It’s been a bad spring for NYC restaurants, sandwich shops and even dive bars.
Several dozen have closed in these last few weeks due to landlord disputes including rising rents, owner fatigue, some that just didn’t catch on, and our changing tastes that sent diners and drinkers elsewhere.
It’s a sad list, and hopefully does not include a favorite of yours.
Say sayonara, auf wiedersehen, goodbye and RIP to these NYC eateries.
Legendary and longtime NYC eateries closed Spring 2019:
Legendary hospitality guru Danny Meyers has shuttered his pizzeria Martina after less than two years. It opened as a fast-casual offshoot of its popular, full-service Nomad restaurant Marta, offering inexpensive pies for just $7. But it didn’t catch, on even after switching from fast-casual to a full-service pizzeria in December.
Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group rarely closes restaurants, but also recently has closed the award-winning Tabla and North End Grill.
After 15 years in the East Village, Stillwater Bar & Grill has closed because of a reported “landlord dispute.”
After 20 years, beloved Greenpoint restaurant and bar Enid’s has closed. The neighborhood standby was particularly known for its fun brunch and laidback vibe. Co-owner Ashley James told Lower Manhattan blog Bedford and Bowery that it was, simply, “time to move on.”
After 35 years, Park Slope Irish pub Old Carriage Inn closed its doors on St. Patrick’s Day.
The original location of more than 40-year-old kosher bakery Moishe’s Bake Shop shuttered. It was known for its hamantashen and other Jewish specialty baked goods at low prices and opened in the East Village in the mid-1970s.
After at least three decades, local favorite red-sauce Italian restaurant Trattoria Spaghetto shuttered. It was cash only and served a straightforward menu of Italian classics in its airy space with ample sidewalk seating.
Oriental eateries closed:
Japanese steakhouse chain Ikinari Steak closed its Upper West Side location. It’s one of several outposts shuttering this year to make way for a new restaurant by the same company, called Pepper Lunch.
Also closing all of its locations is chain sandwich shop Untamed Sandwiches, according to its website. There were stores in Midtown East, Bryant Park, and Brooklyn. Were.
Influential sushi counter Sushiden closed both of its Midtown locations. The longtime restaurant served as a starting point for some of NYC’s top sushi chefs and has been around for more than three decades.
Ramen Shack, the Long Island City restaurant from ramen burger creator Keizo Shimamoto, has closed, though the chef says the viral sensation will live on at outdoor food festival Smorgasburg.
Pizza joints closed:
West Side Cafe & Pizza on the Upper West Side has closed. It served a varied menu, including smoothies, coffee, breakfast sandwiches, pizza, salads, and gyros.
Two Boots Pizzeria has closed its Upper West Side spot, one of several Two Boots location to have shuttered in the past year.
Another shuttered pizza place is the longtime Lower East Side location of Domino’s Pizza, flopped after more than two decades.
The Upper East Side location of Pizza Beach has closed, though it reportedly might re-open in a larger location on Second Avenue.
All-day eateries closed:
Lower East Side casual all-day cafe Cafe Petisco closed after a basement wall in its building collapsed due to nearby construction. It’s unclear if it will re-open.
The all-day restaurant on the Upper West Side called West Side Cafe appears to be closed for good.
The city has lost another diner with the closure of Terrace Diner in Bayside, Queens. It opened two decades ago within the Bay Terrace Shopping Center.
In Bushwick, Trans Am Cafe has closed, though its adjacent live music venue Trans-Pecos is still open.
Norman, an all-day Scandinavian cafe from Noma co-founder Claus Meyer and Aska chef Fredrik Berselius, has closed after less than two years. A post on its Instagram page suggests the Greenpoint restaurant was always intended to be temporary.
Brewpubs, bars and dive bars closed:
Lower East Side German beer hall Grünhaus has not been open lately, after less than a year in business.
The troubled Crown Heights bar and cafe Summerhill closed permanently.
Park Slope Irish pub Old Carriage Inn closed its doors on St. Patrick’s Day, after 35 years.
FiDi dive bar Iron Horse shuttered after more than a decade of pouring out shots and beers. A photo of the bar’s farewell notice was posted on Yelp, where it had received negative reviews for being dark and loud, which is exactly what a dive bar is all about – dark and loud.
Bar and beer garden West End Hall on the Upper West Side, which has been closed for months, now has been emptied out. It opened in 2015 and was popular with the nearby Columbia University crowd.
Heartland Brewery has closed its Port Authority location. The brewpub opened there in 2010.
Murray Hill pub the Cannibal closed after nearly nine years. Owner Christian Pappanicholas cites high rent combined with rising business costs, telling Eater the rent had reached $33,000 a month. The restaurant was a media darling and neighborhood favorite.
Despite getting a new owner and an infusion of operating money a few months ago, fight Club-inspired sports bar Durden, has not been open lately. Paper covers its windows, and the phone is no longer in service. So let’s consider it closed.
Braven Brewery in Bushwick has closed, just a few months after opening. In addition to rotating beers, there was an inventive food menu by chef Tori Valdes that ncluded a burger drenched in beer cheese and a fried chicken thigh served with buttermilk biscuits and sugar plum barbecue sauce.
Sunita Bar on the Lower East Side shuttered after 16 years. The owner cites “changes, development, and greedy landlords” as reasons. Owner Sunita Lofters says the popularity of Mexican restaurant La Contenta next door led to issues between herself and the landlord, and a steep rent increase left her unable to keep going.
Other NYC restaurant, bakery and bar closings:
Middle Eastern and Israeli restaurant Timna has closed and the space cleared out for the next tenant. Chef Nir Mesika said in an Instagram post that the closure was due to “financial issues” and “disagreements.” Timna opened in 2014, and its food was well-received by food critics and diners alike.
The Sigmund Freud-themed Greenwich Village spot Bar Freud closed after a little over a year. The cocktail program came from Austrian bartending brothers Albert and Jakob Trummer, who previously ran the bars at Apothéke, Sanatorium, and Three Pillars.
West Village Italian restaurant Giulietta’s Cantina Club closed and has been seized by the city.
Croissant-focused bakery Croissanteria closed up shop after nearly seven years in the East Village.
West Village sweets shop Sherry B Dessert Studio has closed, according to a sign posted on its window. “Onto the next chapter,” it reads. “Stay tuned for what’s next for Sherry B.”
East Village restaurant Y Cafe, which served healthy meals like salads, vegetables, and chicken and seafood dishes, has closed after eight years.
West Village Greek restaurant Nisi is listed as closed online and its phone has been disconnected.
Tex-Mex restaurant San Loco in Williamsburg shuttered.
The Chambers Hotel location of Milk Bar closed and will soon move to a to-be-announced location nearby.
The acclaimed, eclectic lunch-only restaurant inside of MoMa PS1 in Long Island City, M. Wells Dinette, closed after more than six years in the neighborhood. M. Wells Steakhouse remains open.
Thanks to NY Eater for researching this list, which NYC on the Cheap revised and adapted.
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