Raw Materials

Good news, bad news about the Rawhide, which was once the oldest gay bar in Chelsea before greedy landlords ran it out of business last year. The good news it appears the chain make-it-yourself pizza joint that was reportedly going in has backed out on the deal. (There's a "for lease" sign up again.) The bad news is we don't know what's going in instead -- although you can almost see through the disgusting film on the no-longer-blacked-out windows. (Someone took the stripper pole!)

No One at Rawhide Ever Wanted to Eat Pie

Wow, this is going to chafe:

Crain's New York Business reports that a West Coast pizza chain is moving into the former home of the Rawhide, Chelsea's oldest -- and raunchiest -- gay bar:

Project Pie -- a do-it-yourself pizza chain founded in San Diego way back in 2012 -- says its ambition is to become "the Chipotle of pizza restaurants, imitating its fast, fresh and custom approach."

"We feel like Manhattan is a market that we can expand in, and we are looking for more locations, especially in midtown," said Christopher Schwart of Cushman & Wakefield, who represented the tenant.

And then came this doozie:

"The landlord liked their concept," said JP Sutro, who represented ENS21 Management. "They thought it would be great for the area to have something that wasn’t a 7-Eleven or Dunkin' Donuts, something with a little more local flair where the community would like to patronize."

(Emphasis mine.)

Yeah. This should do the trick.

Where toppings take on a whole new meaning