Union Leader Says Iconic Gino Will Close This Thursday

After months of fighting with its union over a new contract, 64 year-old Upper East Side restaurant Gino, with its iconic red zebra print wallpaper, will close on December 31, a union rep tells the Post. Back in February, patrons worried that the restaurant would close when the owner Michael Miele told the papers that his business had been hit hard by the economy. A shutter seemed imminent once again when news surfaced last month about the fights with the union. However Miele said the a white knight of sorts was interested in buying the place, potentially saving it from the shutter.

The union leader now suspects the white knight was fictional, a notion Miele floated to get the workers to stay past Christmas.

Given how unlikely it would be for a new buyer to sign on to a unionized restaurant, this sad outcome is not so surprising. And so continues the year that killed the old timers.
· Legendary Restaurant Facing its Last Meal [NYP]
· Gino May be Killed by Union or Saved by Mystery Buyer [~ENY~]
· The 10 Old Timer Shutter Shockers of 2009 [~ENY~]