union square

SF Chefs Brings Foodies To San Francisco In August

Food and wine lovers will converge in San Francisco in August for SF Chefs 2010, a four-day festival of flavor running August 9-15 in Union Square. Northern California remains a trendsetter when in it comes to food and wine trend and has formed a community that is very supportive of the craft and sustainability movements in food, wine and spirits.

The main tasting tent will be in Union Square, where chefs, wine makers and distillers will showcase local products. The schedule also includes special classes and seminars that feature local farmers, ranchers, chefs, winemakers, distillers, media, luminaries, authors, vintners, mixologists and culinary experts discussing the subjects they know best. A Top Chef happy hour features the Top Chefs of SF reunion. Tyler Florence and Elizabeth Falkner will team up against Jamie Lauren and Chris Cosentino in a food face-off.

SFChefs 2010 will support the Golden Gate Restaurant Association Scholarship Foundation which grants financial scholarships to students from the Bay Area entering culinary and hospitality programs. The event also has a goal of being a zero waste event. All paper products will be recycled and all disposable silverware and glassware is made from corn resin and will be composted after use. Tickets for the Grand Tasting Tent are $125 and individual tickets for classes and demonstrations start at $20. More details on the SF Chefs website.

[via Inside Scoop SF]

Tags: northern california, san francisco, top chef, tyler florence, union square

W Union Square Saved From Second Foreclosure Sale

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

A few months ago Dubai-based Istithmar lost control of the W New York Union Square hotel during a foreclosure auction. One of the property's lenders LEM Mezzanine was named the winning bidder for just $2 million but taking on $212 million in debt. Now the entity formed by LEM Mezzanine, Hotels Union Square Mezz 1 LLC, has filed for bankruptcy to avoid a second foreclosure auction.

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale, which held a $60 million loan on the property, was planning to foreclose on the property on Wednesday. Crains reports that Hotels Union Square Mezz 1 reported debts of between $100 million and $501 million. A spokesperson for LEM said that the company is still working on restructuring the hotel's debt. The 20-story hotel, which opened in 2000 was bought by Istithmar in 2006 for $285 million.The hotel remains open for business and is currently offering a special of rates from $289 per night for arrivals Thursday - Saturday.

Tags: hotel foreclosure, hotel foreclosures, hotels in trouble, istithmar, Istithmar World, new york, union square, w hotel

Dubai-Based Fund Loses W Union Square Hotel

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The fallout from the Dubai cash crunch seems to have begun. Dubai-based Istithmar lost control of the W New York Union Square hotel during a foreclosure auction on Tuesday. The Real Deal reports that one of the property's lenders LEM Mezzanine, a private equity fund holding a junior portion of the mezzanine debt bid $2 million for the debt on the hotel which Istithmar bought in 2006 for $285 million. Istithmar had also submitted a bid of $2.1 million but they had asked for certain loan changes and so LEM was named the winning bidder taking on $212 million in debt. The hotel will continue on as usual and LEM is banking on an eventual upturn in the tourism market.

What will Istithmar unload next? Two potential targets seem to be Barney's New York which has been rumored to be for sale for a long time. The problem is that no one is willing for pay what Istithmar paid for it ($942 million in 2007) especially at a time when department stores have been going through a deep and painful purge. This year's holiday season could be key for the department store brand. Another target could be the Queen Elizabeth 2, the luxury liner which is supposed to become a floating hotel. Istithmar also owns shares in Yacht Haven Grande, a mega-marina and resort complex in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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Tags: dubai, istithmar, istithmar world, IstithmarWorld, new york city, NewYorkCity, union square, UnionSquare, w hotel, WHotel

Prada Opens New San Francisco Flagship Store

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Prada lovers have a new place to play. A new flagship store has been opened in San Francisco's Union Square shopping area. The new store was designed by architect Roberto Baciocchi and has entrances on Post Street, Grant Avenue and Maiden Lane. It takes the place of the smaller women's-only Prada boutique on Geary Street. This new store offers the full range of merchandise for men and women including custom tailoring.

The retail area is on a single floor of approximately 5650 square feet and linen cloth in Prada's pale green hue covers the walls and furnishings. The women's area features bright colors and curved seating upholstered in lilac velvet and steel wile the men's area has palisander wood furniture, polished steel elements, and dark brown velvet seating. The store is part of Prada's initiative to have flagship stores in all of the famed shopping locations where they do business worldwide. Store interior shots can be found at Sfilate.com

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Tags: entertainment-awards, prada, san francisco, union square