Laurent Manrique’s departure from Aqua last week seemed pretty abrupt, but it actually may have been years in coming. He told Tablehopper, “the nearly three years of legal battles related to the ownership of Aqua that have been going on since shortly after the 2006 death of Charles Condy have come to make it impossible for me to effectively perform my job and maintain the high standards of my profession.” The fight, you’ll recall, is between Condy’s sons and their stepmother Mary Condy, who both claim ownership of the restaurant. Manrique also resigned from Fifth Floor earlier this month, so while he’s still got a hand on Cafe de la Presse and Rouge et Blanc, his schedule has definitely opened up a bit. The ‘hopper mentioned something about a new restaurant and wine bar from Manrique, so stay tuned. [Tablehopper]
