Openings and closings: Le Souk opens, Librairie de France closes

From left: Le Souk opening, Librairie de France closing

English clothier-turned-restaurateur Richard Caring is opening Le Caprice in the Pierre Hotel at Two East 61st Street on the corner of Fifth Avenue. East Village hookah bar Le Souk is opening a new spot in Greenwich Village at 510 La Guardia Place between Bleecker and Houston streets. Su Casa bar and restaurant at 404 Sixth Avenue on the corner of 8th Street has officially opened. Despite earlier reports to the contrary, the old spot of East Village sports bar Bounce Deuce at 103 Second Avenue on the corner of 6th Street will not reopen as a pizza joint. New information reveals that it will, instead, open as a sports bar/pita shop called Pita Pan. The Ainsworth, a new sports bar in Chelsea, officially opened last night at 122 West 26th Street near Sixth Avenue. BLT Grill has been approved to open at the W Hotel on 123 Washington Street near the corner of Carlisle Street. The Muddy Waters Café at 2185 Seventh Avenue on the corner of 129th Street in Harlem will open this month.

Buddha Bar at 17 Little West 12th Street and Ninth Avenue has changed its name to Ajna Bar, after losing a lawsuit with its former parent company.

Despite closing rumors, the owner of the Griffin lounge at 50 Gansevoort Street near Greenwich Street said that he has no plans to shut down.

Hope for an Upper West Side Trader Joe’s is waning. While initial reports showed that the specialty food spot was considering a new location at 72nd Street and Broadway, a representative for Trader Joe’s denies this.

In Brooklyn, Mimi’s Hummus owner Avi Shuker is opening a new wine bar and market next door to his Ditmas Park spot at 1209 Cortelyou Road on East 12th Street. The opening of Bon Chon at 104 John Street near Bridge Street has been approved.

After 74 years, the Librairie de France at 610 Fifth Avenue on the corner of 49th Street in Rockefeller Center will close Sept. 30. Lower East Side spot Doughnut Plant at 379 Grand Street on the corner of Clinton Street will be closed through Labor Day. After sustaining a restaurant fire in July, Comida will reportedly not reopen its doors at 461 Columbus Avenue on the corner of 82nd Street. Giambelli 50th Ristorante at 46 East 50th Street between Park and Madison avenues has closed, reportedly due to an eminent domain takeover by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Delicious on the Slope at 641 President Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues has closed its doors.