LeNell's Holds On For a Few More Days

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Our friends over at Eater report that time is running out for Red Hook staple, beloved bourbon-focused liquor store LeNell's. The lease on the shop, run by salty southerner Tonya "LeNell" Smothers for more than four years, will run out at the end of February.

Some background: The saga of LeNell's began in August of '07, when owner told the Times that her new landlords were giving her the boot. Then, last May, the lady sent a panicked note to fans and followers alerting them to LeNell's imminent demise. Her lease was up and a deal on a new space had fallen through. Somehow, she managed to hold on for eight more months. Then today, rumors swirled that the shop had closed. But LeNell isn't ready to leave just yet.

Smothers pops into the Eater comments to clarify a few things:

My legal agreement extending my time at current location comes to an end at the end of February. I have not yet set the final 'grand finale' date. I have leases under legal review and hope to have an answer on a potential new location by the end of this week. I was hoping to announce all of this together, but the rumor mill has spun out of control.

Everybody just calm down—you do have another month to say goodbye.
· The Shutter: After Long Goodbye, LeNell's Packs it In (With Update From LeNell) [Eater]
· LeNell's New Hook Space Gone: Owner 'Broken' [Racked]