Barack Obama, Tim Cook, and Robert De Niro Hit Up Yves in Tribeca

City Bakery owed close to $600K before closing

Union Square institution City Bakery closed over the weekend due to financial troubles, and a new report from The City finds that the hot chocolate and pretzel croissant purveyor owed nearly $600,000 to different creditors when it ended its nearly 30 year tenure. It also had to pay $75,000 to settle a wage lawsuit; a staffer had accused the bakery of not properly paying overtime wages.

Owner Maury Rubin had apparently gotten a “merchant cash advance,” a risky and expensive form of financial help that’s now being investigated in New York as it impacts more and more small businesses. In it, business owners sign a document that admits wrongdoing in advance; if they can’t pay up, they don’t go back to court. Any reforms to the system, though, sadly won’t help bring City Bakery back.

Power dinner: Barack Obama, Robert De Niro, and Tim Cook share a meal

President Barack Obama, Robert De Niro, and Apple CEO Tim Cook ate together on Monday night at Tribeca French restaurant Yves. They were reportedly there for “several hours.”

In other news:

— The city is trying to crackdown on the craziness of Lower East Side nightlife. Mayor Bill de Blasio visited Max Fish last night to promote new initiatives, such as later street cleaning and “no standing” rules after midnight.

— Steve Cuozzo at the Post checks out the Gotham Bar and Grill under new chef Victoria Blamey, finding that she “seamlessly synthesizes the familiar and the unexpected.” He was “thrilled” at every meal.

— On November 13, chef Jonathan Waxman of now-closed Barbuto will cook a dinner at Empire Diner in Chelsea. It’s a collaboration with vodka company Grey Goose and costs a whopping $195 per person, far more than a single meal at Barbuto would have been or currently is at Waxman’s still-open Jams. There’s also a Waxman-created package with three roast chickens, sides, and ingredients for a vodka drink that can be delivered anywhere in the U.S., for $200 through December 31. Meals on Wheels America will receive $20 from every delivery.

— The Hester Street Fair has its seasonal closing event on Saturday, October 26.

— The Hoboken corner once home to legendary rock club Maxwell’s will soon be an Italian restaurant.

— In the latest of a string of groping accusations against Cuba Gooding Jr., a Tao Downtown bartender is suing the actor for allegedly pinching her butt inside the club last year. On Tuesday, in a separate criminal case, Gooding was indicted on sexual misconduct charges.

— Big-deal FiDi cocktail bar The Dead Rabbit is expanding to New Orleans.

— Happy Halloween, folks: