Michelle Bernstein Bails from Palm Beach, Lindsay Autry Keeps Her Distance

Big news in chefland yesterday when Melissa McCart at the Broward Palm Beach New Times reported the exit of Michelle Bernstein from her eponymous restaurant at The Omphoy. The restaurant will close doors February 1st, leaving Bernstein to focus on her 3 Miami restaurants: Michy's, Sra. Martinez, and Crumb on Parchment. The official reasoning for closing has not been disclosed but numerous rumors have developed. Last summer, the Omphoy was rescued from bankruptcy by US Senate candidate Jeff Greene, purchasing the hotel for $42 million, highlighting the lack of business for the hotel and consequentially Michelle Bernstein's restaurant. The hotel has yet to rename the restaurant or name a new executive chef, but the menu will remain untouched until a formal announcement. Current Top Chef competitor and former MB executive chef, Lindsay Autry, has kept her distance from the Omphoy kitchen, dissolving her relationship with the hotel in December. Autry's next gig is uncertain at the time, but this recent change could hint at a profitable finish for her Top Chef tenure. ---Matt Tylka [BPBNT/EaterWire]