New York closings

[relbbaddoof]

On 2/1/2026 at 5:52 PM, Wilfrid said:

Wow, when was I last there?

Do tell.

OK, @SteveR, you've accused me on that other site of paying you no attention. So I honor your announcement of Chez N's demise by boring everybody here with my stories of it.

It is 2009 and a young(er) man with stars in his eyes (OK, actually the cosmos) and dreams in his heart has just channeled his inner Martha Stewart (and her formula for chalkboard paint) and painted a golden chalkboard on a wall of his new Hell's Kitchen pad. Here he hopes to do such calculations as he can. 

Requiring sustenance he stumbles across Chez N on the next block. Fortified with their liver he returns to his chalkboard. There were brains on the menu, too, but our hero conceitedly -- and mistakenly -- thought he had enough of his own to solve his problem.

This relationship with the restaurant and its kitschy jigsaw puzzle walls continues off and on for the next 15ish years. One more example and I'll quit. 

It is 2010 and Al Pacino is to be Shylock in the Park. At 5:00 a.m. our group arrives at the Park to find the line curving around it. We bravely stand there, inch forward, and at 1 pm we are told they are sold out. (Still, at huge expense, we see Pacino reprise the role on Broadway twice -- once at the start, and one once at the end.)

But, to return to Chez N we consoled ourselves with cassoulet there the night of our disappointment, plus souffle.

 

Edited March 7 by relbbaddoof

[Steve R.]

5AM!!  No way am I cultured enough to do that (except for Grateful Dead tkts: but that was in the late 60s).  In the late '80s I used to joke that I had an in for free tickets to Shakespeare in the Park.  I didn't realize that having a wife who was their Stage Manager gave me a far greater perk than the non-existent $$ savings; that of no line!  And, on one occasion, a lift home from F. Murray Abraham (Twelfth Night that year).

Back to the topic: Chez Napoleon was always the place we went for non fancified home style French cooking.  Unfortunately, we didn't get there enough recently (2-3 times this past year) to offset their post pandemic and post old building issues.

[relbbaddoof]

1 hour ago, Steve R. said:

a wife who was their Stage Manager gave me a far greater perk than the non-existent $$ savings; that of no line!  And, on one occasion, a lift home from F. Murray Abraham

You move (and marry) in exalted circles.

(Note to self: Cultivate @Steve R. as much as you can. Remember to mention the Rainy Night House.)

ETA: We saw your pal F.MA do his own more restrained take on Shylock between our two takes of Al P. 

Edited March 7 by relbbaddoof

[StephanieL]

The one time I got up at a ridiculous hour for Shakespeare in the Park was to see Patrick Stewart in The Tempest in 1995.  And I still wouldn't have gotten a ticket if I hadn't spied a cluster of my co-workers near the front of the line and joined them (in the days when they'd let you do that).

When Meryl Streep was doing The Cherry Orchard in 2001, I just bought a subscription to the Public Theater's upcoming season because that year, they were throwing in a SitP ticket with each subscription.  I'm glad I did, otherwise I never would have seen Elaine Stritch At Liberty.

Edited March 7 by StephanieL

[relbbaddoof]

Lily Rabe was Portia in the 2010 Merchant and she returned to the Park in 2012 in a Southern-inflected As You Like It. This time our friends and we did as you did and shelled out a sensible $1000 each to become "Summer Pardners" and get tickets.

There were thunderstorms that night, with stops in the production, but that was its own adventure. I still have the plastic ponchos we hastily purchased there that night.

PS: Ponchos are only good if you have them with you. On the evening of April 26, 2025, I didn't. I had passed up on the Philippe Pacalet wine dinner at Foxface that evening (although I did dine there 5 days later), because a friend was conducting a concert at Carnegie Hall. I was early when I got there, so wandered to the Park to read for a bit -- when the sky suddenly turned dark and threatening, and equally suddenly rain came pouring down. By the time I found shelter I was a soaking mess. I've always thought Ori responsible for this punishment for choosing music over wine. 

[small h]

9 minutes ago, relbbaddoof said:

There were thunderstorms that night

This happened to me during a production of Hair in 2008 (the performance was delayed), and this past summer for Twelfth Night (the performance was cancelled, so we went again).

[Simon]

Sushi Mekumi has closed https://thesushilegend.com/sushi-mekumi-nyc-closing/

[MitchW]

Donohue's Steak House:

Quote

Yet another old-school New York dining icon is leaving us, and this departure is particularly wrenching. It’s Donohue’s Steak House, the railroad-car-size Upper East Side time capsule that has for decades been punching well above its weight in antique ambiance and archetypal significance. The spiritual home of Yankee pot roast and mid-century service will close in June.

https://www.grubstreet.com/article/donohues-steak-house-nyc-closing.html

Also bittersweet, this was one of @Sneakeater's favorite places.  We have a reservation next month; our plan is to raise a glass or two to him.

[Wilfrid]

No. Must revisit.

[SethG]

Caputo’s Bake Shop

Not a rent issue, they own the building.

Word on the street is that they needed some expensive work done to bring the place up to code, and since none of the current kids or grand-kids wanted to take it over down the road, John Caputo just decided it wasn’t worth it and to close down. Odd to do it so abruptly, without any community send-off. But it is what it is. 

We still got Mazzola. Well, for now at least.

[Wilfrid]

I remember that distinctive old storefront. Years since I visited.

[splinky]

Craft closing June 27

[Wilfrid]

I haven't been for years, but certainly memories flood back now.

[rozrapp]

The last time we had dinner at Craft was on March 5, 2020, a few days before the Covid shutdown.