The recently shuttered Chow already has a taker who has plans to reopen the restaurant with as much of the same staff as he can, a similarly neighborhood-centric spot called Cook Shoppe.

Eater has the news of the move by former New York restaurateur Mark White, who announced in January his plans to open a restaurant called Gramercy Park Brasserie and Wine Bar in the former Crepevine Street across the street, at 216 Church Street. Now it seems that while that project will take until early summer to open, White is hoping to get Cook Shoppe open much sooner, by mid-April.

The pedigree of these restaurants, and White's own background, remains a bit of a mystery, according to Eater. (There's no relation, for instance, between Gramercy Park and the famed New York eatery Gramercy Tavern, which sits near New York's Gramercy Park — and there's also a popular brunch spot in New York's Chelsea neighborhood called Cookshop, but I digress.) White has only said that he graduated from the Culinary Institute of America 20 years ago, and owned four New York City restaurants in the intervening years, none of which he's named and he apparently no longer owns them.

White tells Eater, "San Francisco has been so good to me, and we want to be good back," adding, "The goal [with Cook Shoppe] is to save a neighborhood restaurant that everybody loves."

Besides saying that the place will feature great soups, salads, and sandwiches, White says that "brunch is gonna be a big deal."

Details surrounding Gramercy Park, like the menu and executive chef, remain TBA, and the restaurant website says it's aiming for a June opening — pushed back from April, White had initially said earlier this year.

Related: Noooo! Chow on Church Has Closed After 22 Years [SFist]