Gramercy Park Italian Cafe Shutters After Nearly 10 Years — and More Closings

May 30

— Small Italian restaurant Piccolo Cafe, located on Third Avenue between 15th and 16th streets, closed over the weekend after nearly decade. But the restaurant, which serves sandwiches and pasta, has three other outposts in New York.

— UWS’s Izakaya Ida has closed. It will be replaced by a new Vietnamese restaurant called Pho Shop.

— After just six months, Downtown Brooklyn’s Hill Country Food Park has closed. The space for the Hill Country food hall, which was styled after Austin restaurants, will soon be a new food hall. Hank’s Saloon will remain open until June.

— Manhattan’s only outpost of chain California Pizza Kitchen has shuttered after 12 years.

May 24

— Baked’s Tribeca location is closing today — though its well-liked Red Hook bakery remains open

— East Village Thai restaurant Thaimee Table has closed and was cleared out after the Marshal took legal possession of the space earlier this month.

— Not all Essex Street Market vendors made the move to the new Essex Market across the street on the Lower East Side. More-than-four-decades-old fish market Rainbo’s and its sibling juice shop Tra La La Juice Bar — both owned by Ira Stolzenberg — called it quits last month. Stolzenberg started the businesses with his late partner Ron Budinas.

— On the Upper West Side, the recently opened seafood restaurant the Flying Fisherman appears to be closed, with paper covering the windows and the phone line down. It opened in fall 2018.

— Casual Chinatown restaurant CC’s Cafe on Monroe Street has been listed on Craigslist for its 700-square-foot space, signaling a potential closure. The original location lived in West Village but has since closed.

— East Village bakery Sugar Sketch has also shuttered.

— Another East Village shutter is sports bar the Blind Pig, closed after 13 years in the neighborhood.

May 16

— Bistro and Belgian beer spot Belgian Beer Cafe in Nomad closed. In addition to the lengthy brew list, the restaurant served classic bistro fare like moules frites, steak tartare, and a burger. There were also Belgian dishes like a Belgian beef stew made with dark beer and a pretzel. A sibling restaurant remains open on the Upper East Side.

— Neighborhood German beer hall Kings Beer Hall at 84 St. Mark’s Pl. in Park Slope closed, and the building has been sold.

— Fast-casual sandwich shop Sandwicherie in East Village closed. It opened in April 2017.

— The restaurateur known for vegan food and cocktail bars Ravi DeRossi closed Fire & Water in the East Village. But it may be revived as something else by DeRossi, who is behind Amor y Amargo and other East Village watering holes.

— Joaquin (Quino) Baca’s less-than-five-months-old izakaya-style Bushwick restaurant Teo suddenly closed. It opened in late December in a petite 38-seat space and marked the chef’s pivot back to the Asian-inspired dishes he made as a Momofuku chef.

May 10

— Flushing dining destination Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao closed despite being one of the city’s most famous soup dumplings shops. Waits sometimes exceeded an hour for dumplings, even long after its debut more than a decade ago. There has been an outpour of love for the restaurant in the wake of its closure, with fans eulogizing it on social media. A Facebook post announcing the news on the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce page has more than 1,500 comments, many lamenting the closure with sad and surprised sentiments.

— Il Valentino Osteria, a neighborhood Italian restaurant on the southernmost border of the Upper East Side, closed. The trattoria served brick-oven pizza, pasta, and Italian mains in a cozy space for about four years.

— The steakhouse Four Cuts after a little over four years of serving dry aged meats and cocktails.

— Tribeca’s Chobani-branded cafe, which primarily served yogurt-based dishes, has closed, but its Soho outpost remains open.

— Beijing Express at 92 Third Ave. in East Village closed after allegedly owing nearly $60,000 in rent according to a sign.

— The California-style Mexican restaurant Lucha Lucha in Bed-Stuy is closed.

May 2

— Indian-Chinese fusion restaurant the Chinese Club closed its Murray Hill location. Its Williamsburg location, which the New York Times’ Ligaya Mishan gave a middling review in 2016, has also closed.

— Gristmill, the seasonal farm-to-table neighborhood restaurant in Park Slope, closed. Chef and owner Jake Novick-Finder opened it in summer of 2016, and it was known for its wood-fired pizzas, served in a rustic space. Novick-Finder sourced artisanal grains from various Northeastern farms over the past few years. The closure was announced by a sign posted in front of the restaurant as well as on Instagram.

