Audrey Saunders Leaves Los Angeles’s Tiki-Themed Tar Pit

Audrey Saunders of the venerable cocktail lounge Pegu Club went to Los Angeles last year to open The Tar Pit, a tiki-themed bar, with Chef Mark Peel. Per Diner’s Journal, just two months after opening, the mixology maven has left the bar due to “differences of opinion regarding the overall vision and direction” of the place.

Peel told the LA Times that the bar menu would not change immediately, but that he would like it to become “more farmers market-oriented.” Saunders said that while she like Peel personally, his media-friendly style became a problem: “It’s not our style to promote our beverage program through cable programs, etc.”

Perhaps Saunders will consider taking her tiki vision to New York’s rum-loving streets.