Wylie Dufresne waves white flag, to close famed restaurant

Chef forced to shutter Lower East Side landmark WD-50 due to planned development

From left: Wylie Dufresne, 50 Clinton Street and a dish at WD~50
From left: Wylie Dufresne, 50 Clinton Street and a dish at WD~50

Wylie Dufresne, one of the city’s most celebrated chefs, will be closing his Lower East Side restaurant to make space for a new development.

WD-50, a molecular gastronomy restaurant that opened in 2003, will be closing at the end of November. Dufresne announced the closing on Twitter, writing that November 30 will be “our final night of service. Come celebrate with us for the next 173 days.”

Dufresne, 44, told The New York Times that Icon Realty Management is planning to build a new building at the site at 50 Clinton Street.

“It’s a real estate thing,” he told the paper.

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While Dufresne said he will be opening up in a new location in the city, he doesn’t yet know where that will be.

“I have a great love of fine dining and I hope to continue that,” Dufresne told The New York Times. “We don’t quite know yet where we’re going. It’s like they say, ‘You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.'” [NYT] – Claire Moses