The Maisonette
39°06′10.33″N 84°30′40.31″W / 39.1028694°N 84.5111972°W
The Maisonette, now defunct, was North America’s most highly rated restaurant before it closed its doors on July 25, 2005.[1][2]
Owned and operated by the Comisar family and located since 1966[3] at 114 E. 6th Street in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Maisonette boasted the longest running streak of five-star awards, the highest designation given by Mobil Travel Guide.[4] That streak ended at 41 years when the Maisonette closed. Opinions vary on what caused the restaurant to lose its luster. Fewer people frequented the luxury restaurant, operating costs increased, and the City of Cincinnati refused to offer a tax break to the downtown landmark. The Maisonette had plans to move to Kenwood, a suburb of Cincinnati, where it would reinvent its image, hoping to attract a more modern, younger crowd; however, the Hamilton County Planning Commission rejected zoning for the proposed Sycamore Square project, a $60 million development that included a relocated Maisonette as the anchor tenant.[5] Instead, the top-rated French cuisine restaurant auctioned off all of its assets through a two-day auction hosted by the Great American Group auction firm. The most expensive item sold at auction was the Maisonette's name/logo, which sold for $35,000.
The restaurant originally opened in 1949.[3] In 1964 the restaurant won its first 5-star rating from Mobil.[3] In 2013, the Phoenix Restaurant Group located in Cincinnati, OH acquired the trademark for The Maisonette in order to preserve and safeguard its history and reputation.
Chefs
Awards
- Distinguished Restaurants of North America
- Mobil Travel Guide Five Star Award
- Restaurants and Institutions Ivy Award
- American Automobile Association Four Diamond Award
- Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
- Wine Spectator Grand Award Top 100
See also
References
- ^ "Who is Nat Comisar?". The Cincinnati Enquirer. June 9, 2004. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
- ^ "Comisar Returns to Maisonette (Michael E. Comisar)". Highbeam Business. November 27, 1995. Archived from the original on September 29, 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "The Rise & Fall of Maisonette". Cincy Magazine. Archived from the original on November 7, 2014.
- ^ Felix Winternitz & Sacha DeVroomen Bellman (2007). Insiders' Guide to Cincinnati. Globe Pequot. p. 13. ISBN 9780762741809. Retrieved 2013-05-08.
- ^ Aldrich, Ian (Nov 2005). "Final Course". Cincinnati Magazine. p. 68. Retrieved 2013-05-08.