Teresa “Gubbshoe” Gubbins is back on track at CultureMapDallas. Today she shines the light on yet another Avner Samuel restaurant malfunction. Samuel and his partner Jon Stevens have closed their global-small plates spot, Snack, and plan to reopen as something different in two weeks. Is the space jinxed? Yes. Was the food “too adventurous for the area and maybe for the city?” No. Should Avner just go back and concentrate on his core business? Yes.
I’ve watched Avner Samuel’s career for over 15 years. He is a brilliant chef and a lousy businessman. Someone is either giving him bad advice or bad money. Or both. Avner has survived too many restaurant closures to count and for a long time he couldn’t shake the image of “peripatetic Avner Samuel.” (Like lesbian rocker Melissa Etheridge.) I was glad to see Avner and his wife Celeste succeed with Nosh Euro Bistro and I worried a bit when they opened a second location in Plano. But once he lost his focus and started futzing around with Ed Bailey at Bailey’s Prime Plus and opening Snack, I knew he was
toast. Avner, give it up. Go back to Nosh Euro Bistro and make it better. That is where you shine.
