The 12 Shuttered NYC Bars & Restaurants We'll Miss The Most
Dec. 28, 2016, 12:45 p.m.
This year we lost a lot of good ones, from genre-defining restaurants to crusty dives.
There's always going to be a lot of turnover in the city's bar and restaurant scene, but sometimes there are closures that really bring us down. This year we lost a lot of good ones, from genre-defining restaurants to crusty dives.
PALACE CAFE A dive bar masquerading as a Tudor-style mansion, this Greenpoint mainstay threw in the bar towel after 83 years serving cheap Polish beers and the occasional basket of soda bread adjacent to McGolrick Park. Owned by the same family since opening in 1933, the stately bar offered a peek back in time, especially its large back dining area, site of generations of family gatherings and celebrations.
(Via Yelp)
STAGE RESTAURANT Following a year of what was supposed to be a temporary shutter, Stage Restaurant revealed earlier this spring that it would not be reopening. The 35-year-old East Village restaurant could not overcome losses in profit after it closed at the revelation of alleged gas siphoning and struggled fighting an eviction, ultimately deciding to close.
(Scott Heins/Gothamist)
NEW YORK BAKERY A taco you had to work a little harder to find, this hidden NoMad lunch spot was part Mexican, part Korean, and all heart. Run by Harrison, a Korean immigrant, the second floor hideaway served fusion tacos to a loyal stream of local customers. A developer allegedly has plans to "tear down the building and put up something bigger," according to Harrison.
TELEPAN Chef Bill Telepan closed his eponymous restaurant this spring after 10 years as an Upper West Side mainstay. Despite critical success, multiple Michelin-nods, and a devout following in the neighborhood, the chef revealed that the restaurant had been "operating at a loss and cannot sustain the business."
Via Facebook
DA SILVANO A late breaking shutter for the year, Da Silvano suddenly closed just before Christmas, orphaning the many celebrities and connected New Yorkers who frequented the Greenwich Village eatery. Owner Silvano Marchetto blamed rising operating costs, including rent that'd risen from $500 a month when the eatery opened in 1975 to $41,000 a month today. In addition to being a well-loved hangout for celebrities, the restaurant garnered a fair bit of controversy, from recent wage theft allegations, to sexual assault lawsuits against Marchetto that were ultimately settled out of court.
THE REDHEAD Though it was supposed to stay open through New Year's Eve, time's run out to grab the superlative fried chicken at this romantic East Village restaurant. Sadly, The Redhead appears to have closed its doors early and the beer cheese is no more. A rent increase is partially to blame here, but the chef and founding partner has apparently also moved to Colorado, perhaps leaving less of an impetus to remain open.
PORCHETTA This tiny East 7th Street shop was known for, well, its porchetta, the Italian sandwich staple. Matt Lindemulder claims they're "not permanently shut just moving," but a new location has yet to be secured. Coincidentally, chef and co-owner Sara Jenkins also moved out of New York City, lamenting that it's "just too difficult to live in at this point" in her life.
BETONY Set to close after New Year's Eve, chef Bryce Shuman's swanky Midtown restaurant offered me one of the finest dining experiences I've had...ever. Impeccable service coupled with Shuman's exquisite cooking forever endeared Betony to my heart—and the hearts of the experts—even if I couldn't afford to eat there as often as I would have liked.
69 BAYARD A favorite for many late night revelers and chicken wing lovers, 69 Bayard Restaurant will be familiar to most for its unique decor, namely the (hundreds? thousands?) of dollar bills lining its walls and ceiling. The bills bear the names of patrons past and present but there'll be no more in the future.
CAFECITO Badly damaged during flooding from Hurricane Sandy, this Cuban restaurant on Avenue C just couldn't recover enough to stick around with us. It'll be missed for many things, including its friendly, neighborhood vibe and the delicious Cuban sandwiches, Ropa Vieja and pitchers of fruity sangria.
CARNEGIE DELI Admittedly more of a tourist trap than a New Yorker's destination, there's still no denying that Carnegie Deli's an enduring institution. Or rather, it used to be. Though plagued by scandal after scandal in its later years, it'll be remembered for its ridiculously enormous sandwiches and headline making history. Even if you never went there, it was sort of nice to know it was still at it.
Via Facebook
DADDY'S We close as we began: with the shutter of a beloved neighborhood dive bar. Daddy's got 15 precious years on Williamsburg's Graham Avenue, offering up cheap hot dogs alongside (comparably) cheap cocktails or beers served from the unique horseshoe-shaped bar. There's still time to visit before it says goodbye for good: the final day for the public is this Friday, December 30th.