Bistrot La Minette will close its doors after a final service on July 31st.

 

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Dear guests, patrons, friends,

 

It is with a heavy heart that I am announcing the closure of Bistrot La Minette. It is the end of an era not just for myself but for so many others with deep connections to the Bistrot. I started the Bistrot when I was just 30 and sixteen years later I have spent a third of my life cooking in the heat, cooling off in the walk-ins, organizing food storage, mentoring cooks and chefs, double checking invoices, telling dirty jokes, and managing the stress of being a restaurateur.

 

None of the success of the Bistrot would have been possible without my wife Peggy. She shared in all the successes but also had to endure all the pitfalls of restaurant ownership. For large swaths of time she was practically a single parent with a husband that could barely be conscious on his days off, always exhausted from the week. The mark she left on the design of the Bistrot is everywhere. While we were building the Bistrot she was very pregnant and had trouble sleeping through the night. I would wake up to sixty or more e-mails from her with photos of chairs, glasses, cutlery and paint colors. Bistrot’s authentic feel is entirely her doing. One of my fondest memories was in the months leading up to our opening sharing a bottle of rosé while our just-born infant son slept in his pack-and-play while we decided where to hang all the photos and decor in the restaurant. One of our blackboards still holds the French pronunciation lesson she gave our staff a week or so before opening. Her back-end support and love is the only reason I could have achieved this dream.

 

I would like to thank all my partners in crime over the years. The managers John Gonzalez, Brad Histand, Bret Lyons, Liz Boleslavsky, Edward Dattilo and Maureen Marchiafava who took care of the warm, inviting service and hospitality. I would also like to give a shout-out to all the chefs who helmed the kitchen while I was off working on other projects. Kenneth Bush, Grant Lloyd and Mike Maronski all held up our high standards while putting marks of their own on the menu. The employee who is dearest to me needs her own shout-out. Sabrina, our pastry chef, has been working side by side with me from many years before the Bistrot even opened. The quality of our desserts was one of the things I have been most proud of the Bistrot and it is entirely because of her. She has ways of coming up with some of the most ingenious solutions to problems and the only downside is that I can feel a bit idiotic in her presence. The cooks, sous chefs, servers, bartenders, runners, and dishwashers are too numerous to mention here but they all played a part in the execution of my vision and I thank them.

 

I should mention my first business partner who helped open the Bistrot. John Woolsey (my father) was instrumental in getting this place off the ground. His and my mother Bette’s support have been unwavering for all these years. I would also like to mention my in-laws, Christine and Marcel, who’s table have given me so much inspiration over the years. So many of the delicacies I have eaten in their house have graced our menu at one time or another.

 

Thank you to everyone who have joined us over the years. My dear friends Zoey and Patrick had their first date at the Bistrot. Now they are a family of four! I suspect they were not the only ones who’s story started at one of Bistrot’s tables. We’ve hosted weddings, anniversaries, and memorials. I’ve watched children who would come in regularly, grow up and become adults of their own. Some of our guests have become close friends and have hosted me at their houses. Some would regularly show up with a new dirty joke to share. I have really enjoyed getting to know so many people over the years. 

 

While our closure is imminent, it is not immediate. Please come and join us for a slice of France and another meal or two in the coming weeks. We intend to end on a high note, presenting the best food and service we are capable of. We will be hosting a wine dinner or two to get through some of our wine inventory so keep an eye out for announcements for those dinners. We will also be selling some of the decor and items that were very specific to the Bistrot. I will send out an e-mail in the coming weeks highlighting the items we are looking to sell.

 

Merci mille fois,

 

Peter Woolsey