— Pan-Latin restaurant Oficina Latina closed after nearly a decade on Prince Street. It was known for its cocktails, namely its margaritas that went two-for-one at happy hour.

— Australian Greenpoint summer rooftop favorite Northern Territory will not reopen for the season. It has been around for five years, and there are plans to eventually relocate.

— Bar Taco, opened in early 2018 at 185 Avenue C in East Village, has been seized by the marshal. The landlord now has legal possession of the space.

— Valbella’s Meatpacking District location has closed, though the Midtown location of the Italian restaurant remains open.

— East Village’s Avenida Cantina closed and flipped into Eastpoint. It’s still doing Tex-Mex under the same management.

April 25

— Southern-inspired Flatiron restaurant Maysville closed after seven years of serving a meat-heavy menu alongside a lengthy list of whiskeys. It had 150 American whiskeys on hand.

— East Village 24-hour deli East Side Gourmet Deli is closed.

— East Village’s popular, low-key Austrian hangout Edi & the Wolf closed after a nine-year run. Named after its executive chefs Eduard “Edi” Frauneder and Wolfgang “the Wolf” Ban, the restaurant served Austrian classics like spaetzle and wiener schnitzel, as well as more modern dishes like a burger with gruyere and sweet pepper aioli. It closed due to “increasing operating costs.”

April 19

— London-based Japanese noodle chain Wagamama closed its East Village location, though its two other locations in Murray Hill and Nomad remain open.

— Asian fusion fast-casual bowl, buns, and dumplings spot Omakasa closes both of its locations in Midtown and Soho today.

— Jebon Sushi & Noodle closed after a decade of serving various noodle soups and rolls. Owner Wayne Yip owns the new Japanese izakaya and dinner theater Wara.

— The Kati Roll Company closed its East Village location, though diners can still order delivery, a sign on its window states. Six other locations remain open throughout Manhattan.

April 11

— Middle Eastern and Israeli restaurant Timna had originally planned to close on April 14, yet it appears the East Village restaurant has stepped out earlier. The location was recently cleared out. Chef Nir Mesika says in an Instagram post that the closure was due to “financial issues” and “disagreements.” Timna opened in 2014, and its food was well-received by food critics and diners alike.

— West Side Cafe & Pizza on the Upper West Side has closed. It served a varied menu, including smoothies, coffee, breakfast sandwiches, pizza, salads, and gyros.

— Lower East Side casual all-day cafe Cafe Petisco closed after a basement wall in its building collapsed due to nearby construction. It’s unclear if the closure will be permanent.

April 4

— Beloved Greenpoint restaurant and bar Enid’s has closed after a 20-year run. The old neighborhood standby has been around since 1999 and was particularly known for its fun brunch and laidback vibe. Co-owner Ashley James says there was no “juicy story” behind the decision to close and that it was, simply, “time to move on.”

— Ramen Shack, the Long Island City restaurant from ramen burger creator Keizo Shimamoto, has closed, though the chef says the viral sensation will live on at outdoor food festival Smorgasburg.

— An all-day restaurant on the Upper West Side called West Side Cafe appears to be closed for good.

— A longtime Lower East Side Domino’s Pizza has flopped, after more than two decades in that same location.

— In Bushwick, Trans Am Cafe has closed, though its adjacent live music venue Trans-Pecos is still open. The call will soon be replaced with a temporary pop-up from vegan deli meat vendor Seitan’s Helper.

— After 15 years in the East Village, Stillwater Bar & Grill has closed because of a reported “landlord dispute.”

— Japanese steakhouse chain Ikinari Steak closed its Upper West Side location. It’s one of several outposts shuttering this year to make way for a new restaurant by the same company, called Pepper Lunch.

March 29

— Danny Meyer’s pizzeria Martina shuttered after a year and a half in the East Village. The Union Square Hospitality Group restaurant opened in August 2017 as a fast-casual offshoot of its popular, full-service Nomad restaurant Marta, offering pies priced at the less expensive price of $7. It pivoted from fast-casual to a full-service pizzeria in December, but it still didn’t work out. Meyer said in a statement that they were “not able to succeed at developing a large enough audience to sustain the business.” USHG doesn’t close restaurants often; in Meyer’s long career, Tabla, North End Grill, his Chicago restaurant, and now Martina are among his shutters. It initially was set to close at the end of the month, but instead had its last day on the 24th.

— The Sigmund Freud-themed Greenwich Village spot Bar Freud closed after a little over a year. The cocktail program came from Austrian bartending brothers Albert and Jakob Trummer, who previously ran pharmaceutical-themed bars and bar programs at Apothéke, Sanatorium, and Three Pillars.

