Fat Choy, a Shrine to Vegan Chinese Cooking, Is Out — And More Closings

More than two years after New York’s first indoor dining shutdown, restaurants and bars continue to struggle. At least 4,500 have closed since the onset of the pandemic due to the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Since it’s difficult to track restaurant and bar closings, experts say that number is likely much higher and will take years to fully assess.

Below, Eater is documenting the city’s permanent restaurant closures, including a popular vegan Chinese restaurant, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Mercer Kitchen, a vegan sushi spot, and a 24-hour diner. If a restaurant or bar has closed in your neighborhood, let us know at ny@eater.com. This post will be updated regularly.

December 22

Brooklyn Heights: Happy Days Diner, a 24-hour presence in Brooklyn Heights for more than 20 years, is done. The Montague Street restaurant had not paid rent since February 2020, according to Brooklyn Paper. A Marshal’s eviction notice has since appeared on its front door and the phone line has been disconnected.

Clinton Hill: Natural wine bar Tailfeather announced it is on the way out after four years on Dec 23. The neighborhood hangout, known for its crispy bar pies and grilled cheeses, announced the closure in an Instagram post last month.

East Village: Seafood boil chain Crab Du Jour has closed up shop on First Avenue over close to a year, EV Grieve reports.

East Williamsburg: Koko’s, a Brooklyn restaurant focused on Peruvian Japanese fare, has closed after roughly a year to make way for a new bar. The owners have turned the space into a Japanese audio bar called the Last Call, which opened on December 5.

Greenpoint: Cafe and espresso bar El Beit closed this month after 15 years in north Brooklyn, Greenpointers reports. “Our lease is ending and unfortunately will not be renewed,” the shop shared in an Instagram post announcing the closure. As Greenpointers notes, the business is one of a handful of spots that made it through the first two years of the pandemic, only to close over a dispute with its landlord.

Greenwich Village: Thaimee Love, a Thai restaurant that started as a pandemic pop-up, opened for the last time last weekend. “The time has come to focus my energy on new projects,” owner Hong Thaimee shared in an Instagram post announcing the closure.

Hell’s Kitchen: Empanada Mia, a Chilean empanada spot that opened between 11th and 12th avenues this spring, has called it quits. The owners tell Eater that they are looking for a new home for the business.

Lower East Side: Fat Choy, a home for vegan Chinese cooking in lower Manhattan, announced it is closing Friday. The pioneering restaurant from owners Justin and Katie Lee opened in the fall of 2020, finding fans with the city’s food critics and diners — vegan and otherwise. Still, it hasn’t been enough to justify business headed into one of the slowest times of the year for five boroughs restaurants, Justin Lee said ahead of the closure. “We have a niche product,” he says. “It can be hard to get people out of their comfort zones during a depression.”

Nolita: Beyond Sushi has shuttered its Nolita outpost. The vegan sushi spot’s five-year lease had come to an end, and the team is focusing on its other locations in Midtown, Herald Square, and the Upper East Side, which remain open.

Soho: Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Mercer Kitchen has closed at the Mercer Hotel after nearly 25 years. The closure was a result of a restructuring at the hotel following a change in ownership, Vongerichten tells Eater, and an unnamed spot from Scott Sartiano, owner of members-only club Zero Bond, and chef Alfred Portale, of Gotham Bar & Grill, will replace it.

South Slope: The neighborhood’s popular New American restaurant Lot 2 is done. The South Slope standby closed things out with Coke-braised carnitas and salted honey pumpkin pie on November 19.

December 9

East Village: Sacco appears to have ended its short run at 328 E. 11th Street. The shop, which sold sandwiches, frittata, bread, and more, opened in June, EV Grieve reports. The grates have since come down, and it’s listed as permanently closed on both Yelp and Google.

Sheepshead Bay: Lagman House has closed. The restaurant, once praised by the New York Times for its supple la mian noodles, was one of the only places in the city to serve the food of the Dungans, an ethnic Muslim group in Central Asia. A tipster reports that the Sheepshead Bay shop has since shuttered, and Google now lists the business as permanently closed. The phone line has since been disconnected.

South Slope: Eastern European tavern Korzo, known for its deep-fried burgers, is done, Patch first reported. The restaurant’s langos burger, a beef patty that was encased in Hungarian pastry dough, before being fried, was once considered one of the city’s best. Proprietors Maria and Otto Zizak announced the closure in a short message on the website; in lieu of an explanation, they posted the lyrics to “Somewhere” from West Side Story.

Upper West Side: Sibling restaurants Telio and Perfecto Ristorante are out, West Side Rag reports. The Greek and Italian restaurants, located next door to one another on Broadway, between West 92nd and 93rd streets, have both closed due to a rent increase. Telio will continue to serve its food in the evenings from nearby brunch spot Good Enough to Eat, according to the publication.

December 2

Brownsville: Villain’s Hideout, a comic book-themed pizzeria in Brooklyn, has shuttered after two years. The owners announced the closure in an Instagram post this week, attributing the decision to the pandemic. “It was a very difficult decision but one that was best for us as a family,” it reads.

Chinatown: Eggloo, a Hong Kong egg waffle shop that started off as a stand at the Hester Street Fair closed this week after seven years. The business will continue to sell its waffle and pancake kits online and is available for catering, according to an Instagram post announcing the closure.

Prospect Heights: Neighborhood coffee shop Coffee Spot is out on Classon Avenue. The small, bathroom-sized cafe recently renovated its interior and opened for evening service with wine. It’s since been gutted.

Ridgewood: The Acre, a well-liked comfort food spot in Queens, ended its two-year run this week. The restaurant attributed the closure to staffing shortages, supply chain issues, and other setbacks caused by the pandemic. “Since we opened our doors in June of 2020, we have been stuck in a perpetual state of survival mode,” a post on Instagram reads.

Upper West Side: Mexican restaurant chain Oaxaca Taqueria appears to be have closed up shop. The windows on the chain’s Upper West Side outpost have been papered over, West Side Rag reports, while its other locations in Bed-Stuy, Boerum Hill, Stuyvesant Heights, Williamsburg, Gowanus, Murray Hill, the Upper East Side, and Hell’s Kitchen, are all listed as either temporarily or permanently closed online. Calls to the nine locations reveal that their phone lines have been disconnected.

Wakefield: Jerk chicken favorite Forever Jerk is no longer grilling in the Bronx, owner Oneil Reid shared in a post on Instagram. The business, which has locations in Brooklyn, Queens, and Florida, was applauded by the New York Times last year for its “pull-apart tenderness that a fourth-generation Carolina pitmaster would admire.” It opened at this location in February.

West Village: The Jane Hotel Ballroom and Rooftop, one of New York City’s most legendary party spots of the aughts, closed on November 20. Earlier this year, it was reported that the Jane Hotel had been sold to hotelier Jeff Klein, a west coast operator who formerly owned the Monkey Bar in Midtown. The space has since closed for renovations, as Klein refashions it into an East Coast outpost of his members-only San Vicente Bungalows club.