Restaurateur B. Smith, who is battling Alzheimer’s, has abruptly closed her last remaining eatery.
Her husband, Dan Gasby, posted an announcement on his Facebook page early Monday.
He told Page Six the reason for the West 46th Street shutdown wasn’t her illness but the rent, which had tripled over 14 years to $40,000 a month.
“You go from a point where your landlord goes from being a partner to a pimp,” Gasby told us. “When . . . your landlord becomes your pimp, then you know what that makes you.”
Gasby says they will look for a new site. B. Smith, a former model who launched a successful restaurant chain and lifestyle brand, last year closed her Sag Harbor eatery after shuttering their DC outpost as the couple eyed a move to a warmer climate.
Smith, who is living in the Hamptons, went missing for a short period in November, sparking a huge search. She was found safe after 12 hours in a Manhattan diner.
B. Smith’s first restaurant opened in 1986 on Eighth Avenue at 47th Street. “After we left, three restaurants failed in that space. Now it’s a Duane Reade,” Gasby sighed.