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While some restaurants in New York remain temporarily closed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, a sizable group has been forced to permanently shutter as the industry contends with colossal losses in the billions. Among those that have closed are neighborhood favorites including Uncle Boons and Maison Premiere, along with sites of teenage debauchery like China Chalet in FiDi and the glitzy McDonald’s flagship store off Times Square.
This may just be the beginning of permanent closures, however, as rent and utility payments continue to mount in the coming months. In August, the New York Times estimated that as many as 2,800 small businesses had already closed since March 1, a third of which were restaurants and bars. Yet due to the difficulty of tracking restaurant and bar closings right now, experts say that number is likely much higher — and will only continue to grow.
Below, Eater is documenting the city’s permanent restaurant closures so far. If you know of a restaurant, bar, or other food establishment that has permanently closed, let us know at email tips@eater.com. This post will be updated weekly.
August 27
Columbus Circle: The city’s last outpost of Italian import Grom Gelato has permanently closed. The 59th Street ice cream shop — responsible for one of summer’s best frozen desserts — has been removed from the company’s online list of stores, while Yelp lists it as permanently closed.
East Village: Well-liked sushi restaurant Yuba has permanently closed. The restaurant offered “intelligent takes on Japanese cuisine and its impeccably fresh sushi,” per a review from the New York Times shortly after its opening in 2011. Workers were spotted removing the sign at restaurant, and its last day of business was August 12.
East Village: Hip coffee joint Third Rail Coffee’s East Village outpost on Second Avenue has closed. Workers were spotted clearing out the space and a sign posted at the shop earlier this year noted that the landlord had terminated the coffee shop’s lease. It’s not yet clear if the original Sullivan Street location will remain.
East Williamsburg: Popular beer hall and event space the Well Bar will not be reopening. “It may come as no surprise that the insurmountable financial pressure placed upon the business due to the COVID-19 crisis has forced our hand,” according to an August 21 post on the venue’s Facebook page. The neighborhood beer hall never reopened following the state-mandated shutdown of indoor dining in March, and the unlikely return of indoor drinking anytime soon made a comeback impossible.
Flatiron: Longtime Tapas spot Sala One Nine has closed after 15 years. The restaurant made the announcement on Instagram, but noted that there are hopes the restaurant will return in the future.
Greenwich Village: Experimental cocktail destination Existing Conditions has permanently closed after two years of business. Co-owner Greg Boehm made the announcement on Instagram and cited the financial strain from the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for the closure.
Prospect Lefferts Garden: Beloved neighborhood pie shop Pels Pie Co. is closing after six years. The owner announced on Instagram that they were closing the physical location of the business on Rogers Ave., but will continue baking for pick up and delivery from a private kitchen. The pie shop may reopen in a new location at some point in the future.
Tribeca: The second restaurant from Yiming Wang and Xian Zhang, the duo behind Midtown’s celebrated Cafe China, has closed. China Blue served “superb” soup dumplings in its more than six-year run, and the lion’s head meatballs were worth going out of the way for. Owners Yiming Wang and Xian Zhang say they eventually plan to reopen the restaurant at a new space in Midtown, at 59 West 37th Street, near Sixth Avenue.
West Village: The Banty Rooster, one of a handful of New York City restaurants serving Southwestern cuisine, has closed its doors less than a year after it opened them. The owners attributed the closure to the economic downturn from the coronavirus pandemic and, more specifically, to the way city and state officials responded to it. “Where elected officials might have moderated landlord-tenant negotiations, or addressed the insurance industry’s denials of claims like ours, they did not,” the owners shared in a post on Instagram this week.
Williamsburg: Whiskey and grilled cheese bar Noorman’s Kil will not be reopening after the coronavirus pandemic. In an announcement on Instagram, the owners of the nine-year-old Williamsburg bar shared that it had not been able to reopen and would be closing for good.
Williamsburg: Beloved neighborhood watering hole Trophy Bar will announce its last call this week. “Before March 15 we were a 13 year old, successful business with 19 employees,” according to an August 23 post on Facebook. “Now we are operating with capacity reduced by 80% and it’s actually costing us a tremendous amount of money weekly to keep the doors open. The south Williamsburg bar will close on Sunday, August 30 at 11 p.m.
Upper East Side: Longtime tapas destination El Porrón has permanently closed after 11 years of business. One of the owners Diego Bermeo tells Eater that the restaurant was unable to reach an agreement with the building’s landlord to keep going.
Upper West Side: New American restaurant and bakery Mokum has permanently closed after a “brief, but beautiful [one-year] romance with the UWS,” owner Tea Zegarek Pollock and chef Ben Vaschetti shared this week. The restaurant, whose name means “safe place” in Yiddish, opened in November 2018.
August 21
Chelsea: The original location of vegan restaurant Blossom closed after 15 years in July. Blossom still has a location on the Upper West Side, and debuted a new spot in Greenwich Village earlier this week.
Crown Heights: Local favorite Babydudes has permanently closed. The owners made the announcement on their Instagram page earlier this week. The cafe was known for its playful sandwiches like kimchi egg toast and frittata on brioche.
East Village: Inexpensive neighborhood Thai restaurant Thailand Cafe has closed. A for lease sign now hangs on the awning of the restaurant.
East Village: Hong Kong-style clay pot rice destination Clay Pot has permanently shuttered its St. Marks Place location after three years. The restaurant notes on Instagram that its West Village location is still open.
East Village: The fist location of popular chain Juice Press — which debuted in 2010 —has permanently closed. This East Village outpost has remained closed since June following a reported break-in, and a for-rent sign now hangs on the store’s awning.
Hell’s Kitchen: Neighborhood restaurant Brazil Brazil has closed after the owners were reportedly unable to negotiate favorable rent terms with the landlord. Yelp notes the restaurant has permanently closed, though a tipster informs Eater that the owners hope to reopen elsewhere in the city.
Long Island City: Kansas-style barbecue spot John Brown Smokehouse has closed after eight years due to the financial downturn from the COVID-19 crisis. The restaurant will live on in a new form at owner Josh Bowen’s nearby restaurant Mothership Meat Company.
Long Island City: Go-to neighborhood brunch spot LIC Market closed after a decade in the neighborhood. The restaurant made the announcement on its Instagram page earlier this month and cited the pandemic
Middle Village: Queens Japanese restaurant Shiro’s of Japan has closed its Atlas Park location due to the uncertainty surrounding the return of indoor dining. The restaurant announced the closing on its website, while noting that its Carle Place location will remain open.
Midwood: Middle Eastern kosher restaurant La Tabun has closed after a little over a year in the neighborhood. The owner made the announcement on Instagram, and noted that the space is being taken over by a new business.
Morningside Heights: Columbia University-adjacent pizzeria Tom’s Delicious Pizzeria has permanently closed. A for sale sign now hangs in front of the tiny store.
Tribeca: NYC chain Sophie’s Cuban Cuisine has permanently shuttered its Tribeca outpost. Several other locations of the business are still open across the city.
Windsor Terrace: Australian meat pie destination Dub Pies permanently closed in June. The cafe made the announcement on Facebook. Customers can sign up for their newsletter at the bottom of their website to keep up to date with their next steps.
Windsor Terrace: Longtime neighborhood cafe Brunswick closed in July after six years in the neighborhood. “People have dated here, worked here, had a moment to enjoy time alone in our garden,” the cafe wrote in its closing post on Facebook.
August 13
Astoria: Well-liked Greek bakery Atropolis has permanently closed after 16 years, according to local blog Give Me Astoria. The bakery and cafe — known around the neighborhood for its cakes, pies, and Greek pastries — closed after its lease expired, though co-owner Regina Katopodis says that the bakery plans to reopen at another location in the future.
Astoria: Local live music venue Gussy’s Bar has permanently closed, according to an announcement on Facebook. The venue was located in one of Astoria’s oldest pubs.
