A Running List of Restaurants That Closed in New York City, January 2021

More than ten months into the coronavirus pandemic, restaurants across the city continue to close en masse. At least 1,000 have closed since March due to the financial downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among them are neighborhood favorites like Uncle Boons and MeMe’s Diner, along with sites of teenage debauchery like FiDi’s China Chalet and the glitzy McDonald’s flagship store off of Times Square.

In all likelihood, though, the number of permanent closures in New York will keep growing, as loans from the first round of the Paycheck Protection Program already dried up, rent payments continue to mount, and indoor dining has been put on hold indefinitely due to a surge in coronavirus cases in recent weeks. At one point, a survey back in September from the New York State Restaurant Association stated that as many as two-thirds of state’s restaurants could permanently close by the end of 2020 without additional government aid. While that number may not have come to fruition, it’s still difficult to track the exact number of restaurant and bar closings right now — some experts say that number could be higher than has been reported and will likely only continue to grow.

Below, Eater is documenting the city’s permanent restaurant closures so far. If a restaurant or bar has closed in your neighborhood, send us a photograph and a few lines letting us know how you learned about the closure at tips@eater.com. This post will be updated weekly.

January 29

East Village: The East Village outpost of Big Gay Ice Cream has permanently closed after more than nine years in the neighborhood, company co-founder Doug Quint tells local blog EV Grieve. While the ice cream shop’s locations in the West Village and Upper West Side have since reopened, the Seventh Street outpost has been closed since March 2020.

East Village: Camellia, a restaurant known for making both ramen and gelato in-house, will not be reopening after the coronavirus pandemic. The restaurant never reopened after the first indoor dining shutdown in March 2020 and a for rent sign now hangs in its front window, according to local blog EV Grieve.

Greenwich Village: The “world’s first oatmeal bar” celebrated its last day of service this week. Oatmeals, a cafe with pastries, sandwiches, and build-your-own bowls of oatmeal, has permanently closed after more than eight years in Greenwich Village, owner Sam Stephens announced in a post on Instagram.

West Village: Prompted by untenable rent costs and the ongoing indoor dining shutdown, the nearly century-old Beatrice Inn closed its doors earlier this month. Chef and owner Angie Mar is now preparing to reopen the restaurant this spring one building over, in the sunny corner space formerly occupied by Blenheim.

January 15

Chinatown: Specializing in Vietnamese chicken dishes, Bep Ga was often considered one of the top Vietnamese restaurants in the city — and was heralded for its pho. The restaurant served its last meal on December 24 last year, but the ownership team has announced plans for a new venture later this year.

Dumbo: Miami’s clubby export to the Dumbo waterfront, Sugarcane, has closed. Yelp reports the location as permanently shut and the restaurant has removed the NYC location from its website. The Miami and Las Vegas outposts are still open.

East Village: Cookie destination Schmackary’s has closed its East Village outpost. The store at Cooper Square is now up for rent and never reopened after it shutdown in March due to the pandemic-related restrictions. Schmackary’s central store on West 45th Street is still open for business.

Greenwich Village: Chef Fany Gerson has closed the original Greenwich Village outpost of her inventive Mexican sweets shop La Newyorkina. The businesses will continue to offer its popular desserts in grocery stores; for local takeout, delivery, and catering through its website; and for nationwide delivery through Goldbelly.

Long Island City: A little more than two years after it opened, the mother-and-daughter team behind Mexican restaurant Corazon have been forced to permanently close their establishment. The landlord was reportedly unwilling to work with the restaurateurs on a new agreement, and the ban on indoor dining meant the 100-person spot was left with just four tables outdoors. The restaurant’s last day is January 22.

Lower East Side: After five years in the neighborhood, Pizza Beach has closed its expansive Orchard Street home. The landlord for the establishment has already filed an application to replace it with a new bar.

Lower East Side: Local pizzeria Little Gio’s Pizza has permanently closed. The restaurant is boarded up and paper has been plastered up along the door and windows. The original East Village location still remains open.

