A Southeast Asian Sweets Shop Bows Out of an LES Food Hall — and More Closings

More than one year after New York’s first indoor dining shutdown, restaurants and bars continue to close their doors. At least 1,000 have closed since March 2020 due to the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Due to the difficulty of tracking restaurant and bar closings right now, experts say that number could be even higher, and will likely take months or even years to assess.

Among them are newer neighborhood favorites like Uncle Boons and MeMe’s diner, along with decades-old institutions including 21 Club, Fedora, and Frank’s Cocktail Lounge. Below, Eater is documenting the city’s permanent restaurant closures so far. If a restaurant or bar has closed in your neighborhood, let us know at tips@eater.com. This post will be updated regularly.

September 24

Lower East Side: Southeast Asian dessert and snack purveyor Moon Man is closing down its outpost at LES food hall the Market Line. In an announcement on Instagram, owners Nigel Sielegar and Wenny Purnomo explained that a retail location “no longer fit in the new direction” for Moon Man, which initially started as a pop-up in 2017 and built up a following for treats like Indonesian coconut pancakes and steamed pandan cake. Customers can still find a selection of the shop’s kaya jams and cassava cakes online.

Upper East Side: Neighborhood steakhouse TBar has shut down after 26 years on the UES. The New York Times reports that the closure is due to a “lease issue” and not the economic effects of the pandemic. Owner Tony Fortuna promises diners that the restaurant will be relocating in late fall to “a new amazing space within walking distance” of the shuttered spot.

September 17

East Village: Chadian chef and owner Tamika Gabaroum has closed down her restaurant Green Garden Buffet after 14 months in the East Village. EVGrieve reports that the space has been cleared out, and a sign posted to the front door cites “a decrease in business” as reason for the closure. The buffet-style spot featured Chadian and pan-African fare, including stewed okra, fufu, and kissar, or thin, rolled sourdough crepes.

Fort Greene: Fried chicken destination Peaches HotHouse has shuttered its longstanding Fort Greene outpost. (The restaurant’s ownership previously ran the barbecue restaurant Smoke Joint out of this space for over a decade before flipping it over into a HotHouse location a few years ago.) But, it’s not goodbye for long: A sign posted in the shop’s front window states that the restaurant is relocating to another yet-to-be-named spot in the same neighborhood, to open on November 1. The three other restaurants in Peaches’ Brooklyn empire remain open.

Greenpoint: Neighborhood cornerstone Zablozki’s has shut down after 17 years in Brooklyn. The affordable bar was long known as an easygoing hangout with a happy hour that ran until 8 p.m.

September 10

East Village: Casual downtown spot China Town Restaurant has shut its doors on East Houston Street, EVGrieve reports. A closing notice posted on the door of the restaurant indicates that ownership may revive the 32-year-old stalwart at a new location in the East Village later this month.

Gramercy: Stephen Starr’s gilded Eastern European stunner Verōnika inside the Fotografiskia Museum has shut down. The glitzy restaurant reopened for the first time since the onset of the pandemic on August 11, and then promptly shut down three weeks later. “In light of the prolonged recovery period for the hospitality and restaurant industries, as well as staffing challenges, we regret to inform you that ownership has made the difficult decision to close Verōnika as of September 1, 2021,” a statement posted to Verōnika’s website reads. “While Starr restaurants did not own this very special restaurant, we took great pride in its stewardship.” Starr Restaurants declined to comment further on the closure.

Greenwich Village: One of the best sushi restaurants in the city has closed its doors after nearly 40 years. Tomoe Sushi, a neighborhood destination specializing in sub-$10 sushi rolls, could often be spotted due to the long line of customers snaking out of its front door. In a heartfelt closing announcement on Instagram, ownership did not give a specific reason for the shutdown, but said that they’ll announce on social media if they find a way to re-open elsewhere. Loyal diners responded with a deluge of comments expressing shock and sadness at the sudden closure. “YOU MUST REOPEN,” one commenter wrote. “I WILL DIE IF YOU DON’T.”