Astoria: Greek cafe Monika’s Cafe Bar has permanently closed after 24 years, according to an announcement on its Instagram. The restaurant closed its doors on March 15th due to the COVID-19 pandemic and remained closed until June 20, when it hosted a goodbye party with live music, a dozen DJs, and drinks.
Clinton Hill: Fulton Street’s Bloom Cafe never reopened after the state shutdown indoor dining on March 17. In a note posted to the front of the restaurant, the owners say the cafe and coffee shop won’t be returning but will instead be replaced by a new concept in the same space, a Mexican restaurant that could open as early as September 1.
Clinton Hill: Design store and cafe Relationships closed due to the financial downturn from the COVID-19 crisis. The store held a closing sale in the last two weeks of June, and the online shop is still selling some goods. The founders say they hope to re-establish their business in some form in the coming months.
East Village: Two-year-old Greek restaurant the Athenian has permanently closed, EV Grieve reports, citing a lack of clarity from state and federal officials on reopening. “Although we loved our space and poured our blood and sweat into it (no tears), our lease was coming due and we decided not to renew,” owner Jason Corey told the local blog via email. The team’s other bar in the neighborhood, the Immigrant, remains open for outdoor dining.
East Village: Newly opened coffee shop Idlewild has permanently closed less than two months after opening. The cafe was expected to open in March, according to local blog EV Grieve, but held off on a grand opening due to the state shutdown on indoor dining. The restaurant was finally able to open its doors on June 15 but says that customers were barred from accessing the store due to barricades put in place by the NYPD. “The police barriers at the ends of the block, which have greatly restricted foot traffic, has probably been the biggest obstacle for the entirety of our opening,” according to a letter posted on the store’s front window.
Hudson Yards: TAK Room, the year-old Thomas Keller restaurant at Hudson Yards known for serving a $100 entree for one, has permanently closed. The chef announced the news in an email sent to restaurant guests, which was also shared on TAK Room’s Instagram page. “Given the challenges of the past five months, we could not find an economically viable path to continue operating without expected seasonal, New York tourism and traffic,” Keller wrote in the email.
Hudson Yards: Thomas Keller’s mini-chain of bakeries has shed another location this week, which New York Times critic Pete Wells first tweeted about and the company later confirmed. Bouchon Bakery previously announced the closure of its Rockefeller Center location on July 22. The Columbus Circle location is expected to reopen once malls are allowed to open in New York City.
Kip’s Bay: Bistango, a Northern Italian restaurant and an early pioneer in gluten-free pastas, has permanently closed, according to an announcement on its website. The restaurant’s sibling restaurant, located at the Kimberly Hotel in Midtown, has reopened.
Lower East Side: Vegetable-focused British restaurant the Fat Radish is closing for good. Co-owners Phil Winser and Natalie Freihon tell Eater that they made the decision as a result of the COVID-19-related shutdown, as they didn’t have enough space to do outdoor dining at the restaurant.
Midtown: Manhattan’s high-end wine vendor Morrell has permanently closed its wine bar and cafe at the Rockefeller Center, according to the company. The business will continue with its retail and online operations, which a spokesperson for the company says is “going strong.”
Midtown East: The first location of East Coast mini-chain Rosa Mexicano has permanently closed after 35 years, the restaurant announced over Instagram this week. “After exploring every avenue in order to keep it afloat, we have made the regrettable decision to permanently close,” the post reads. Chef-owner Josefina Howard opened this first location back in 1984 and has since expanded with additional restaurants in Washington D.C., Maryland, Boston, and New Jersey.
Nomad: Northern Italian restaurant Trattoria Italienne appears to have closed. The restaurant’s phone line has been disconnected, while Opentable and Yelp indicate that it has permanently closed.
Nolita: Uncle Boons, the Michelin-starred Thai restaurant that established chefs Ann Redding and Matt Danzer as NYC hitmakers, has permanently closed, the couple announced over email. The restaurant — known for its hours-long waits and step-above Thai fare — has been closed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Redding and Danzer say they were unable to reach an agreement with the restaurant’s landlord
Nolita: Neighborhood cocktail bar YN has permanently closed, according to an announcement on its website. On June 27, the owners of the bar shared that it would be temporarily closing but may not be able to reopen due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now it appears that the bar has permanently closed.
Park Slope: Brooklyn sushi spot Taro Sushi permanently closed on March 16, one day before the state’s ban on indoor dining. At the restaurant, chef-owner Yuji Sano offered fresh and reasonably priced sushi for more than a decade. In the closing announcement on Instagram, the restaurant shared that it may reopen at another location down the line.
Upper East Side: Cozy candlelight Italian restaurant Erminia appears to have permanently closed. The restaurant’s sign has been removed from its building, while Yelp and Opentable indicate that it will not be reopening.
Upper East Side: Grazie, a neighborhood Italian restaurant steps from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, has permanently closed after 27 years on the Upper East Side, according to owner Jennifer Mandell. “We opened in 1993 and survived many challenging times but we could not survive Covid-19,” Mandell shared in an email to Eater.
West Village: Chinese dim sum and barbecue restaurant Sammy’s Noodle Shop appears to have permanently closed. The restaurant space has been emptied, according to residents in the neighborhood, while its phone line has been disconnected and Google lists the restaurant as permanently closed.
Williamsburg: Acclaimed Williamsburg oyster bar Maison Premiere appears to have permanently shuttered amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The bar’s website now redirects to an error page, its Instagram account has been shut down, and the phone line appears to have been disconnected. Eater has reached out to co-owners Krystof Zizka and Joshua Boissy for more information.
August 6
Bushwick: All-day cafe Awkward Scone — popular in the neighborhood for its New Mexico-style breakfast burritos and baked goods highlighting Southwestern flavors — has permanently shut down. Co-owner Eric See said that he and his business partner split up, and he is currently weighing options for starting a new restaurant solely focused on showcasing New Mexico’s cuisine.
Chelsea: A 24-hour bodega popular with late-night drivers has permanently closed. Eater critic Robert Sietsema found the food at Kharian Deli, a mixture of Pakistani and Indian cooking, to be both affordable and wonderful.
Chelsea: New York City’s only Japanese fishing restaurant, Zauo, has closed after a little less than two years. The family-friendly restaurant was known for its interactive dining experience, in which customers literally fished for their dinner in large tanks of water. “Although it’s time for all of us to disembark and end our journey here, but it is far from the end,” the restaurant’s owners shared in a post on Instagram. “We look forward to set sail with you again.”
Cobble Hill: Eccentric late-night bar Camp has permanently closed, the owners confirmed to Eater over email. Trophy animals, Big Buck Hunter, and karaoke nights are just a few of the staples that locals mourned the loss of on social media. The owners were unable to come to an agreement with the landlord and without a steady revenue stream, “it did not make sense to continue operating,” they say.
Crown Heights: Bunsmith, a neighborhood go-to for Korean fried chicken, steamed buns, and rice bowls has permanently closed after five years. A friend of the owners confirmed the closure and advertised dishware from the restaurant in a post to a private group on Facebook. The restaurant’s second location at Dekalb Market is listed as “reopening soon” on its website.
East Village: Indonesian favorite Bali Kitchen has permanently shut down. The restaurant served traditional Indonesian fare like nasi goreng and beef rendang, but business took a huge hit due to the pandemic and takeout and delivery has not been enough to keep the restaurant open, the ownership told Grub Street.
East Village: Eight-year-old Mexican spot Fonda has permanently shut down, according to EV Grieve. A representative for the restaurant said that the decision was due to the pandemic, and the crisis had left ownership with “no options.”
East Village: Georgian mainstay Oda House, known for highlighting khachapuri and other traditional Georgian fare, has permanently shut down after seven years in the neighborhood. The restaurant did not give a reason for the closure. Its Upper East Side offshoot, which launched last year, remains open.
East Village: The East Village’s popular pasta-focused Italian restaurant, Porsena, has permanently closed after 10 years in the neighborhood. The neighborhood restaurant celebrated its last night of outdoor dining service on August 1, according to local blog EV Grieve, which first reported on the closure. General Manager Ian MacRae confirmed the closure to Eater Monday afternoon, citing the fact that the restaurant was unable to reach a rent agreement with its landlord.
Financial District: Neighborhood stalwart Bennie’s Thai Cafe permanently closed on July 26, exactly 24 years after its owners first starting cooking in-demand Thai dishes from the back of a Blimpie sandwich chain location that they owned. The owners informed customers of the closing in a message on Facebook.
Flatiron: Punch Restaurant and its upstairs wine room appear to have permanently closed after 20 years of business. Yelp indicates that the restaurant has permanently closed, while customers have shared photos to Instagram of a closing sale, in which the building appears to have been emptied of its furniture. Eater has reached out to the restaurant for more information.
Lower East Side: Casual neighborhood restaurant and bar Minnie’s has a ‘for rent’ sign hanging in its window, Bowery Boogie reports. The restaurant was open in the neighborhood for just under three years.
Midtown: Bouchon Bakery has closed its location at Rockefeller center after nine years of business, the bakery announced in a July 22 post to Instagram. “Given the challenges of the last five months; we could not find an economically feasible path to continue operating from an iconic location that thrived from consistent foot traffic and seasonal tourism,” the post reads. The mini-chain of bakeries from chef Thomas Keller plans to reopen its location in Columbus Circle.
Prospect Heights: Neighborhood hangout Rose’s will not be returning after the novel coronavirus pandemic. The beloved bar and grill, which once described its food as “seasonal but sleazy,” opened its doors five years ago. Owners Alicia Nicolette and Kate O’Connor Morris attributed the closure to the coronavirus pandemic in a post on Facebook, writing that “the current legislation and limited resources available to independent businesses left us with no other option.”
Sheepshead Bay: Longstanding kosher deli Jay and Lloyd’s permanently closed after 28 years of business. “Kosher delis at one time were a staple of every neighborhood,” the owners wrote in a post on Instagram. “Most are now gone and only a handful remain. Please support any that are still around and keep what was once something we all enjoyed around for other generations.”
Tribeca: The team behind Tribeca’s popular subterranean barbecue spot Holy Ground have shuttered their restaurant to focus on a series of city-wide pop-ups. Local blog Tribeca Citizen first spotted crew members removing furniture from the restaurant and co-owner Franco V confirmed the closure in an interview with Eater. “We have not been able to come to terms with our landlord with something that works for both of us,” V said. “On the other side of this, we’ll start again.”
Upper East Side: One of New York City’s only Cambodian restaurants, Angkor Cambodian Bistro, permanently closed on August 1, owners Minh and Mandy Truong announced in a Facebook post. “This restaurant and our guests have brought us so much joy over the past five years,” part of the post on Facebook reads. “But we must come to terms that the current crisis is not something we can weather.”
Williamsburg: The Sweet Chick team’s popular Caribbean restaurant Pearl’s has permanently closed after four years, the restaurant’s owners confirmed in an email to Eater. The buzzy, brightly colored Brooklyn restaurant ranked among the city’s best for Caribbean food and was one of the only to serve the fare in Williamsburg.
West Village: Rossopomodoro, a West Village offshoot of Eataly’s popular pizza concession, permanently closed on July 31. An announcement on the restaurant’s website informed customers of the closure, which does not include their pizza counters inside of Eataly’s Flatiron and Financial District stores.
July 30
East Village: Milanese favorite Gaia’s Italian Cafe is closing down after nine years in the neighborhood, Bowery Boogie reports, but the restaurant may not be gone forever. Owner Gaia Bagnasacco may be looking into a new location on the Lower East Side, according to the report.
East Village: Newcomer O Ramen & Dim Sum M has packed it up after just two weeks in operation, EV Grieve reports. The owners may try reopening the spot again if business in the neighborhood appears to pick up in a few months.
Financial District: Famed restaurateur Keith McNally’s acclaimed French brasserie Augustine inside the Beekman Hotel is closing for good. McNally confirmed the news on Instagram, saying that the closure came after failed negotiations with the restaurant’s landlord to keep the space open.
Fort Greene: Well-liked neighborhood Mexican spot Pequena has closed after 14 years in operation. The restaurant’s ownership said the city’s dining restrictions were untenable for the shop’s tiny location.
Flatiron District: David Bouley’s more casual, tasting menu restaurant and cooking school has closed after three years, Bouley confirmed to Eater via email. The pioneering chef says that Bouley at Home will return in Tribeca, though a date and location have not been confirmed at this time.
Hell’s Kitchen: Neighborhood cafe and pizzeria Fluffy’s has permanently closed “after 45 years of serving both New Yorkers and tourists from all over the world,” according to an announcement on the restaurant’s website. In the post, the restaurant attributed the closure to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lower East Side: Beloved pho shop An Choi and Vietnamese coffee shop Cafe Phin, located within the restaurant, have both shut down after a successful 11-year run in the neighborhood. Owners Tuan and Huy Bui still run the wildly popular Vietnamese spot Di an Di in Greenpoint, where customers can find some of An Choi’s top-selling dishes on the menu.
Lower East Side: After close to six decades on the Lower East Side, neighborhood icon Rosario’s Pizza has permanently closed. The pizza joint first opened its doors back in 1963, right next door to Katz’s Delicatessen, before moving to its current location on Orchard Street in 1988. In a business update posted to Google, owner Sal Bartolomeo says he is “actively looking for a new location” for the pizzeria.
Meatpacking District: The Gansevoort Market food hall appears to have permanently closed after a rocky six-year run in Manhattan. Earlier this week, the food hall’s luxe, lightbulb sign was taken down from the face of its building and crews were spotted removing kitchen equipment from its premises. The closure comes just one week after the food hall’s developers announced plans to open a new Gansevoort Market in the Oculus in Lower Manhattan this fall.
Noho: Art gallery-slash-Japanese coffee shop By Name Cafe appears to have shut down. The restaurant space has been cleared out, according to photos from a tipster, and the cafe’s website is no longer up and running.
Nomad: Mid-priced steakhouse chain Quality Eats has shuttered its giant Nomad location due to the pandemic, a spokesperson for parent company Quality Branded confirms. The Nomad restaurant opened in 2018 in a 3,500-square-foot space that marked the brand’s largest location to date. Quality Eats’ other locations in the West Village and the Upper East Side are still in operation.
Ridgewood: A local watering hole for pool players has permanently closed. “Due to covid-19, we will not be re-opening,” the owners of El Coqui Bar and Billiards shared in a post on Facebook.
Union Square: Midwestern favorite Dairy Queen has permanently closed its only location in Manhattan after six years.
Upper East Side: A longstanding Indian restaurant has closed its doors after 41 years on the Upper East Side. Agra Restaurant temporarily closed on March 17 following the state-mandated shutdown of indoor dining, but the son of the owner say the restaurant was never able to reopen. “We survived all the ups and downs over the decades but COVID was the finale,” says Jason Gomes. Agra has a second location in Bayside, Queens at 213-35 39th Avenue, between Corporal Stone Street, and Bell Boulevard.
Upper East Side: Longstanding bakery and brunch spot Sarabeth’s has closed its Upper East Side location after over 20 years in the neighborhood.
Upper West Side: One of New York City’s only Cuban-Chinese restaurants has closed after 52 years of business. The Upper West Side staple, called La Caridad 78, came from Raphael Lee, a Chinese man who opened the restaurant in 1968 after fleeing from Cuba when Fidel Castro assumed control of the country. Earlier this week, workers were spotted removing furniture and equipment from the restaurant and a for lease sign now hangs in the building’s front window.
