LIC Destination M. Wells Dinette Is Closing This Month

M. Wells Dinette — the acclaimed, eclectic lunch-only restaurant inside of MoMa PS1 in Long Island City — is closing its doors at the end of the month, following more than six years in the neighborhood, according to an email from the restaurant.

Quebec native chef Hugue Dufour and his wife Sarah Obraitis opened the cafeteria space in 2012, serving a simple but ambitious menu of dishes like seared frog legs and a carbonara sandwich, which featured spaghetti on a bun. Times critic Pete Wells gave it two stars the year it opened.

The husband-wife duo have been a lasting presence in the Long Island City dining scene over the past nine years, previously running the beloved but short-lived neighborhood restaurant M. Wells Diner, which shuttered in August 2011. After opening the Dinette, the team also opened a more upscale meaty restaurant called M. Wells Steakhouse in 2013.

M. Wells Dinette offered a much more casual atmosphere for Dufour’s cooking, with dishes all falling under $20 and a space designed to look like a school classroom, complete with chalkboards and desk-like tables.

When the current exhibition closes at the end of February, the restaurant will also close, according to the M. Wells team announcement. Eater has reached out for further information.