January 6

Bed-Stuy: Trailblazing regional Mexican restaurant Boca Santa permanently closed last month, owner Natalie Hernandez announced in an Instagram post. The restaurant, beloved by those in the neighborhood for its homemade flour tortillas and mostly vegetarian Mexican fare, found a longtime home on Eater’s list of the hottest new restaurants in Brooklyn. ”This isn’t goodbye forever,” Hernandez promised.

Columbus Circle: One of the Turnstyle Market’s most frequented vendors, Bolivian Llama Party, has left the food hall. “After 4 thrilling years our Upper West Side Llama Party at Turnstyle has come to a sad pandemic closure,” the restaurant confirmed on Instagram in December.

Downtown Brooklyn: Homey Italian restaurant Luciano’s closed its doors in December, according to an employee who helped clean out the bar. The pizzeria had called MetroTech its home for more than 16 years, per its Instagram page, but could no longer stay in business as many of the neighborhood’s workers are still working from home.

East Village: In a tough month for the East Village, the Third Avenue outpost of seafood boil mini-chain the Boilery has permanently closed, according to neighborhood blog EV Grieve. The restaurant chain’s East Village location, one of three in New York City, opened its doors in September 2019.

East Village: Well-liked neighborhood sandwich shop the Dip will not be reopening after the coronavirus pandemic. The restaurant quietly closed its doors for service in September, according to EV Grieve, a little less than a year after opening in November 2019.

East Village: The Dumpling Shop has permanently closed its doors two years after opening on Second Avenue. Pointing to “new restrictions, bans, and curfews for the restaurant industry,” the restaurant’s owners shared that their last day of service would be December 31. “No one could have predicted how long or how much of an impact this pandemic would have on our daily lives,” the owners wrote.

East Village: Finnerty’s, an 11-year-old Manhattan bar dedicated to Bay Area sports, permanently closed in late December due to the economic downturn from the coronavirus pandemic. The owners were unable to reach a favorable rent agreement with their landlord, according to a spokesperson for the bar.

East Village: Wine bar and cafe MiGarba ended its five-year run on Fourth Avenue in December. A note posted to the restaurant’s door and photographed by EV Grieve attributed the closure to “New York restrictions and unsustainable rent.”

East Village: Milon, one of First Avenue’s iconic, Indian-Bangladeshi restaurants, has quietly closed its doors, EV Grieve reports. The second-floor restaurant, which first opened in 1982 and is perhaps best known for its colorful display of lights visible from the sidewalk below, did not reopen after the state-mandated shutdown of restaurants in mid-March.

East Village: The 14th Street location of Williamsburg Pizza appears to have permanently closed. While the pizzeria’s four other pizzerias have reopened for service, the East Village outpost has remained closed since the onset of the pandemic in mid-March and is no longer listed as a location on the company’s website. EV Grieve reports that the restaurant space was emptied out in late December.

East Village: Following a busy six years on Sixth Avenue, Sweet Generation has closed in preparation for the bakery’s move to an expanded bakery space in Bushwick. The bakery, which partners with local non-profits and high schools to create internships for teens and young adults, is set to open its new facilities in January.

Greenpoint: Storied Greenpoint haunt the Diamond Bar said goodbye to the neighborhood after more than 13 years of business. In a farewell post on Instagram, the bar celebrated its shuffleboard games, basement dance parties, pancake breakfasts, and many dog visitors. “What a tremendous experience it was!!” the bar shared in the post.

Lower East Side: Boisterous, basement-level restaurant Sammy’s Roumanian Steakhouse has closed its doors for the foreseeable future, owner David Zimmerman shared in an announcement on Instagram. Zimmerman tells Gothamist that he hopes to reopen the restaurant “in the future,” though that is unlikely to occur at its former, 47-year-old home on Chrystie Street.

West Village: New Yorkers bid adieu to the McDonald’s at 136 West Third Street this week, sharing memories of German tourists, pythons, curses, and late-night cheeseburgers.