Upper West Side: Oath Pizza, a thin-crust pizza joint with locations in nine cities, has permanently closed after two-years in the neighborhood. The pizza chain has a second NYC location on the Upper East Side, at 1142 Third Avenue, near East 67th Street.
Upper West Side: One of the city’s essential bakeries has permanently closed. Pastry chef and baker Peng-Chieh Wang spent years studying in Japan, Europe, and the United States before opening Recolte, which ranked among the city’s best bakeries in its brief two-year tenure. Wang’s Taiwanese-French pastries and seasonal fruit tarts were popular with locals in the neighborhood. For rent signs now hang in its windows.
Upper West Side: Beloved mini-chain of hand-pulled noodles Xi’an Famous Foods has closed one of its outposts on the Upper West Side, local publication West Side Rag reports.
West Village: Nautical-themed bar Rusty Knot on the West Side Highway permanently shut down after over a decade. Co-owner Taavo Somer said on Instagram that the bar was shutting down due to failed landlord negotiations amid the pandemic.
Williamsburg: Local all-day cafe and coffee shop chain Gotan has closed its lone Brooklyn location.
Williamsburg: New England-style clam shack Extra Fancy has closed after more than eight years, its owners shared in an announcement on Instagram. Though the owners did not attribute the closure to COVID-19, they did say that Extra Fancy had “an emotional ending far different than one we would’ve hoped to write.” In the post, they also announced the opening of a new Mexican restaurant called Top Quality in Long Island City, with noted Boston chef Matthew Gaudet at its helm.
July 23
Bed-Stuy: Corner coffee shop Always and Forever has permanently closed after a little more than a year in Bed-Stuy. The neighborhood restaurant, known for its housemade pop-tarts and Stumptown cold brew, had the feel of a European cafe, with tile floors, an open-air interior, and a bright blue paint job. Bushwick Taco Company, a “Frida Kahlo-inspired Mexican taqueria” with a second location in Bushwick, will be taking over the property, according to a sign on its doors.
Chinatown: Malaysian cafe Let’s Makan is in the process of permanently shutting down, co-owner and chef Michelle Lam confirmed with Eater. The Southeast Asian restaurant, located at 64A Bayard Street between Elizabeth Street and Mott Street, was praised for its wide variety of sweet and savory Malaysian snacks during its two-year run, including the made-to-order apam balik, a thin, folded pancake stuffed with fillings including peanuts and coconut flakes. The restaurant cited shifting priorities “in the current climate” as reason for the shutdown in its announcement on Instagram.
Crown Heights: Craft cider maker Bad Seed has closed its Crown Heights taproom after close to three years on Franklin Avenue. The taproom and bar, which comes from the Bad Seed Hard Cider company and was home to a big backyard, a 30-foot bar, a $12 flight deal, which ranked among the most affordable in the neighborhood. The restaurant announced the December 1 closure in a post on Facebook.
Greenpoint: Neighborhood bistro Alameda has closed after eight years in the neighborhood. The Franklin Street restaurant had initially closed following the state-mandated shutdown in March on dining in, but reopened in May for takeout and delivery. The restaurant served its last meal Wednesday night, and the owners did not outline the reason behind the closure.
Greenpoint: Pop-up restaurant favorite Kinkfolk has shuttered after 12 years in the neighborhood. The multi-purpose space, which had a retail store, a cafe, and many pop-up restaurants cycle through its space over the years closed for good on Tuesday. The novel coronavirus-related shutdown decimated the business, and made it impossible to go on, according to a message the owners posted on Kinfolk’s Instagram account.
Lower East Side: After 21 years, volunteer-run and collectively-owned bookstore and cafe Bluestockings is relocating to a new space. In a message posted to their website, the owners said they needed a bigger space, and that the landlord had not acted quickly enough to make structural repairs, and had increased the rent.
Midtown East: Office lunch staple Spoon Table & Bar permanently closed July 1 after 20 years of business. The owners cited the novel coronavirus-related shutdown as the reason before their closure with the disappearance of office lunches, catering gigs, and tourists who frequented the restaurant affecting sales. The restaurant wasn’t able to come to an agreement with its landlord on rent either, according to an email the owners sent Eater.
Prospect Park South: Beloved Asian-American restaurant Hunger Pang NYC has closed after six years. The owners had initially scaled back operations due to the coronavirus pandemic, and were only offering a takeout service. They decided to pull the plug on the restaurant on June 29.
Williamsburg: A little less than 10 years after it opened, neighborhood mediterranean restaurant Saint Austere has closed. The owners made the announcement on Instagram and cited the pandemic as the reason behind the closure. The announcement hints at eventually opening a new space, and in the interim the owners will continue to operate their Bushwick natural wine shop, Starr Wines.
Williamsburg: Viva Toro, a Mexican restaurant and bar perhaps best known for the mechanical bull in its dining room, has permanently closed. The large indoor restaurant, which was a popular nighttime gathering place, has a “retail space for lease” on its door.
July 16
Forest Hills: A Chinese bakery with Vietnamese influence has permanently closed, according to residents in the neighborhood. Violet’s Bake Shoppe, which is named for chef Chris Tang’s daughter, opened in Queens four years ago and has won over the neighborhood with its trays of cream puffs, egg tarts, and coconut pudding, as well as its heaping banh mi sandwiches, which received praise from the New York Times. A “prime retail space available” sign hangs in the bakery’s window.
Long Island City: Neighborhood gastropub Dutch Kills Centraal has permanently closed after six years, its owners tell local publication LIC Talk. The restaurant’s owners say they had hoped to use business in the spring to offset losses from a slow winter last year, but the novel coronavirus pandemic dashed those hopes. The pub relied on customers staying at nearby hotels, the owners say, and a decline in tourists forced them to shutter.
Midtown: Broadway’s two-story fine dining restaurant Abigael’s permanently closed in May, according to a Facebook announcement from chef Jeff Nathan. In the post, Nathan writes that the 25-year-old kosher restaurant is approaching the end of its lease, which will not be renewed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Abigael’s will still be available for catering, as well as from its concession stand at Madison Square Garden, when the venue reopens.
Upper West Side: A longstanding stop for falafel, shawarma, and communal dinner has permanently closed after more than two decades on the Upper West Side. Ali Baba — which comes from rabbi Moshe Harizy — has been in the neighborhood since the 1990s.
Upper West Side: Amsterdam Gourmet Deli, a stop for quick bites and grocery needs, has closed. A sign in the window last week read, “Closing out: 50% off.”
Upper West Side: Sophisticated Upper West Side cocktail lounge the Beacon Bar will not be reopening after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to head bartender Mike Manjon. The 62-seat cocktail bar has served as a pre- and post-concert gathering place for the Beacon Theater, located next door, since opening in April 2013. Manjon and other longtime employees learned about the closure from a letter shared by the bar’s assistant manager in mid-June. The former bartender says it was the first communication he had received from management since the Beacon Bar temporarily closed on March 14.
Upper West Side: The Ellington, a neighborhood restaurant on the corner of West 106th Street and Amsterdam Avenue has closed for good, according to owner Glenda Sansone. “The Ellington is just too small for us to do social distance dining,” Sansone says. “It’s just going to be too hard. We decided to let it go.” Sansone — who has been working at her other restaurant, Ellington in the Park — says that the Ellington will reopen at a larger space on Broadway, one block from its original location, later this year. The new location was already in the works before the novel coronavirus pandemic, but Sansone says that she would have preferred “to move over to the new space in a good way.”
Upper West Side: A tea shop and gallery tucked away on the Upper West Side has permanently closed, according to its owners. Floating Mountain Tea House was known for its wide selection of imported loose leaf teas, which were available to sip atop pillow cushions throughout the gallery or to take home. The shop will reopen at a “beautiful property” in Croton-On-Hudson in upstate New York, according to a message posted to Yelp by the tea shop’s owners.
