Two years 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, experts say that number could be even higher, and will likely take months or even years to assess.
Below, Eater is documenting the city’s permanent restaurant closures, including East Village cocktail bar Pouring Ribbons and Chinattown’s red-sauce favorite Forlini’s. If a restaurant or bar has closed in your neighborhood, let us know at tips@eater.com. This post will be updated regularly.
April 8
Chinatown: Manhattan red-sauce mainstay Forlini’s has closed down after nearly 70 years in the neighborhood. The old-school restaurant — a popular hangout for downtown court employees and, more recently, NYC’s fashion crowd — has been sold to an undisclosed buyer, according to owner Joe Forlini. It was a strange last few days for the storied spot: At first, Forlini planned to keep the establishment open until late April, but he abruptly changed course and shuttered at the end of March in a move that coincided with a shutdown order issued by the Department of Health.
East Village: One of NYC’s leading bars, Angel’s Share, officially shuttered at the end of March after failing to renew its lease. For weeks, multiple local news outlets had been reporting on the rumors of the impending closure, and what it would mean to lose a seminal cocktail bar. The shuttering marked the end of a nearly 30 year run for the East Village bar, located at 8 Stuyvesant Street, between Third Avenue and East Ninth Street. Angel’s Share wasn’t just any cocktail bar, though. It helped usher in the craft cocktail movement in the early aughts and many of today’s award-winning bars are helmed by bartenders that either worked at the establishment or looked up to the Japanese-style cocktail bar. Tony Yoshida, the bar’s owner, has not commented on the closure, but he did tell the New York Times that his daughter may reopen the speakeasy at a new location. The Yoshida family also owned Sunrise Mart and Panya bakery next door, which also closed.
Long Island City: The coal-fired ovens are no longer burning at neighborhood favorite Bella Via, LIC Talk reports. Less than a year after opening in 2002, the Italian restaurant garnered a glowing review by then-critic William Grimes in the New York Times.
Upper East Side: Historic Jewish appetizing shop Russ & Daughters has closed down its outpost inside the Jewish Museum. “After five successful years at the Jewish Museum, Russ & Daughters is refocusing on its core business,” reads a closing notice posted on the museum’s website. The century-old institution still maintains its original Lower East Side shop and nearby restaurant, plus a location in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Meanwhile, the museum is “exploring a variety of possibilities” for new dining options in the space, according to the message on its website.
Upper East Side: After 22 years, Bar Coastal noted on its website that it has closed shop. The uptown establishment was a destination for sports fan with West Coast vibes — surf boards and California-themed t-shirts hung from the ceiling — serving up wings, nachos, and beers.
April 1
Clinton Hill: The owner of the Social Butterfly confirmed with Eater via email that the club and lounge, located along a busy stretch of Atlantic Avenue just blocks from Barclays, has closed after nearly a decade.
East Village: This downtown neighborhood, which is home to some of the city’s top cocktail bars, lost a favorite when Pouring Ribbons shuttered on March 26. Owner Joaquín Simó not only mixed classic cocktails for patrons, but he set the spot apart with temporary themed menus — a popular hit was the Silk Road, which allowed bartenders to concoct cocktails using spices popular on the trade route connecting Europe and China — that gained a following among the city’s cocktail enthusiasts. The bar decided to not renew its lease to “move on after 10 chartreuse filled years,” according to its Instagram announcement in February.
East Village: EV Grieve reports that Ramen Setagaya’s St. Mark’s Place location has closed. The publication shared photos of what appeared to be a cleared-out restaurant. The ramen-ya no longer lists the restaurant on its website, and Eater has reached out for more information about the closure.
East Village: Quick-service sandwich shop Coddiwomple has closed down after only three months in the neighborhood, EV Grieve reports. The shop’s two other locations in Hell’s Kitchen and the Upper East Side also appear to have shut down.
Harlem: Since opening four months before the pandemic hit NYC in March 2020, Barcha has been serving up a menu with a mix of Latin and Mediterranean influences, from shrimp and tostones to shakshuka. Its last day of business is on April 1, ownership confirmed via Instagram.
Park Slope: Eight-year-old casual Greek restaurant Pitas and Sticks has shut down. “The 2 yrs + with Covid 19 really did us in,” the shop’s owner wrote in a closing announcement on Instagram. But it may not be gone for long: The owner wrote that the business may reopen as a downsized takeout-only spot elsewhere in the neighborhood.
