Payard Is Resurrected, Amongst the Family Jewels

La Fabricant brings the news that Francois Payard is back. The illustrious pastry chef’s Upper East Side restaurant and patisserie closed in April following a rent dispute, leaving socialites and sugar fiends in a state of mourning. Payard will resurface on November 4 when he opens Francois Chocolate Bar in the Mauboussin jewelry store on Madison Avenue and 63rd Street. The 25-seat bar will carry a limited line of chocolates, hot chocolate, and pastries. While it’s nice to see Payard resurrected, this feels a bit like a consolation prize: Instead of another high-ceilinged temple to decadence, the chef gets crammed in amongst the baubles and display cases. Perhaps this is what’s meant by making the most of reduced circumstances; desperate times, it seems, call for jewelry store chocolate bars.