If you were one of the folks who saw the latest post on L’Espalier’s long-dormant Instagram account announcing a reopening, well, we’ve got some rough news: It was all the work of a hacker.
On Thursday afternoon, the former Back Bay restaurant, which closed on New Year’s Eve 2018 after 40 years in business, seemed to post the good, albeit surprising, news that the restaurant would be making a comeback.
“We are incredibly happy to announce our reopening,” the post read. “COVID has hit our industry hard and as we watch many friends struggle to stay in business, we are reopening as a gift to the great city of Boston.”
L’Espalier is, in fact, not reopening. A representative for Frank McClelland, the former chef and owner of L’Espalier, confirmed that the account was hacked, and that there are no plans — by McClelland or anyone — to reopen the beloved restaurant.
The hacker certainly made it seem plausible, naming an opening date — October 15 — and teasing that a famous chef from New York City and/or Napa would be taking over during opening weekend. The post hinted that the chef’s food “will have you seeing stars…3 to be exact,” a reference to the coveted award of three Michelin stars. The first person who guessed the correct chef would receive dinner for two at L’Espalier’s Chef’s Table, prompting a flurry of guesses in the comments, with Thomas Keller named most frequently.
Alas, it was all a ruse, and the representative confirmed that they are trying to resolve the issue.
Would we expect anything less of 2020?
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