The award-winning Gastropod restaurant on West 4th will close at the end of April and reopen two weeks later as Maenam, an authentic Thai restaurant that will have the same attention to detail in the service and a similarly amped wine and cocktail program. Gastropod will continue as a private catering company. Who knows, it might be re-born somewhere else down the line.

I’ve known owner/chef Angus An (interview) to be very keen on opening a Thai restaurant for a long time now (he trained and met his wife at the world’s only Michelin-starred Thai restaurant, Nahm, in London). He had been looking for a second location to do this for the past year, but with the economy the way it is this seems a much more prudent move. With its fine food, accessible price points, and liquids emphasis, Maenam (“mother water”) sounds a lot like Vij’s, only Thai instead of Indian cuisine. Smart, and very possible.