It’s the same old story. Rising rents, changing tastes, owners who retired or are just worn out, or for for medical reasons and headlines of sexual assault by owners or staff, even the building coming down to make way for a larger one with higher rents.
Here are the neighborhood eateries we have lost so far in August, and in July and via Eater and some other sources, by borough.
It’s a really long list, so grab something to eat and drink while you read this depressing list.
Say Sayonara, Auf Wiedersehn, Goodbye to these locally-owned businesses.
Dean and DeLuca
The fabled and popular gourmet food store seems to be fighting bankruptcy under crushing debt from expanding to fast and too far from home, including Europe and Asia. The company has officially closed its recently opened Meatpacking restaurant Stage along with several grocery store locations, including on the Upper East Side, and the NY Times reports vendors have cut off the chain from being supplied with new items to sell
Recent Restaurant Closings in Manhattan
Less than a year after its $40 million rebuild, the iconic but problematic Four Seasons Restaurant closed following a troubled 10 months for the restaurant: Former partner Julian Niccolini pleaded guilty to sexual assault in 2016 and was forced to resign in December. The investors made the decision to close.
Southern Hospitality, the barbecue restaurant once backed by Justin Timberlake, has closed its last remaining location in Hell’s Kitchen. Owner Eytan Sugarman originally opened the Memphis-style joint in 2007 on the Upper East Side, expanding it to Hell’s Kitchen in 2011. Timberlake hasn’t been involved for years, and now, the Hell’s Kitchen outpost will pivot to something new in the fall, a spokesperson says.
Da Falafel Guys has closed permanently after two years in the Lower East Side.
The Starbucks at Broadway and 99th Street on the Upper West Side has closed.
Freshly Bagel, which just opened in January on the Upper West Side, has already closed.
Fast-casual Japanese spot TongKatsu has closed permanently on the Lower East Side, following a closure that was supposed to be temporary.
The East Village location of Pizza Rollio has closed, though there are additional locations in Chelsea and the Plaza hotel food court.
Chinese Graffiti, which opened in the East Village in March, is currently closed.
Mediterranean and Italian restaurant Vai closed after 12 years on the Upper West Side. At Vai, diners picked a main course that was then supplemented by mezzes, sides, and desserts picked by chef Vincent Chirico. There was usually a featured catch of the week and butcher’s cut of the week. Chirico previously had experience at Jean-Georges and Daniel before opening his own restaurant.
After 17 years, Pie by the Pound in the East Village closed. The pizzeria was known in particular for its vegan and gluten-free options, and around Passover, the pizzeria always sold pizzas made with a matzo crust.
The Moroccan restaurant Chouchou in East Village closed after it was seized by the marshal.
Less than two years after opening, chef Harold Moore’s classic French restaurant Bistro Pierre Lapin has closed. The all-day restaurant opened in May 2018, a project between the former Commerce chef and co-owner and pastry chef Julia Grossman. Moore says that the cost of running the restaurant became too much, adding that “restaurants are in crisis in this city.”
Divisive East Village pizzeria Bruno is permanently closed after a fire forced its shutter last November. Owner Demian Repucci wrote on Instagram that the water damage was “too much to overcome.” The ambitious pizzeria opened in 2015 and was the rare place that no critic could agree upon. Eater critic Ryan Sutton gave it two stars, but Times critic Pete Wells gave it zero.
Tiny Sri Lankan restaurant Kottu House closed on the Lower East Side after four years. It was highlighted in the Times’ Hungry City column after it opened in 2015, and the restaurant served its namesake kottu, Sri Lankan street food served with roti. There were also fried snacks, and it was a popular cheap eats spot in the neighborhood.
JJ Johnson’s Henry at the Life Hotel is closed. The pan-African restaurant is no longer taking reservations, and both the website and Instagram have disappeared. A hotel staffer confirmed the closure, and a reason is not yet known.
Ichabod’s, the American restaurant and bar near Union Square Park, has closed.
Longtime Upper East Side Jewish deli Pastrami Queen closed its Time Square outpost just three months after opening it.
After two decades in business, the East Village dive bar Manitoba’s closed.
A broken refrigerator eventually led to the permanent closure of beer store Beer Fridge on the Lower East Side.
Tribeca locations of bubble tea cafes Kung Fu and Japioca both closed.
Upscale — but beleaguered — grocer Dean & Deluca closed its Upper East Side location.
Mamacha Cafe, which spent its short life plagued by lawsuit issues with MoMa, has closed and is planning to move elsewhere.
After two years, Black Tap closed its Lower East Side location in Hell Square. The bar and restaurant known for its over-the-top milkshakes has several other locations in the city.
Lower East Side burger joint Mikey’s Burger has abruptly closed after nearly a decade. The restaurant at 134 Ludlow St., near Rivington Street, opened in December 2009, was reportedly a favorite among locals in the area.
On the Lower East Side, Spreadhouse Cafe closed after five years of serving coffee and simple cafe bites.
Chong Qing Xiao Mian II shuttered in East Village. It opened in 2017 and was a sibling restaurant to Hell’s Kitchen’s Chinese restaurant and takeout spot Chong Qing Xiao Mian.
ESquared’s highly branded, Instagram-y Middle Eastern fast-casual restaurant Dez closed after just over a year in Nolita.
Hiro Sushi on the Upper West Side closed.
Italian pizzamaker Stefano Callegari’s La Rossa has been closed, and the space is now in the legal possession of the landlord. Callegari is credited as the inventor of the street food sensation trapizzino.
Miscelanea NY, Guillaume Guevara’s combination casual restaurant and shop, shuttered in the East Village.
Chat ‘N Chew, the diner that made its return in Union Square in April 2018, is closed again. There’s a marshal’s notice on the door, Yelp and Google list the location as closed, and the phone line has been disconnected. The casual diner originally opened in 1994 and then closed in July 2014. The new iteration lasted just over a year.
Upper West Side Indian restaurant Sapphire Indian Cuisine at 1845 Broadway closed ahead of its building being demolished. It was open for over two decades, and the owner is seeking a new space.
The East Village restaurant Yakiniku West shuttered. The restaurant featured grills at the tables for firing up various meats, including Japanese and American wagyus. A fire previously closed down the restaurant last year, but it reopened following repairs.
Upper West Side French bakery La Toulousaine has closed. The original owner Jean Francoise Gatorze died in 2016.
Chinese kitchen Jin Kitchen closed at 58 Third Ave. in East Village after just a few months.
The 14th Street location of Dunkin’ has closed.
East Village rice noodle shop Just for Fen has shuttered permanently. The sleek but tiny counter-service restaurant offered noodles from Guizhou, a southwestern Chinese province. It opened in September 2017, part of a whole crew of rice noodle shops opening in New York City, though one of the lesser known ones. Eater critic Robert Sietsema had enjoyed its spicy chicken rice noodles.
Over in the East Village, scoop shop Gelarto has closed at 145 Avenue A, after only two years in the neighborhood.
Bubble tea shop CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice has shuttered its St. Marks location. Plenty of locations of the Taiwanese chain are open elsewhere in the city.
The West Village has lost the beloved California-Italian restaurant Barbuto, where since 2004 diners have filled the dining room year after year, returning for signature dishes like garlicky kale salad and roast chicken with salsa verde. But chef Jonathan Waxman’s restaurant may not be gone forever; it’s possible that it will reopen elsewhere in the area in the future.
East Village cafe Nobletree Coffee has abruptly closed after just five months in business at 37 St. Mark’s Place, on Second Avenue. A sign on the coffee shop’s window says the store was “forced” to close due to “slow food traffic.”
What do you think about this? We welcome your comments.