Venerable Manhattan restaurants Le Cirque and Circo went into bankruptcy Friday as famed owners the Maccioni family worked to restructure its finances.
Mauro Maccioni, the son of the legendary restaurateur Sirio, told Page Six the move was to protect the leases for the two fine-dining mainstays, whose regulars include Woody Allen, John Paulson, President Trump, Robert De Niro and Steven Schwartzman.
“We had a short-term cash-flow issue so we filed for Chapter 11 to ensure we would not lose the leases on the two restaurants,” Mauro said. Despite the move, he said it would be business as usual at the elite eateries. “Both restaurants continue to operate as usual and fully staffed. We are in the process of restructuring ourselves and securing some additional outside funding.”
The Chapter 11 filing says they owe between $500,000 and $1 million to up to 100 creditors.
The move comes as the Maccioni family continues to expand its empire with new restaurants opening soon at the Dubai Ritz-Carlton and in Doha, Dallas and Orlando. Plus they plan to celebrate Sirio’s 85th birthday and Mauro’s 45th with a big party on April 18 with chef Daniel Boulud cooking in the kitchen.