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Hawaiian Tropic Zone Closing!
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 4, 2009
Modified Feb 4, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 4, 2009
Modified Feb 4, 2009
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The embattled Hawaiian Tropic Zone restaurant in Times Square will close on Saturday, but don't panic! According to a press release, it's just a temporary shut-down to accommodate a planned $500,000 renovation. One might think they'd want to save that money for legal fees, since HTZ—infamous for its scantily-clad waitresses and the former manager who (allegedly!) assaulted them—is facing multiple lawsuits alleging sexual harassment, assault, and discriminatory hiring. A manager tells the Daily News that people shouldn't assume they're closing because of the lawsuits: "One has nothing to do with the other. The lawsuits are without merit. We're confident we will prevail... We're going to use the opportunity to spruce the place up a little bit." And the home of the breast-shaped salt and pepper shakers will shrink a lot; when HTZ reopens in May, the location will be 3,100 square feet smaller and rent out the old space to an unspecified retailer. In the meantime, there's always HTZ Vegas, baby, Vegas.
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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