Upper West Side: Grill 212, a kosher restaurant on the Upper West Side, will permanently close, according to local publication I Love the Upper West Side. For the last eight years, the restaurant has served a mixture of Yemeni and Middle Eastern cuisine to locals in the neighborhood.
Upper West Side: Philadelphia-style sandwich chain Lenwich has permanently closed its stores at 2567 Broadway, between 96th and 97th Streets.
Upper West Side: Fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant Nanoosh has closed its Upper West Side outpost. The interior of the restaurant has been gutted, according to local publication I Love the Upper West Side.
Upper West Side: One of the neighborhood’s old school diners, New Wave Cafe, has closed after nearly 30 years of business. A “store for rent” sign now hangs in the diner’s window, which was known for its all-day breakfasts, including pancakes and omelettes.
Upper West Side: A new neighborhood pasta shop from the owners of Motorino pizza has shuttered after just under a year. Pasta Franco comes from the team behind popular wood-fired pie spot Motorino, which has locations in Williamsburg, the East Village, and one storefront over on the Upper West Side. The short-lived Italian restaurant opened its doors in September of 2019.
Upper East Side: Vaucluse, the upscale Park Avenue French restaurant from chef Michael White, has permanently closed due to the financial fallout from the COVID-19 crisis. The restaurant first closed due to the state-mandated shutdown of dine-in services on March 16, though it’s not clear when its owners made the decision to permanently close.
Sunnyside: French cafe Cote Soleil has closed after roughly four years due to the COVID-19 downturn, owner Vincent Caro shared in a post on Instagram. “Because of the recent challenges we faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant will close.” Caro writes that the “spirit of Cote Soleil” lives on at his other restaurant in Jackson Heights, Bistro Eloise, which remains open for takeout, delivery, and outdoor dining. “We are not giving up on [Sunnyside] and when circumstances are favorable, a new and improved version of Côté Soleil shall be back in the area,” he writes.
Williamsburg: Jimmy’s Diner, a casual breakfast and brunch spot in Williamsburg, has permanently closed, according to residents in the neighborhood. A handmade note on the restaurant’s window reads, “Jimmy’s Diner, 2007 - 2020. Thank you for the memories.” The diner was home to egg creams, empanadas, milkshakes, and oversized breakfast burritos, some of which were spotlighted during a visit from Guy Fieri on his show Dine In, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
July 9
Brooklyn Heights: Neighborhood favorite coffee shop Cranberry’s has closed after 42 years, the Brooklyn Heights Blog reports. A sign posted to the coffee shop’s door, and on its website, let customers know that the shop had closed for good last week. Owner Jim Montemarano didn’t attribute the closure to the COVID-19 pandemic, but he told the Brooklyn Heights blog that it had been “an emotional quarantine deciding Cranberry’s future.”
Chelsea: Northern Italian restaurant Crispo looks as though it’s permanently closed. Residents in the neighborhood report that the restaurant has been emptied out, and construction workers were at-work detaching the restaurant’s signature fan-shaped marquee this morning. The Italian trattoria with a sprawling backyard comes from chef Frank Crispo, who opened the restaurant on the border of Chelsea and the West Village in 2002. Phone calls to the restaurant went unreturned.
East Village: A gathering place for Boston Red Sox fans appears to have closed, EV Grieve reports. The website domain, phone line, and email address at Professor Thoms have all been disconnected, and a retail listing for the “fully vented commissary kitchen” has been posted online.
FiDi: The Financial District’s time-worn underground party restaurant, China Chalet, appears to have permanently closed. The Cantonese restaurant, once a buzzing gathering spot for the neighborhood’s office workers, later became a popular hangout destination for New York University students. Dozens of commenters turned to Twitter to mourn the loss of the Manhattan institution, sharing memories of indoor smoking, dance floor make outs, and — at least for Eater critic Robert Sietsema — a memorable General Tso’s chicken dinner.
Fort Greene: An Irish sports bar and grill in Fort Green has permanently closed, according to residents in the neighborhood. A “for rent” sign hangs from the front of Mullanes, which served as a cheaper alternative for watching sports games than nearby Barclay’s Center.
Lower East Side: Beverly’s, a local dive bar and event space, has closed after seven years on Dixon Street. Venue co-founders Leah Dixon, Chris Herity, and Dan Sutti say that at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, they expected Beverly’s to be back up and running by May. With that date having been pushed back, though, “we are looking reality in the face, and know that we cannot afford to keep the bar at 21 Essex any longer,” they shared in an announcement on Instagram. The owner say that they have plans to revive Beverly’s at another location after the pandemic, along with its “art, exhibitions, performances, collaborations, (and when we are allowed to congregate again) PARTIES!”
Upper West Side: One of the Upper West Side’s few sources for fresh poke has now closed, according to residents in the neighborhood. Pokebab, a restaurant mini-chain with two other locations in the city, opened its doors briefly during quarantine, residents say. A “retail for lease” sign now hangs in its window.
West Village: One of the city’s least Googleable seafood restaurants has permanently closed, residents in the neighborhood report. Fish Restaurant has been gutted, while a “retail space for lease” sign hangs from its storefront on Bleecker Street.
West Village: Sushi West will be leaving the West Village after more than two decades of business, the owners shared in a note posted to its door. “After 26 years thank you all! You will be missed,” the sign reads. The restaurant, which formerly operated under the name Sushi on Hudson, was famously the site of a local workers’ strike in 2009, which followed claims that an employee was paid $3 an hour for 70 hours of weekly work.
Greenwich Village: The owners of Sweet Corner have announced that the neighborhood bakeshop will be permanently closing after a seven-year run. This snug coffee shop with popular cookies and gourmet cakes will remain available for takeout and delivery until July 10, the owners say.
July 2
Chinatown: JJ Noodle, a Cantonese restaurant on the corner of Catherine and Henry Streets, has permanently closed according to residents in the neighborhood. The owners could not be reached for comment, though the restaurant’s phone and online delivery platform have been disconnected, while a for rent sign hangs in its front window.
Crown Heights: Neighborhood Caribbean restaurant and rum bar Glady’s has permanently closed, the restaurant announced over Instagram. The Crown Heights mainstay was known for its jerked chicken, pepper shrimp, and strong-as-nails rum cocktails. The restaurant cited the “financial stress of COVID-19” and “failed negotiations” with Glady’s’ landlord as reasons for the shutdown.
East Village: Neighborhood slice shop Nolita Pizza has closed its storefront at 128 Second Avenue and reopened a few blocks away at 68 Kenmare Street, between Mott and Mulberry Streets. The East Village pizzeria opened on Second Avenue back in August 2019 in a storefront previously occupied by the Kati Roll Company.
East Village: Hawaiian-style poke restaurant the Pokespot has closed after almost four years in the neighborhood, local publication EV Grieve reports. The restaurant’s website has been deactivated, but its Instagram page lists the address of a second location in Atlanta, Georgia. Both locations had been temporarily closed since the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Lower East Side: A casual coffeehouse and wine bar has permanently closed after 13 years of business. Cocoa Bar, whose name comes from its focus on gourmet chocolate desserts, opened on the Lower East Side over 13 years ago. A “for lease” sign hangs in the cafe’s front window.
Upper East Side: Corner cafe and bakery Padoca permanently closed just days after celebrating its five-year anniversary, owner Marina Halpern announced on Instagram. In the post, Halpern shared that the COVID-19 pandemic “hit us hard and we’ve had to make the most difficult decision yet.” Padoca will be leaving the neighborhood for now, but local deliveries can still be placed through third-party delivery apps, while nationwide shipping and catering orders are available through the bakery’s website.
West Village: Cozy West Village wine bar Aria has closed after more than a decade. The Italian wine bar and restaurant has been cleared out of its dishes, and tables, while its dark wooden stools are overturned on the bar’s counters.
