Lazy Dog Cafe to Open in Irvine Marketplace

http://www.lazydogcafe.com/

From the ashes of failure, sprouts new life.

First French 75 in Newport Beach's Fashion Island was spared an uncertain future when Pascal Olhats of Tradition and Cafe Jardin came to the rescue. It's now revived and more French than ever as Brasserie Pascal.

And today I confirmed that the abandoned space vacated by the long-defunct French 75 at the Irvine Marketplace won't go fallow for much longer. Lazy Dog Cafe, the casual chain that features such dishes as "Nachos del Gringo", will take residence there by late 2010.

That location, as many may remember, was turned into Wilhelm's Chophouse by the Culinary Adventures folks in a last desperate effort to appeal to people with stingier pocketbooks. Obviously, the idea tanked along with the economy.

I predict that Lazy Dog Cafe will do better there, even if the recession is still around by then.