The Bunnies may be gone but not forgotten.
After The Post reported Thursday that the Playboy Club at the West 42nd Street Cachet Hotel would be closing, a story elsewhere stated that Playboy Enterprises had terminated the agreement.
A Playboy spokeswoman confirmed that it had terminated its licensing agreement with Cachet Hotel owner Merchants Hospitality as of Nov. 7. But sources tell me the termination notice was requested by Merchants to comply with contract clauses and to avoid certain fees.
Indeed, documents I reviewed showed a Live Nation deal was signed in July as Merchants Hospitality executives decided months earlier that live events would be a stronger draw in that location than the Bunnies, particularly on weekdays.
Live Nation has a month-to-month agreement to provide entertainment at the new Cachet Theater, which is typical of its deals, sources said.
As I reported, Merchants will also run a new Merchants Steakhouse within the former Playboy Club area. It will also provide food for the Live Nation events, which are expected to take place several nights a week.
Meanwhile, Merchants owns all its Playboy memorabilia and is even in conversations to open another Playboy Club, not necessarily in New York, sources said.