Williamsburg: Eclectic Asian-American bar and restaurant, Snacky, has closed after 18 years, owner Sandy Pei shared on Instagram. The bar was known for its funky decor — where shelves were lined with robots, dragon heads, and other tchotchkes purchased from shops in Manhattan’s Chinatown — but also for its equally funky food menu, a blend of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and America cuisines. In her Instagram post, Pei wrote, “We are sad to announce that our journey in hospitality has ended,” though she did not specifically cite the novel coronavirus pandemic for Snacky’s closure.
June 26
Bed-Stuy: A Bed-Stuy branch of fried chicken franchise Crown Fried Chicken has permanently closed, and locals in the neighborhood appear to be thrilled. In a Facebook group called Bedford Stuyvesant Brooklyn, residents shared photos detailing 39 violations against the business located at 235 Ralph Avenue, between Brainbridge and Chauncey Streets, which include mice and roaches.
Bryant Park: Celebrated American restaurant Aureole will not be returning when restaurants reopen for indoor seating in July. The 32-year-old restaurant from chef and owner Charlie Palmer first opened in an Upper East Side townhouse in 1988, before moving to its former home near Bryant Parker in 2009. Palmer will offer some of the restaurant’s dishes through a high-end delivery service called Aureole-at-Home, with plans to open another restaurant at the same location, called Charlie Palmer Steak NY, later this year.
Chinatown: A Malaysian-French restaurant started by a wife and husband duo has permanently closed. Mei Chau and Marc Kaczmarek opened Aux Epices in 2013, and for the last seven years, the duo has focused on homestyle cooking that combines Chau’s Malaysian and Kaczmarek’s French heritages. In an announcement posted to the restaurant’s website on June 12, the owners shared that the restaurant had permanently closed.
Chinatown: A neighborhood market for fruits and vegetables Mee Li Fruits and Vegetables has closed after 45 years, according to a sign posted on the shop’s front door. The announcement does not attribute the closure to COVID-19, though customers noted that the produce stand temporarily closed after the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic and did not reopen.
Clinton Hill: Clinton Hill’s Michelin-starred bistro the Finch is permanently closing after five years, according to owner and chef Gabe McMackin. He didn’t specifically cite economic pressures from COVID-19 as the reason for the shutdown, but rather said in general that it was “time to close the Finch and find a new path.” Eater has reached out to McMackin for more information on the closure.
East Village: The only Manhattan outpost of Beijing-based hot pot chain First Lamb Shabu has permanently closed. For rent signs hang in the recently renovated restaurant, local publication EV Grieve reports, which opened in August 2019. The chain has another well-liked restaurant in Flushing and more than 300 locations in China.
Fidi: Just six months after opening, restaurateur Amelie Kang’s FiDi dumpling and noodle bistro, Chubby Princess, has permanently closed. A sign hanging on the restaurant’s door indicates that it has been replaced by a new Uyghur restaurant called Caravan Uyghur Cuisine. A spokesperson for Kang says the financial downturn from the COVID-19 crisis forced the restaurant to shutter permanently.
Greenpoint: NYC-based Western Chinese food chain Xi’an Famous Foods has closed one of its stores in Greenpoint. “Due to financial pressures of COVID19, we must be moving on to cut our losses at this location,” company CEO Jason Wang wrote in a letter posted to the store’s front door.
Lower East Side: Japanese-inspired all-day cafe Bonsai Kakigori has permanently closed, according to an announcement from owner Gaston Becherano. The cafe served kakigori at Smorgasburg and the Canal Street Market before finding a permanent home on the Lower East Side last year. Commenters on Instagram mourned the loss of the neighborhood cafe, which Gaston says closed as a result of the COVID-19 shutdown. “I’ve tried to look at every angle possible, looking for all ways that would allow us to do our favorite thing in the world: welcoming you into our home and serving you,” he wrote in the announcement. “Unfortunately, it’s not in the cards.”
Prospect Heights: A self-described bar for nerds in Prospect Heights will not be reopening after nearly a decade in the neighborhood. The Way Station was best known for its steampunk aesthetic and robust lineup of events, which included weekly trivia and an eclectic live music scene that NPR once called “strong but occasionally weird.” In an announcement posted to the bar’s website, owner Andy “Anders” Heidel shared that the popular neighborhood bar would not have been able to make enough money in the next year and a half to stay open.
Soho: A small restaurant specializing in Basque cuisine has closed after seven years in Soho. Cocotte, which opened a few days before Hurricane Sandy in 2012 has permanently closed as a result of lower business numbers, according to one of the restaurant’s wine suppliers, who reported that the owners had formally ended relationships with their suppliers.
Soho: A 43-year-old mainstay for local artists and weekend brunch has closed. The Cupping Room Cafe opened in the heart of Soho in 1977 as a second-home to the neighborhood’s artists, but over the years it’s grown into a neighborhood hub for celebrating Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years Eve, and Sunday morning brunch. “Like many other restaurants, we have fallen victim to COVID 19,” the owners shared in an announcement on Instagram. “It is with a heavy heart that we must announce that we will be closing our doors for good.”
Times Square: New York City lost an institution this week: the gigantic, gaudy four-story McDonald’s flagship store in Times Square has closed its doors after 17 years. Shortly after the New York Post reported its closing, online commenters mourned the loss of the fast food restaurant, including those who sold shoes on its sidewalks, threw up in its bathrooms, and used it as a go-to first date spot. A company spokesperson tells the New York Post that the closure was not related to the pandemic, which has decimated tourist-driven businesses in the high-traffic area.
Williamsburg: Popular neighborhood cheese store Bedford Cheese Shop said goodbye to its namesake avenue this week after more than 17 years. The artisanal dairy shop — long considered a must-visit for tourists strolling through the neighborhood — closed on June 21, which the owners attributed to “many factors outside of our control.” The company’s Gramercy Park location, at 67 Irving Place, near East 18th Street, will remain open.
June 18
Bushwick: Pioneering restaurant, bar, and cider maker Brooklyn Cider House has permanently closed. Cidermaker Peter Yi opened the Bushwick brewery a little over two years ago and it quickly developed a local following for its modest three-course prix-fixe dinner, which involved not-so-modest cider “catches” straight from the warehouse’s barrels. A spokesperson for the company said that Brooklyn Cider House relied on its weddings and events business to stay afloat, leaving Yi with no choice but to permanently close as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The company’s popular ciders are now available for purchase through its online store.
Chinatown: Neighborhood Japanese restaurant Gohan-Ya has permanently closed, but its owner will continue to serve its food at her second restaurant, Lovely Day, in Nolita. At Lovely Day, owner Kazusa Jibiki has been selling household staples — like hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and select groceries — in addition to a full menu of food, takeout cocktails, and bottles of wine. Those sales apparently weren’t enough to keep Gohan-Ya afloat. Much of the business is now merged under one roof at Lovely Day.
Clinton Hill: A place for “kindness,” “good feelings,” and neighborhood gathering has permanently closed, according to an Instagram post from New York Times critic Pete Wells. Urban Vintage lasted just over 10 years on the corner of Clifton Place and Grand Avenue in Clinton Hill, Wells writes, taking over the space of a former bodega. After trying to get by on delivery and takeout service alone, the neighborhood hub decided to closed as a result of the economic downturn from the novel coronavirus pandemic.
East Village: Matt and Emily Hyland of the popular Pizza Loves Emily restaurant group have permanently closed Violet, their year-old East Village pizzeria focused on Rhode Island-style pies. In a statement on its closure, Matt Hyland called the restaurant a “fun experience,” but one that was no longer possible to maintain “in a New York that is increasing drastically in cost of goods and wages.” The Pizza Loves Emily co-owner says that he will be moving to Clinton Hill to focus on the group’s original Emily and Emmy Squared locations.
