June 4, 2008 |
Short Order
Dubai wants Brooklyn Diner but Rockefeller Center has grave doubts. Shelly Fireman thought Pino Luongo’s abandoned Tuscan Square duplex would be perfect for an annex of his top grossing Brooklyn Diner. “I love the space,” he told the Tishman-Speyer rep. Alas, the rental power was less than eager, according to Fireman. “Would you be willing to give up using Brooklyn in the name?” he wanted to know.
Meanwhile, Shelly and wife Marilyn were planning a dinner of Brooklyn Diner classics for the team wanting to franchise the 57th Street landmark in Dubai. One partner is Indian; the other from Bahrain. “If the Arab is a Muslim, he probably won’t eat pork,” Marilyn mused. “And the Indian could be vegetarian, or just not eat beef," she added.
“He could be a Jain,” a friend at dinner warned her. “He might not eat after sundown.”