An international restaurateur is pointing fingers in every corner of the Meatpacking District over the September flop of her bistro and nightspot, according to papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.
After failing to pin blame for the failure of MPD on her former hotspot-promoting partners — who are suing her in federal court for trademark infringement — Tatiana Brunetti is now casting a litigious glare at the new Whitney Museum outpost being built at the southern end of the High Line.
“Crippling, unreasonable disturbance caused by deafening noise,” from the construction site on Ganesvoort Street forced the restaurant’s closure,” claims Brunetti in her lawsuit filed today in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Handout
An artist rendering of the Whitney Museum outpost under construction at the southern end of the High Line. Tatiana Brunetti blames the failure of her Michelin recommended restaurant MPD on construction noise emanating from the Whitney.
Brunetti is co-owner of the Ginza Group, which runs hotspots like the upscale karaoke bar at the Dream Hotel in midtown and the Flatiron Russian restaurant Mari Vanna.
She also has claimed that MPD’s former promoters, brothers Daniel and Derek Koch, sabotaged the eatery by turning it into a “seedy nightclub,” according to an affidavit.
Turner Construction, which is also named as a defendant in the suit, broke ground on the new Whitney, which is adjacent to the defunct 73 Gansevoort St. restaurant, in May 2011.
“Heavy construction vehicles with their engines idling loudly,” drove customer’s from MPD’s smog-choked outdoor café “around the clock,” the filing states.
The svelte Brunetti, who touts her global success in the restaurant industry in the lawsuit, said she couldn’t pay the rent after the noise drove away customers, according to the documents. Two years after opening in 2010 she was evicted and lost her $5 million investment, the filing states.
Neither Turner nor the Whitney immediately returned messages seeking comment.
The real reason for the closure of MPD, which earned a Michelin recommendation in 2012 for its saffron-crusted rack of lamb, was Brunetti’s sacking of the Koch brothers, their attorney Rick Savitt said.
“My guys are miracle workers. They turn places around, bring the crowd, do everything,” said Savitt, who’s fighting two lawsuits against Brunetti, the federal trademark issue and a state court battle over a $85,000 loan.
The brothers run the wine bar and model hangout Chateau Cherbuliez in the former Limelight space.
The Koches earned a 10- to 15-percent commission from the restaurant’s receipts until Brunetti ended the partnership last winter, according to the federal case.
“The fall from grace was so drastic they terminated my guys in January and the place shut down for good in September,” Savitt said.
In a March 2012 affidavit Brunetti asserted the MPD concept was her idea and charged the Kochs with manipulating reservations, incurring liquor license violations and badmouthing her to vendors.
Brunetti’s attorney did not immediately return calls.
julia.marsh@nypost.com
Blustery restaurateur blames everyone else for Meatpacking cafe flop
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Blustery restaurateur blames everyone else for Meatpacking cafe flop