Financial District: South Street Seaport restaurant and bar the Trading Post will not be reopening following the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an announcement on its website. The three-story bar with waterfront views and a clubby interior opened back in 2013 with a menu of upscale American dishes.
Greenwich Village: The city’s first vegetarian restaurant to receive a Michelin star has closed four years after opening. John Fraser, the chef and co-owner of Nix, made the announcement on his Instagram, attributing the closure to the financial downturn caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic. “Everything that’s happened since has shown us that there is no path back to where we had been,” Fraser wrote, adding that the economic downturn has made it impossible for the restaurant to reopen in the near future.
Greenwich Village: Italian dumpling and dim sum restaurant Raviolo has permanently closed. A red-and-white “for lease” sign hangs in the two-year-old restaurant, best known for fitting bite-size versions of Italian foods into dumplings, buns, and bao.
Meatpacking District: Candy-themed international restaurant chain Sugar Factory American Brasserie appears to be scaling back its presence its Manhattan, starting with its location in the Meatpacking District. The owners of the multi-story brasserie on Washington Street have removed the building’s cooking equipment, while the restaurant’s address has been stripped from the company’s online list of NYC locations. Sugar Factory’s Times Square outpost has also been removed from the company’s website, though it’s unclear if that store has permanently closed at this time.
Soho: Upmarket seafood destination Aquagrill has permanently closed after a 24-year run in Soho. The spacious restaurant — long touted as one of the city’s best seafood spots — had initially closed temporarily due to the COVID-19-related shutdown, but decided to permanently close this month as a result of the “adverse effects of COVID-19 on dining out,” according to co-owner Jennifer Marshall.
Upper East Side: Turkish neighborhood mainstay Peri Ela, known for its mezze and kebabs, has closed, according to residents in the neighborhood. The Upper East Side mediterranean restaurant has yet to announce the closure on its website or social media accounts, but Con Edison has posted a “notice of intent to discontinue service” to its front windows, an indication that gas services have been permanently discontinued.
Upper West Side: Fine-dining trailblazer Tom Valenti’s Upper West Side restaurant, Oxbow Tavern, has permanently closed after a little more than a year. “We’re sad to report that Oxbow Tavern has closed,” the owners of the restaurant shared on Instagram. “But we’re pleased to report (to paraphrase Mark Twain) that ‘reports of our death are greatly exaggerated!’” While Oxbow Tavern was unable to sustain their business through delivery and takeout services, the owners say that the restaurant has plans to reopen with Valenti at its helm in the next year or two, when “fine dining returns to 2019 levels.”
West Village: All-day coffee and pastry shop Hudson Cafe will not be returning after the novel coronavirus pandemic. The restaurant has a “space for lease” sign hanging in its window above a sandwich-board listing one of its former morning specials: a breakfast sandwich and 12-ounce coffee for $8.75.
June 5
Chelsea: Italian restaurant and wine bar Zagara has permanently closed. A “store for rent” sign hangs in the restaurant’s windows.
Forest Hills: A neighborhood gathering place in Queens has closed after a 10-year run. The Forest Hills Diner was liked by locals for its all-encompassing menu of breakfast staples, though its base of regular customers consisted mostly of people working in the Austin Street area. With many of those people working from home, owner Benito Galvan decided to close the restaurant instead of taking on debt to keeping its doors open.
Forest Hills: Weekend favorite brunch spot Jack and Nellie’s will not be reopening after the novel coronavirus pandemic. In an announcement posted to the restaurant’s Instagram page last week, the owners shared that after eight years in Forest Hills, “our time serving you is cut short.” “It is often the uncontrollable factors of what life hands us that determine how we move forward,” the owners wrote, seeming to allude to the COVID-19 crisis. The owners of Jack and Nellie’s also own the Rove, a Forest Hill restaurant and bar that remains open for takeout and delivery.
Harlem: Modern French-style bistro RDV has permanently closed. “It is with a heavy heart and light tears, but with a lot of great memories and superb shifts that I have to announce the end of the first chapter of my beloved Rendezvous,” executive chef Kfir Ben-Ari wrote in a post on the restaurant’s Instagram last month. As a result of the COVID-19 economic downturn, Ben-Ari wrote that it was no longer possible to have an “empty restaurant and pay bills.” The executive chef assured the post’s many commenters that his beloved neighborhood French restaurant would reopen at another location. “Once it’s all over,” he wrote.
West Village: Japanese hot pot restaurant Hakata Tonton appears to have permanently closed after 13 years. Pig’s feet were the star of the show at this well-liked restaurant, where the dish was served in a variety of preparations. The owners of Hakata Tonton have not announced the closure, but the restaurant has been marked as permanently closed by Yelp, Google Maps, Grubhub, and Seamless, and its website has expired and phone number has been disconnected.
West Village: Scottish gastropub Highlands permanently closed after a decade in the West Village. The restaurant’s owners say that they had no choice but to close following months of economic distress due to the novel coronavirus crisis.
May 29
Midtown: The Copacabana — an iconic New York City nightclub whose stage has seen the likes of Harry Belafonte, the Supremes, and Carmen Miranda — permanently closed this month after an 80-year run in multiple locations. A staffer at the nightclub attributed the closure to the novel coronavirus shutdown, adding that the venue planned to return next year at a new unspecified location.
Times Square: Manhattan’s luxe new hotel the Times Square Edition, which temporarily closed in light of the pandemic, is set to permanently close this August, just one year after its hyped-up Manhattan debut. The hotel is home to several restaurant and bar options helmed by chef John Fraser, including its ninth-floor Terrace Restaurant and the Outdoor Gardens, an all-day American brasserie. The flagship fine-dining restaurant 701West notably received three-stars in the New York Times. The hotel was a partnership between hotelier Ian Schrager and Marriott International Inc.
Tribeca: Vietnamese fast-casual restaurant Vietspot has permanently closed just two years after opening in the neighborhood. Owner Sophie Nguyen tells Tribeca Citizen that she hopes to fully reopen the FiDi outpost of the restaurant — which is also the original location — when the current restrictions on dining-in are lifted. For now, that outpost is open for delivery and takeout.
West Village: Japanese grilling destination Takashi has left the West Village after more than a decade in the neighborhood. The novel coronavirus shutdown dealt the tabletop grilling spot “a particularly deft blow,” according to a letter posted to the restaurant’s website by owner Saheem Al. Given the restaurant’s focus on interactive, family-style meals, a pivot to delivery or takeout didn’t make sense, Ali wrote, while the restaurant was too small to make a comeback with dine-in service at reduced capacity.
West Village: Blenheim, an upscale farm-to-table restaurant in the West Village, appears to have permanently closed without announcement, according to tipsters who described the space as “cleared out entirely.” In its six-year run, the restaurant was known for its “grown-to-order” produce, which comes from two farms in the Catskills also owned by the restaurant. At the time of writing, the owners have not posted a closing announcement to their website or social media page.
May 22
Tribeca: Manhattan mini-chain Schnippers has permanently closed its Tribeca outpost, according to local publication Tribeca Citizen. The Schnippers brothers opened the burger restaurant in 2016; the duo had founded and operated Hale and Hearty soups until 2006, when they sold the company. Three other Schnippers remain, in Times Square, Midtown, and the Financial District.
Upper West Side: Charming French restaurant Bistro Cassis announced that it would close after more than 15 years of business. The Upper West Side bistro remained open for takeout and delivery service through the first two months of the coronavirus pandemic, serving its popular French onion soup, rack of lamb, and steak frites to locals in the neighborhood. Despite an outpouring of support from customers online, though, the restaurant shared that its last day would be May 11.
