Archive for 'Closed'

BanzoBar is Now Closed

I wandered by BanzoBar on Third Ave and 57th the other day and saw that they had a big For Rent sign on the window. It looks like they’ve been shuttered since the beginning of the year. We’ve never been a huge fan of their falafel and pitas, but it’s always sad to see a small business go. The good news is both Omar’s and SoomSoom are just a few blocks away.

Classic 49th Street Pizzeria Bella Napoli Has Closed

Here’s some sad news reported by multiple lunchers last week… it looks like Bella Napoli, the pizzeria on West 49th street, has closed. For years it was a standby lunch spot for a lot of offices in the area, so ML’ers, if you have nearby pizza recommendations, leave them in the comments.

Goodburger on 45th is Now Closed

It looks like the massive Midtown burger explosion of 2010 has finally caught up with at least one spot in Midtown.  The Goodburger on 45th street btw. 5+6th has been shuttered.  Apparently their rent got raised, and there’s just “too much food on the block” so they had seen a decrease in customers. I’m sure having Shack Shack two avenues to the West, and Bill’s Bar & Burger 5 blocks to the north didn’t help either.  Goodburger fans shouldn’t worry though.  The rest of the locations are doing just fine, and ready to pick up the slack from the 45h street location.  Thanks to Lunch’er Marissa for the tip.

KTown BCD Tofu House Closes Over the Holidays!

It’s only been a little over a month since we penned a love letter to the fantastic soondubu jjigae at BCD Tofu House, so we were shocked to receive a tip that they would be closing down at the end of the year. I called the restaurant just before the new year and was told that they would be closing ‘indefinitely’ for renovations as of December 31st. Turns out the closing is a bit more permanent, according to the photo sent in by tipster Sam K.
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Tadka Indian Has Shuttered

Tadka Indian (53rd btw. 2+3rd) has been mentioned several times in the comments, forums, Lunch’er profiles, and links over the years as a place for a decent Indian fix in upper Midtown East. While we never got around to a full review, it’s always sad to see good places go out of business. Luckily, its (slightly more expensive) sister restaurant, Chola, is still in business (58th btw. 2+3) so we’re not completely out of luck. Here’s hoping something amazing comes in to fill the void!

Swissmaker Shutters After Just 6 Months

Well, that was fast. Looks like Swissmaker went the way of Teriyaki Boy and has shuttered. Courtesy of the forums, Lunch’er Wade noticed the closing this week and didn’t seem surprised:

Swissmaker is the place that replaced the Teriyaki Boy on 7th Ave. I never understood how they stayed in business. There was almost never anybody in there. I would go in for a pretzel once in a while. I think I saw another customer in there like once or twice. I don’t know how they possibly thought they’d make enough money to stay in a prime two floor storefront on 7th Ave. Anyway, it’s gone.

According to Crain’s the pretzel shop had signed a pretty hefty lease, which would explain their closing possibly due to not enough foot traffic.

Swissmaker, 732 7th Ave (btw. 48+49th), 212-265-2706

Siam Inn Shutters; Tom & Toon Retires AYCE Buffet

Siam Inn Shutters

Recently, there have been a few sad changes to the Thai restaurant scene on 51st between Broadway and 8th. First of all, Siam Inn appears like it’s a goner, which is a shame since they seemed to show a lot of promise. At least there’s that new Pad Thai cart a few boulevards over to help fill some of the Thai void.

More alarmingly, Tom & Toon has done away with their low brow but brilliant AYCE Thai buffet. I called the restaurant, and they confirmed that they stopped the AYCE buffet a few months ago as it wasn’t profitable. They’ve replaced the buffet with a smaller line-up of $8 lunch specials and $3 Chang beers between 12pm and 3pm on weekdays. You can view their full menu after the jump.
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Foodie and My Maki Are Now Closed

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I can’t say that I’ll miss it but what used to be Boi Restaurant then switched to Foodie (44th btw 2+3rd Ave) is gone. I never got around to try it but I remember my coworkers saying they enjoyed the dumplings. It’s always sad to see a place shutter, but with a name like that are we really that surprised?  Let’s just hope something good will replace it.

But wait… there’s more.

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RIP Crêpe Monster

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A recent trip to Food Gallery 32, brought some sad news. Crêpe Monster, the Tokyo-style crêpe off shoot of Bian Dang has closed. (It’s apparently been closed since 8/16, clearly I don’t get to FG32 enough). I will miss their cinnamon roll-like “Milk Toaster” crêpe. Ah, Crêpe Monster, we hardly knew ye.

Sri Lankan Cafe Niagara Runs Dry

It appears that the just barely out-of-bounds Cafe Niagara (38th btw 8+9th) has sold its last serving of Sri Lankan specialties. Customer pleas for help apparently couldn’t save them as the storefront has been shuttered for multiple days. I’m sad to see this Midtown oddity go, but not at all surprised. It was always empty and as thrilled as I was when I first stumbled upon it, my subsequent visits were never as exciting or satisfying. I actually bumped into a guy coming out of the restaurant who said he was “looking at the space.” I would have pumped him for more info but he did not seem interested in talking to “the media.” Now we’ll just have to wait and see what moves in next. Maybe Las Poblanitas will come back. I know that would make a lot of Lunch’ers happy.