— West Village Italian restaurant Giulietta’s Cantina Club closed and has been seized by the city. The phone line is no longer working.

— Croissant-focused bakery Croissanteria closed up shop after nearly seven years in the East Village.

— The city is down another diner with the closure of Terrace Diner over in Bayside, Queens. It opened two decades ago within the Bay Terrace Shopping Center.

— West Village sweets shop Sherry B Dessert Studio has closed, according to a sign posted on its window. “Onto the next chapter,” it reads. “Stay tuned for what’s next for Sherry B.”

— Lower East Side German beer hall Grünhaus hasn’t been open lately; the young bar opened just last year.

— The troubled Crown Heights bar and cafe Summerhill closed permanently.

March 21

— Two Boots Pizzeria has closed its Upper West Side spot, and a note on its website says the chain is relocating to a new spot within neighborhood. It’s one of several Two Boots locations to have permanently or temporarily closed within the past year.

— Park Slope Irish pub Old Carriage Inn closed its doors on St. Patrick’s Day after 35 years.

— Murray Hill pub the Cannibal closed after nearly nine years in the neighborhood. Owner Christian Pappanicholas cites high rent combined with rising business costs, telling Eater the rent had reached $33,000 a month. The restaurant was a media darling and neighborhood favorite.

— Fight Club-inspired sports bar Durden, which got a new owner in December, appears closed, with paper hanging over its windows. There’s a new liquor license application for the space, in which a menu of “classic modern American” food is proposed. The bar’s phone line is no longer in service.

— East Village restaurant Y Cafe, which served healthy meals like salads, vegetables, and chicken and seafood dishes, has shuttered. It opened in 2011.

March 14

— Sunita Bar on the Lower East Side shuttered after 16 years in business, the owner citing “changes, development, and greedy landlords” as reasons behind the closure. Owner Sunita Lofters says the popularity of Mexican restaurant La Contenta next door led to issues between herself and the landlord, and a steep rent increase left her unable to keep going.

— Influential sushi counter Sushiden closed both of its Midtown locations. The longtime restaurant served as a starting point for some of NYC’s top sushi chefs and has been around for over three decades.

— Chain sandwich shop Untamed Sandwiches has closed all of its locations, according to its website. There were stores in Midtown East, Bryant Park, and Brooklyn.

— The Upper East Side location of Pizza Beach has closed, though it’s potentially moving into a larger location on Second Avenue.

— West Village Greek restaurant Nisi is listed as closed online and its phone has been disconnected.

March 7

— Corner red-sauce Italian restaurant Trattoria Spaghetto shuttered after at least three decades in the West Village. It was cash only and served a straightforward menu of Italian classics in its airy space with ample sidewalk seating.

— FiDi dive bar the Iron Horse shuttered after more than a decade of pouring out shots and beers. A photo of the bar’s farewell notice was posted on Yelp. One of its owners was known to respond to negative Yelp reviews of the loud, dark bar.

— Heartland Brewery’s Port Authority location, originally announced to close by the end of 2018, held on a little longer but is now officially shuttered. The brewpub opened there in 2010.

— Norman, an all-day Scandinavian cafe from Noma co-founder Claus Meyer and Aska chef Fredrik Berselius, closed after service on March 3. The Greenpoint restaurant opened less than two years ago, and a post on its Instagram page suggests the restaurant was always intended to be temporary.

— Braven Brewery in Bushwick has closed. The brewery-restaurant combo was open for just a few months. In addition to rotating beers, there was a food menu put together by chef Tori Valdes that included a burger drenched in beer cheese tand a fried chicken thigh served with buttermilk biscuits and sugar plum barbecue sauce.

— Tex-Mex restaurant San Loco in Williamsburg shuttered.

— The Chambers Hotel location of Milk Bar closed and will soon move to a to-be-announced location nearby.

— Bar and beer garden West End Hall on the Upper West Side is reportedly closed and has been emptied out. Calls to the bar went unanswered. It opened in 2015.

— The original location of more than 40-year-old kosher bakery Moishe’s Bake Shop shuttered. It was known for its hamantashen and other Jewish specialty baked goods at low prices and opened in the East Village in the mid-1970s.

— The acclaimed, eclectic lunch-only restaurant inside of MoMa PS1 in Long Island City, M. Wells Dinette, closed after more than six years in the neighborhood. M. Wells Steakhouse remains open.