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David Butler—whose background includes Campagne, Cremant, and Le Gourmand, a trifecta of marvelousness—is opening a French wine bar downtown called Le Caviste. From a review I wrote of Le Gourmand:

The sommelier at Le Gourmand, David Butler, regales the curious with thrilling (really) details about soil in France, tells sly little jokes, whispers descriptions like poetry—his expertise might fairly be described as hypnotizing. For added entertainment, you can watch him assess other tables, watch him see how his overtures go, watch him leave the boring people to each boring other. When Le Gourmand closes, he intends to open a wine bar, which will be approximately the best wine bar ever.

Now, finally, the lease has been signed for 1919 Seventh Avenue downtown—it's around the corner from Barolo, facing the new federal courthouse. Butler expects a fall opening for Le Caviste. Now we must just wait.

(Speaking of sommeliers, I watched a new documentary about them, reviewed over here. David Butler is the one mentioned there who likened a wine to "flinty soil... the strike of a match, far away." He looked far into the distance as he said it, catapulting the mind through space and time. The wine was excellent.)