The Knife

Mortons to close: We figured as much

The Los Angeles Times confirms what The Knife heard two months ago: Mortons has hosted its last Oscar party.

The restaurant lost its lease and it will close at the end of the year to become the Los Angeles outpost of New York's Soho House.

There's bound to be a certain degree of hand-wringing here -- Mortons is the Vanity Fair Party, old Hollywood, tradition-in-a-town-that-has-precious-little, et. al.

Yep, all that. But have you been to Mortons lately? I don't think we're going to be missing much.

Nothing is wrong with the restaurant, but beyond its storied reputation, there isn't much right. The booths are comfy and the servers are pro, but the menu is as dull and innocuous as its French-vanilla walls. The last time I was at Mortons, the restaurant had been rented out for hotel launch (and when an independent restaurant is willing to close its doors for a low-wattage private event, it's often a sign of poor health).

Like earthquakes, ageism is a fact of life in LA and restaurants aren't immune. However, it's not a death sentence, either. Campanile's doing just fine, thanks. So's Kate Mantalini and The Grill and Orso. And none of these places have employed wholesale makeovers. So, I ask you: what's the difference?

BREAKING - MORTONS, HOME TO VANITY FAIR OSCAR PARTY, MAY LOSE ITS LEASE

My source said it was a done deal. When I called Mortons for confirmation, the woman who answered the phone (ADD: Pamela Morton, who owns the restaurant with her twin brother, Hard Rock Cafe founder Harry Peter Morton?) said, "We don't know what's happening. We're trying to buy it. We're in limbo."

She hung up before I could get her name.

The story is, as they say, developing.

UPDATE: Things are tough all over, according to this article that ran in Saturday's Los Angeles Times. San Gennaro lost its lease in the newly hot Culver City. (It'll be replaced by "a more upscale, all-organic restaurant run by celebrity caterer Akasha Richmond.") And of course, Hollywood lost its Hamburger Hamlet last month; an H&M outlet will take its place.