When one of downtown Los Angeles' largest landlords said this week that it may seek bankruptcy protection because the company can't pay its loans, it didn't bode well for the commercial property market. Meruelo Maddux Properties is just one of many Los Angeles ...

Black-clad staffers commiserated over cocktails in the back bar area at Cocotte, a cozy French bistro along Park Slope’s trendy Fifth
Avenue. An ominous sign had been posted in the front window shortly after brunch that fateful Sunday afternoon last February: “Dear Cocotte’s Friends and loyal customers, We want to thank you for your support through the years ...

The ever quotable Chuck Hunt, executive vice president of the New York State Restaurant Association, posed an interesting question to The Observer in response to Governor Paterson's proposed plan to hike taxes on "sugary" soft drinks -- that is, the non-diet kind: How are they going handle it at McDonald’s, where they hand you an empty cup and then ...