A couple of years ago, the magazine ran an "Intel" piece about John Catsimatidis, owner of Gristede’s and potential mayoral candidate. In a similar piece in this week’s New Yorker, Catsimatidis seems to defy what Jeremy Sullivan of Kobe Club told us and what Drew Nieporent told the Times — that current economic woes aren’t hurting restaurants.

“I was in Nino’s restaurant last week, and usually the place is full,” he said. “They only had three tables. People are going to be thinking twice. Dinner for four with a bottle of wine could be five hundred dollars.” (What’s bad for restaurants is good for groceries: “Our sales are up.”)

Then again, Catsimatidis might just be trying to sell us on Perdue chicken…

Gristede’s Guy [NYer]