Upper West Side: Upper West Side’s counter-service kosher spot Effy’s has permanently closed according to an announcement from the restaurant’s owners. The seven-year-old restaurant was beloved in the neighborhood for its breakfast and brunches, which highlighted Mediterranean and Israeli dishes. Although the owners did not cite a reason for closing, a chalkboard sign in front of the restaurant last week did share hopes to serve diners again at another location in the city.
May 15
Chelsea: Boston-based tapas restaurant Toro NYC will not be reopening following the coronavirus pandemic. The restaurant — an expansion of the successful, original Toro restaurant operated by JK Food Group — posted a message to its Facebook and Instagram accounts in March, announcing that its “staff will not have a restaurant home to come back to when this pandemic ends.”
East Village: Michelin-starred sushi omakase spot Jewel Bako has closed its doors for good, EV Grieve reports. The restaurant — “one of the most enjoyable places to enjoy sushi in the city,” according to New York Magazine — posted a sign to its door earlier this week advertising an “open house sale” with kitchen appliances, supplies, and wine for sale. The team’s nearby chef counter Restaurant Ukiyo has closed as well, the owners confirm to Eater.
Flatbush: The Brooklyn location of Wolf and Lamb Steakhouse has closed as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic, owner Zalman Wuensch announced over Facebook. “After nearly a decade serving the Brooklyn Kosher community, we are sad to announce that due to issues related to the corona crisis, Wolf and Lamb is sad to be closing our Brooklyn location,” Wuensch said. The steakhouse’s midtown Manhattan location is temporarily closed but plans to reopen when it is safe to do so.
Fort Greene: After more than six years in the neighborhood, Fort Greene’s Greene Grape Annex has permanently closed. The airy cafe — known for its naturally-lit dining room, late-night hours, and many, many planter boxes — closed due to the coronavirus pause, says owner Amy Bennett in an email to her staff. “I look forward to a time where things are back to (a new) normal and the kind of neighborhood social interaction that Annex fostered comes back,” she says. The Greene Grape Annex is survived by the nearby Green Grape Provisions grocery store and Greene Grape Wine and Spirits, where some of the cafe’s staff will be rehired.
Greenpoint: Cherry Point, an English-inspired farm-to-table restaurant, shuttered after four years due to the coronavirus shutdown. The bistro was best known for its selection of meats, which earned it a loving two-star review from Times critic Pete Wells last year. Owner Vince Mazeau says he fought to keep the restaurant open so that his staff could continue earning money, but in March, the weight of upcoming rent payments became too much. Mazeau arranged an agreement with his landlord to postpone rent payments while he sought out a lease takeover.
Hudson Square: The huge flagship store of chocolatier Jacques Torres has decided not to renew its lease, a decision made before the coronavirus crisis. Jacques Torres first debuted this Hudson Square storefront back in 2004, when the mass-market chocolate company was still in its infancy. The company’s well-liked chocolates, chocolate chip cookies, and ultra-rich hot chocolate can still be purchased online and at its six other locations.
Park Slope: The Brooklyn location of Soho’s popular Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken appears to have permanently closed. A real estate sign in the restaurant’s window lists that the storefront is available for lease, according to a tipster in the neighborhood, while the store’s Open Table page lists the spot as permanently closed.
Upper East Side: After a successful two decades in the neighborhood, Upper East Side favorite Beyoglu has permanently closed. A sign posted on the Turkish restaurant’s door says that the owners were unable to pay to extend their lease as a result of the coronavirus shutdown. Known for its doner kebab, hummus, and traditional Turkish fare, Beyoglu was particularly popular during warmer months with its outdoor seating that stretched around the corner.
Washington Heights: Popular Irish pub Coogan’s has closed after more than 30 years in Washington Heights. The owners of the restaurant had received a temporary rent moratorium from their landlord but were unable to pay the cost of the leases on their restaurant equipment, according to the New York Times. The neighborhood stalwart was able to avoid closing once before, back in January 2018, when more than 14,000 people signed a petition to save the restaurant from rising rent prices.
May 8
Columbus Circle: Two luxury cocktail bars from famed Chicago-based restaurant group Alinea permanently closed on April 15. Despite Alinea’s popularity in Chicago, the Aviary and the Office were received with mixed reviews during their two-year tenures in the Mandarin Oriental hotel at Columbus Circle. Alinea co-founder and restaurateur Nick Kokonas confirmed that the bars were already scheduled to shut down on April 15, a decision made before the COVID-19 crisis.
East Village: Nearly 100-year-old East Village shop Gem Spa shut down permanently after a tumultuous year. The iconic shop, reportedly the birthplace of the egg cream and long a fixture in NYC’s punk rock and art scenes, had landlord issues and lost its lottery and cigarette license in August, something that represented more than 80 percent of revenue. A robust social media campaign and apparel sales celebrating the shop’s history, though popular, ultimately were not enough to keep it going due to COVID-19’s impact.
Financial District: One of Lower Manhattan’s oldest bars, the Paris Cafe, has permanently closed after more than a century in the Financial District. The pub was 147 years old, and was almost destroyed during Hurricane Sandy, according to Tribeca Citizen. On March 6, owner Pete O’Connell posted on Facebook that he had no option but to close the Paris Cafe. “Through no fault of anyone but the outbreak of this virus, we are unable to forge a way forward that makes economic sense,” he said.
Forest Hills: The Irish Cottage, a popular local restaurant that’s been around for 60 years, announced it would be close on May 7. Run by the McNulty family, the restaurant prided itself on Irish tradition and being an active part of the community by hosting fundraisers and live music. Kathleen McNulty, who ran the business since 1986, died in April due to complications from COVID-19; her sons made the decision to close, saying that takeout would not sustain the business.
Greenwich Village: After 36 years and many accolades, fine dining trailblazer Gotham Bar & Grill has permanently closed. The Greenwich Village institution, which received one Michelin star and three stars from Pete Wells, permanently closed on March 13, at a time when many restaurants were just beginning to announce temporary closures. A spokesperson said it was due to the virus, though a source at the restaurant said that was only part of the reasoning.
Lower East Side: Well-liked barbecue joint Randall’s served its last pastrami and brisket on April 3, owner and pitmaster Jared Male posted on Instagram. Shortly after opening in August 2018, Eater critic Robert Sietsema stopped in for a visit, where he had some memorable pastrami and brisket.
Rego Park: Irish pub and restaurant Woodhaven House opted to close permanently due to the “devastating” financial impact of the crisis. The restaurant, known for its live music and cozy, wood-laden space, had been in the neighborhood for 16 years.
Soho: Neighborhood institution Lucky Strike closed for good on April 15, following more than 30 years in Soho. The French-American bistro from Keith McNally landed on Grand Street in 1989, well before better-known hangouts like Balthazar and Pastis. Despite its popularity, though, McNally shared in a 2016 interview that Lucky Strike didn’t make “any money,” which is at least part of the reason the bistro closed. The crisis, McNally said, made it difficult for the restaurant to work financially.
Soho: One of New York City’s earliest craft cocktail bar destinations, Pegu Club, has permanently closed after close to 15 years in Soho. Owner Audrey Saunders shared that the bar’s lease was set to expire in October, and though she planned to keep the bar open until then, the coronavirus shutdown “has taken every bit of the life we had out of us.”
West Village: Daddy-O, the popular West Village dive bar known as hangout spot for local chefs, permanently closed on April 30 after more than 20 years. The bar is responsible for several of the entries on Eater NY’s list of hard-to-find foods in NYC, including Western New York specialties like the “garbage plate,” but it was largely beloved for its vibe as a neighborhood bar.
Williamsburg: After a 16-year run in Williamsburg and Nolita, Ithaca-based coffee roaster Gimme Coffee permanently closed its two New York City storefronts due to the economic impact of the virus. The coffee roaster’s Williamsburg outpost, which opened in 2003, was among the first third-wave coffee shops in the city, setting the stage for a boom in espresso drinking and indie coffee culture over the next decade.
