Cafe Gitane Team Shutters Antonioni's After a Short Run on the Lower East Side

Antonioni's, Italian restaurant from Luc Levy, the guy behind Nolita stalwart Cafe Gitane, appears to have quietly shut down, less than a year after it opened on Chrystie Street. Bowery Boogie reports that the lights have been out and the gates down for a couple weeks now, and says the restaurant has confirmed it has closed for good.

It's unclear why, exactly, the restaurant closed. Maybe it's the location, or maybe it's because the basic Italian menu never stood out quite as much as the bright orange wallpaper printed with circus animals did. In any case, the closure is particularly bitter because the restaurant spent much longer under construction ( a good two years, at least) than it did serving pizza and pasta.