Poor Nello Balan! The publicity-loving restaurateur claims he's out as much as $10,000 after an errant fog machine caused fire officials to evacuate his trendy Southampton eatery/nightclub, Nello Summertimes. Some of the rich people eating and partying inside, including Pierce Brosnan and a Kuwaiti princess, were ushered out before settling their tabs, and not all of them came back the next day to pay up! Now Balan is blaming the fire department for creating a false panic and costing him cash. "[They] were screaming, 'Get out. Get out. Get out.' But nothing was wrong," he complains to the Post.
Don't feel too bad for the guy. The going rate for a single vodka soda at Nello Summertimes is $27; by our back-of-the-napkin calculation, he only has to sell a measly 370 additional cocktails to recoup the loss.
