Pranna, Manhattan's Notorious Bottomless Brunch Vomitorium, Is Doomed
Pranna, Madison Avenue’s opulent palace where the mimosas flow like waterfalls (and so does the vomit), may not be long for this world. Despite making small changes to appease its long-suffering neighbors, the brunch spot that gave us the fake heir to “half of fucking Manhattan” had its application for a new liquor license aggressively rejected by the community board Wednesday night.
Community Board 5’s vote against Pranna owners Rajiv and Payal Sharma was unanimous, Gothamist reports, with both neighborhood residents and board members relishing the opportunity to put an end to the weekly tableau of daydrinkers pausing to throw up on the sidewalk as they stumble toward cabs back to Jersey.
The license would have allowed Pranna to rebrand, replacing the problematic current restaurant with a tamer three-story establishment made up of a restaurant called Ziya and a basement lounge called Indikaya. Although the owners made lavish promises like closing at 1 a.m. and getting rid of DJs and makeshift dancefloors, the board was unmoved.
“We issue four or five denials a year at most. If any application deserves a flat denial, that’s this one,” one board member said to applause, according to Gothamist.
Without liquor licenses, Ziya and Indikaya aren’t going to happen. They could still be granted approval by the State Liquor Authority, but that seems unlikely after this week’s unanimous hand in the face from Community Board 5.
Pranna is licensed through the end of September, having miraculously secured a renewal last year after promising to reduce its bottomless brunch to a five-drink maximum. (The change didn’t help.)
It will continue to operate in its current form until then, but the writing seems to be on the wall.
“Pranna has got to go. Its time is long past due to go, and it’s on its way out,” the Sharmas’ lawyer said at the board meeting, according to Gothamist.