good. The food at these “French” restaurants were a far cry from the decent French restaurants in the area, such as the Pescadou Bistro in Newport. The food at French 75 was bland, service was meh, and the place was very pretentious.
These fancy, expensive restaurants will have a hard time staying in business when no one is going. Who wants to spend $150 for dinner??
It’s all about finding “deals” right now, and those places that offer deals will stay in business at this time.
Actually, before Savannah closed it was offering an amazing $10 filet mignon dinner deal. I believe, the other remaining Culinary restaurants are still offering that deal. So you might investigate.
Nancy-
$10 for a filet? You can’t get a filet anywhere for $10. The quality must be awful. I love a good filet and I will pay for a good cut. For $10 what is included? What about the $14 appt.? And the $12 side? And the $35 bottle of decent wine? And the $12 dessert? It all adds up for a dinner for two.
And yes, there are people who still can afford a dinner for $150 Lee Lee, however there are many, including myself who have decided to skip those expensive dinners (for now). And when people take that out of their spending budget the restaurants are affected by it. Why else would a restaurant close up??!!
Nancy, keep up the good work…great info you provide.
Thanks Rob. And, I do think French 75 is also doing the $10 deal too at Fashion.
Rob
The $10 filet is actually an outstanding deal! The filet is prime choice meat and it couldn’t be cooked better. It does come with a side, I had the mashed potatoes. I know I couldn’t buy the same quality of meat and serve it with a side for the same price. Why not enjoy it out and let someone else cook it for me?
$10 deal also comes with a healthy dose of green beans
The one time my husband and I dined at French 75 in Laguna was a very pleasurable experience. Our waiter was very knowledgeable, very helpful and provided stellar service. Oh, and there are definitely people out there who can still afford a $150 dinner. We’re not one of them. But not everyone has been affected by this economy. The Laguna Beach location will be fine.
I agree that not everyone has been affected by this economy. I realize a lot of people have, but the way the media talk and the way people perceive things they hear, it seems EVERYONE has been affected. Simply not true. In fact, the majority of us haven’t been affected. So I agree, there are plenty of people who can afford to go out. The difference now is there isn’t as much room for ‘luxury’ as there was before. When people (people who couldn’t really afford it even during the good economy — think using their house as an ATM) pretended to be part of the upper class ‘luxury’ was everywhere. Now it won’t be. It’s going to go back to the way it used to be. And that leaves the amount of room for nice restaurants that there used to be before the fake wealth era. French 75 and the rest of his bogus restaurants were part of that fake wealth era. I guess the Laguna location will have different owners who may or may not get it, we’ll see.
Good riddance. Chat Noir, French 75 and all the other Culinary Adventure places were overdecorated and overpriced with pretty ordinary food. I won’t miss them.
THIS IS WHAT HAPPEN WHEN RESTAURANTS BECOME GREEDY, IT BACK FIRE. THESE PLACES ARE WAY TOO EXPENSIVE TO EAT THERE. ALL THE FOOD PORTION IS THE SAME AS THE FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS, VERY,VERY,VERY,VERY SMALL. IT LIKE HAVING A HAPPY MEAL OR BETTER ( REMEMBER THE COMMERCIAL– WHERE IS THE BEEF! )
……….no, not everyone is hurting NIck, however less and less people are spending big bucks on expensive dinners. There is no other reason why these expensive restaurants are closing down and why the simple $5 meal deal restaurants are booming. More and more people just don’t have the cash. Period.
Uh, that was exactly my point. That less people are spending money on expensive dinner. You missed my entire point. My point is that for the last several years a bunch of wannabe rich people would spend money they didn’t really have (using their house as an ATM) and now that’s not happening anymore. So there is less people spending money… and less room for expensive restaurants. My link to Culinary Adventures in that is that Culinary Adventures rode the wave of fake rich people and now it came crashing down. HIs restaurants were just part of that fake wealth that was out there. And now were headed back to a normal state of affairs a la pre-2005.
I eat at Savannah Chop House often and I am not sure which meal you are referring to because the $10 filet is the real deal. I gladly paid full price for this steak prior to tightening my budget. I can’t imagine that a $10 filet is making them any money. The filet is consistently tender, flavorful, and perfectly prepared! At this price I can have one of the outstanding martinis on the menu. No way I could do the same at home for $10!!
I dined at French 75’s bar last evening and had 2 champagne cocktails, split 2 appetizers with a friend. My bill was $25.00. The happy hour is amazing and the food in Laguna has always been fabulous, just like the service.
My wife and I went to French 75 at Fashion Island a few weeks ago. Absolutely atrocious. I guess you kind of get what you pay for and I did have the Filet Mignon for ten bucks. Still, I don’t understand why my vegetables were undercooked or why the service was SO bad. I think someone commenting (above) said the filet was a good deal. This should be true but it’s just not. The quality of the meat was noticeably substandard. The general impression is that they’ve just given up at every level. They’re definitely not taking great pride in their work in the kitchen and the wait staff is just rude. First, with a room full of empty tables they sit us next to group of empty, veneered,cackling hens (straight out of OC Housewives). Then,after a bad dining experience (part of which involved my waitress disappearing into outer space - leaving me to wait at the bar to pay for our dinner) the hostess suggested I leave the remainder of my $250.00 gift card as a tip. Seriously, you have to work to be that bad.
I DON:T MISS IT. THEY ARE OVERPRICE, SMALL PORTION FOODS, AND MOST FOOD ARE FATTEN. NO WONDER THE CHEF IS SO FAT.
Savannah in Laguna Niguel seems to be still doing well. Packed almost every night and offering the $10. menu. We go about twice a month with the family and our bill is under $80 for a family of five. I have the beef filet or the crab legs and sometimes both. It served with a healthy portion of potatoes and veggies. I highly recommend, for the price its the best fine dining value in town.