Lucien Smith's Food Is Already Messy

"One night in mid-September, two employees say, a "neighborhood guy" came into the restaurant at close to midnight, visibly intoxicated and displaying alarming signs of mental-health issues. Smith was in the restaurant, along with three young women who were working. When the man asked Smith for a beer, the artist offered him water instead - a gesture that the women working say "invited him to stay" despite their safety concerns."

"At some point, the man stepped outside and Smith went to his apartment. Employees say that the man then returned, attempting to steal bottles of Hennessy from the restaurant and antagonizing the workers. They say this man grabbed a chair from a next-door restaurant and threatened to break Food's windows. Then he punched a customer before the fight spilled out from the sidewalk into the middle of Canal Street. Both men were bloody and on the ground when the fight ended."

Lucien Smith opened a Canal Street restaurant called Food as a revival of the 1970s artist-run spot. In mid-September an intoxicated, mentally distressed man entered near midnight; Smith offered water when asked for beer, and workers felt the gesture invited him to stay. The man left, returned, attempted to steal Hennessy, grabbed a chair from a neighboring restaurant, threatened to break Food's windows, and punched a customer. The altercation spilled into Canal Street, leaving both men bloody. Manager Alexis Booker called for Smith, who did not come down; staff safety concerns prompted at least one employee to quit within four shifts. Debate persists over the estate blessing and partners include Kenneth Farmer.

Read at Grub Street