The Hog Pit has confirmed it will be closing for good next January. Nine months is pretty long notice, but the owners want to give everyone fair warning so you all have time to plan your final events. In an email from owner Felisa Dell, she says, “I would like people to know that the time has finally come and we will be losing our lease on January 1, 2009. Our landlord, David Ellis and Assoc., more than tripled our rent and made it impossible for us to remain in our current location. I think they are planning a Ralph Lauren Store. Anyway, I want my regulars to have an opportunity to book their last parties before we close…the rising cost of restaurant space in NYC is becoming criminal. Can you imagine the Meatpacking District without The Hog Pit?…if anyone knows of any space that might make a good Hog Pit we would love to know. After 3 years of looking we have not been able to find affordable rents, and (this is very important) it seems the mayor and the State Liquor Authority are now only issuing Liquor Licenses until 2AM. It’s very sneaky, but in 5 years the 4AM liquor license will be a thing of the past, without any community input.”

When we called Florent tonight, March 31st, an employee who answered the phone told us that the last night that they will be open will “probably be the end of June.”

According to the Villager’s resident news-cat Scoopy, restauranteur Florent Morellet is not looking for another space, but is excited to pursue other projects, including writing his memoir and devoting more time to his art: drawing maps of imaginary cities.

Florent is planning a five-week going-away bash, from Memorial Day to Gay Pride on June 29. In a final display of irreverence, he’s theming each week around one of the five stages of grieving: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance.

Sounds sort of like my first year in college.

Scott Conant is back. One of the city’s top Italian chefs, Conant last year gave up both of his restaurants, L’Impero and Alto, to pursue a mystery project. He will be the Chef-owner of Scarpetta, which will open in the Meatpacking District this spring at 355 West 14th Street. The place is conceived as seasonal Italian and will feature the kind of elegant, yet elemental and assertive food Conant is known for, such as imported ricotta raviolini with chicken livers and spinach purée, and calamarata pasta with mixed seafood and sea urchin. The room, which is designed by S. Russell Groves, will hold 70 seats, have a long mahogany bar and a twenty-seat café in the front. –Grub Street

As reported in New York magazine’s Grub Street column, “We had heard that New York was to have its own version of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival (minus the sunshine, ocean, flowing sea breeze, and so on, of course). But only in paging through the Sunday Times at Jerry’s Deli on Collins Avenue did we find this tidbit, from the big SOBE style section: “A version of the festival will soon be headed north. Last week Mr. Schrager came to an agreement with New York officials to run a two-day food festival in the Meatpacking District on Columbus Day weekend.”We’re going to close Ninth Avenue, he said.” Now that is good news. It’s high time that Ninth Avenue was closed.”

It finally looks like the granddaddy of the Meatpacking District, and the man partly responsible for having the entire Meatpacking District designated a Historic District, will be forced out of his place of business at 69 Gansevoort Street after 23 years. It’s not 100% certain that Mr. Florent Morellet, a 54 year old native of France, will have to leave his famed restaurant space but… more…

Merkato 55 is open for business. Marcus Samuelsson’s African themed restaurant on Gansevoort Street has finally opened to the public. I stopped in the other day to take a look at the interior and was pleasantly surprised. Menno Schmitz, the Dutch architect who designed the restaurant, did a wonderful job. The place was very busy and the hostess, well she was just so friendly. I can’t wait to eat there! I suggest you all stop in and try some of those specialty African drinks at the bar.