Food Arts magazine down the tube

In a rarity, Marvin Shanken has pulled the plug on one of his magazines, Food Arts.

Although it was technically a b-to-b title, it boasted a circulation of 56,000 and was a keepsake for chefs and restaurateurs around the globe.

Restaurateur Danny Meyer commiserated on the magazine’s demise with Executive Editor Beverly Stephens at his new Marta Restaurant in the Martha Washington Hotel last week, according to a source, who said Stephens received over 1,000 e-mails of condolence.

“I am very sad, it’s a great loss,” she said when reached by Media Ink.

Shanken, who started Cigar Afficianado and the Wine Spectator, had bought the magazine years ago from its founders, the husband-and-wife team of Michael and Ariane Batterberry, who stayed on board to run it at M. Shanken Communications. They had earlier founded Food & Wine, which they sold to American Express Publishing, now part of Time Inc.

Michael passed away in 2010, but his wife was on board until the end, sharing co-publishing duties with Robert Mathias.