Since it’s an inconsiderably long trek by most people’s standards, it’s not easy getting Manhattanites up to Washington Heights. But maybe that’s because they have no brick-and-mortar paean to Blanche Devereaux, Dorothy Zbornak, Sophia Petrillo, and Rose Nylund.
One local resident is hoping to totally reinvigorate the neighborhood with the lure of a “Golden Girls”-themed café, which he thinks will attract fans in crotchety, curmudgeonly droves.
Related: We’re This Close To An Official Lego “Golden Girls”
According to DNA Info, in early September Michael J. LaRue plans to open Rue La Rue Cafe on 4396 Broadway at the Sofia Storage Building. The space will honor the late Rue McClanahan, a close friend of La Rue’s, and the actress who portrayed Blanche Devereaux in the legendarily campy ’80s sitcom.
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“She was my best friend,” LaRue said in a Community Board 12 licensing meeting.
Related: ‘The Golden Girls’ Turns 30, Logo Plans On-Air Drag Salute
Apparently, he’s already lined up the indomitable Betty White to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony.
He intends to decorate the eatery with several items he’s inherited from McClanahan’s estate after she died in 2010. Diners at La Rue Cafe can expect soups, wraps, salads, baked treats, wine, and desserts (cheesecake, we’re guessing).
DCguy
Wicker furniture with sassy Southwest style upholstery? And if it’s an homage to Blanche, the upholstery would of course have several stains of suspicious origin.
Dave Downunder
@DCguy:
“And if it’s an homage to Blanche, the upholstery would of course have several stains of suspicious origin.”
That sounds more like Monica Lewinski themed cafe to me.
Sluggo2007
A Golden Girls restaurant in a heavily Hispanic populated area? Say goodbye your money, Rue.
DCguy
@Dave Downunder:
I said furniture, not clothing. lol
Dave Downunder
@DCguy: Fair point ;o)
martinbakman
Good luck. Hope it works.
joeyty
poor nyc
Stache
I’d LOVE this. I wish it was in my neighborhood. Cool that they’ve got Betty White to officiate their opening.
Kangol
@Sluggo2007: You might not have heard, but Washington Heights is being hypergentrified like all the other parts of Manhattan, so the Latinxs are being pushed out. Just look at Harlem, East Harlem, the Lower East Side, the East Village, etc. Or, in Brooklyn, Crown Heights, Red Hook, Bedford-Stuyvesant, etc.
onthemark
There ARE gay people living in that area, and this sounds like a “destination” attraction that will get a lot of curiosity even from tourists.
@Kangol: I’m guessing Sluggo has never been above 96th Street (eek). Joeyty likewise except maybe he went to Yankee Stadium once, though NOT via subway (eek again). 🙂