Just a quick moment to say light up everyone's RSS feeds and say Happy New Year. Hope you had as great a 2009 as we did, and looking forward to 2010 and the rest of the decade.

All the best,

DBTH

So today is a bit of a big day. You're old pal DBTH is pleased to announce that we are headed over to the Eater family, joining an all star ensemble that is ready to dominate this internet thang. Sure, we've had some kerfuffles, but that's all in the past. Today, we look ahead to the future. Eater re-launched today with both a spiffy new design and a national edition, giving us the chance to bring you even more of the great DBTH action that you have grown to love (or loathe) over the past 2.5 years.

And what a 2.5 years it has been. Not to toot our own hipster, but we certainly shook up the world, creating the go to nightlife website on earth. We said it. Earth. From the Beatrice to the Boom Boom, Avenue to Upstairs, DBTH has been there with the real juice that has what plants crave.

So as we start the next part of this journey, we want to take a minute to thank everyone who has helped get DBTH to this point. We aren't one to name names, but we wanted to take a minute to give thanks:

• To all of the owners, operators, DJ's, door staff, publicists, bartenders, mixologists, managers, columnists, journalists, bloggers etc etc., thank you for all of your help and continued relationships going forward.
• To all of the Little Birdys who fill our in box with tips, announcements, photos, gossip, rumors, lies, and general craziness - well, we really couldn't have done it without you. The Birdy Wire will be open forever, so don't go getting lazy on us.
• A super special shout out to all of our readers, the reason we do what we do. Thanks for the 2.5 years of showing up every day to see what we have to say, and we hope you follow us to our new home.

Most importantly, a hearty congrats and thank you to Team DBTH. There is a lot more to accomplish and bigger dragons to slay. May your cup runneth over and the dream never die.

So update your bookmarks and get ready for Monday. It’s going to be a wild ride.

Humbly and forever,

DBTH

Over the past few days, word has begun to leak that the secretive speakeasy Woodson and Ford was closing. Sadly, the news is true. The space never formally opened to the public, but was always available for private events for a reasonable price. If you were lucky, the owners would let you in if they knew they had enough room during the night. It was the only speakeasy that never sent out a press release, and made an effort to not draw attention to itself, but the owner's of the space have decided to make a go of it on their own. So where does that leave Woodson and Ford? Owner Gabriella Mlynarczyk tells DBTH that she is "planning to move Woodson & Ford to a new space". None has been found, but we hope she finds one soon. This is one operator who knows what they are doing and deserves to be in business. Uncle Stevie has some additional details.

Just a reminder for everyone that the Manhattan Cocktail Classic Preview is this weekend, and according to organizers, almost all of the event's have sold out. This is great news for them, and great news for New York's amazing bar and cocktail scene. The weekend closes with a cocktail gala (what else) at the Morgan Library, before the main event in 2010. Hope everyone has a great time.

Apparently, the Jane Hotel has been great for some people. We hear from the Rusty Knot team that business has been booming this summer and into the fall, with owner Ken Friedman telling us "Its pretty funny to see dozens of well-dressed, tipsy people walking up & down the Westside Hwy to & from The Knot. All of a sudden more & more of the beautiful people are coming in late to eat & drink." Doesn't surprise us. No matter who you are, a drunk pretzel dog always hits the spot.

DBTH recently got a backstage tour of the Breslin, April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman's new gastropub project at the Ace Hotel. The place has been progressing quickly since the last tours went through the space, and they are committed to being ready for the upcoming FergusStock celebration on October 17.  A few heady nuggets of intel: The wine list will feature 100 wines for under $100; SixPoint will be brewing a special Breslin Ale, and there will be multiple spaces used for aging meat! The kitchen for the hotel and event space is about to be up and running, and they expect to offer a full room service menu and lobby snacks (charcuterie, meat pies, cheeeeeese) by next week. We also got a sneak peak of the massive event space in the basement, which is progressing nicely. While not the Boom Boom or the Jane, the space can hold 200 people for an event, and has the capability of hosting anything from a fashion show to a concert. All in all, color us impressed and excited for opening night.

• The Breslin

Big news out of Miami. Andre Balazs has decided to sell his interest in the Raleigh Hotel, sending an email to friends and collegues to break the news, saying, "After seven years of fun and sun, we have decided to sell The Raleigh and focus our efforts on The Standard Spa, located on Belle Isle just blocks away." Que Triste. According to our Little Birdy, the GHM team that also runs the Setai are poised to take over. Good call. Perhaps Andre really does want to focus on his Standard Properties, or perhaps, as the rumors have it, he is in a serious cash crunch. Either way, the Raleigh will remain all systems go during the sale.

Full email after the jump!

Click to read more ...

A Little Birdy snapped this photo of Provocateur and commented, "not close". Now we love our commenters, we love our tips, and we certainly love our Little Birdys. But come on! You've got to bring more than this! All we see is nothing, and are only running this to remind you that we have a certain standard here. This doesn't meet it. Let's do this.

More Community Board fun, but this time, we head from CB 3 to CB 2, which covers the mighty mighty Meatpacking District. The biggies on the calendar are 244 West 14th Street, formerly the Plumm and Nell's, that Scott Sartiano and Richie Akiva plan to transform into their Butter North. Oddly enough, the space has never had a Cabaret License, so Scott and Richie must go before the CB to beg for one. If the CB says no, then we guess everyone will be forced to stand around and smell their own farts and not be able to dance. Cross your fingers. Also on the docket is another application for The Standard, which is looking to add another bar to its already packed roster. Could this be the Penthouse Room with the hot tub? We hope so, because we need a place to soak our weary bones while getting drunk.

It's Wednesday morning, so let's play Rumor of the Day. Andre, the international flanuer and co-owner of Le Baron and Beatrice Inn (sigh) has been spending a lot of time in New York City recently. He made the rounds during Fashion Week with his partner in crime Olivier Zahm and the Purple Magazine crew, but when they checked out to return to Paris and then Milan (for another fashion week), Andre stayed behind and helped out with Le Fooding NYC. Andre has been all over town, hanging at the Boom Boom Room (where he has been helping Andre Balazs get the place going) and even playing ping pong with Paul Sevigny and Simonez at Spin New York. We have heard from a peu d'oiseau that Andre is looking at several restaurant and club opportunities in New York City, including opening a Le Baron. Could this be related to Sevigny's plans to open a Soho space away from any residential areas? Makes sense, since Andre helped pull the Bea together. But another LB tells us that the talk is cheap and it's not gonna happen. But hey, that's why we call it the Rumor of the Day. And that's why we're DBTH.

[Photo Credit]

Memo to Hollywood: If you are looking for your next sitcom idea, may we suggest the interplay between Community Board 3 and the owners of Le Souk? You see, CB 3 hates Le Souk and the noise, fights, and congestion it creates on Avenue B. The members went so far as to successfully lobby for its closure. We are assuming that Le Souk also hates CB 3, since they always complain about their business and went so far as to have them shut down. But then Le Souk got the upper hand and had their license reinstated, thus infuriating the Community Board. It's an endless dance that will soon continue, as Le Souk now must return to face their foes on October 13 for a License Renewal Hearing. D'oh! Le Souk is listed under the dreaded "Renewal With Complaint History" heading, right at the top of the list. We are sure that the whole angry posse will show up to complain about this one, and thus the circle remains unbroken. We told you it had sitcom potential. Now excuse us as we go call our agent.