NYC Restaurant Closings

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The Grange Hall closes tonight. The food was pretty bad, but the room was nice and the location is near-one-of-a-kind.

― g@bbneb (gabbneb), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 02:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Lutece is also closing, after...what, 35 years?

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 02:56 (twenty-two years ago)

I thought Lutece was already closed. Gage & Tollner, the oldest restaurant in Brooklyn (and possibly NYC but don't quote me on that), closed two weekends ago. My mom was in town and we were going to go anyway, but then we found out it was the last night, and it was impossible to get in. It's being replaced by a fucking TGI Fridays.

― hstencil, Tuesday, 24 February 2004 05:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Oldest restaurant in NYC = Delmonico's, surely? I seem to remember it was used for Oscar Wilde's New York 'aftershow'.

― suzy (suzy), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 08:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Haha Gage and Tollner was embarrassing in that location, it was like "gold chains --> sneakers --> hip hop records --> sneakers --> macy's --> sneakers --> gold chains --> washing machines --> Gage and Tollner --> sneakers --> basketball jerseys." I assumed it was still there as a result of some culture grant from New York State or something.

And Grange Hall was total crapola, good riddance to that place. That location is sweet enough that no one need worry about it lacking a restaurant for long, and it can't help but be better. The food was shockingly bad.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 14:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Rio Mar shut down overnight a couple of months ago. No notices or parties beforehand. Just a magic-marker-on-cardboard sign in their window "Lost Our Lease. Closed After 25 Years"!

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 14:50 (twenty-two years ago)

Delmonico's--the original one--was in Manhattan, on Fifth Avenue just off Washington Square, where crappy Patsy's Pizza is now. At the time it was the best restaurant in the city. If there's something called Delmonico's in Brooklyn I can't imagine what it is.

― antexit (antexit), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 15:07 (twenty-two years ago)

The food was NOT bad, G@bnebb!

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 15:09 (twenty-two years ago)

I asked the waiter last time we were there (about a month back) why they were closing, and he said the landlord didn't get along with the restaurant manager or some such trivialilty. It's such a shame.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 15:10 (twenty-two years ago)

I thought Delmonico's was over by the old Spin offices on W. 18th Street.

― suzy (suzy), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 15:12 (twenty-two years ago)

SPIN hasn't been on 18th street for some time, though (I fucking interned paylessly there).

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 15:13 (twenty-two years ago)

Whoops, Suzy, sorry. I didn't read the "old" in your statement.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 15:13 (twenty-two years ago)

Remember I also interned there...but got my train fare at least ;-p.

― suzy (suzy), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 15:16 (twenty-two years ago)

I got a lot of pilfered SPIN sportswear, coffee mugs and cassettes.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 15:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Rio Mar shut down overnight a couple of months ago.

NOOOOOOO! that's TERRIBLE. i hadn't been in about six months, but it was one of my favorite spots. $16 buckets of rotgut rioja and peanuts and free tortilla and cheese at the bar, all gone! waaah.

― lauren (laurenp), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 16:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah. It was my favorite after work spot for a while. The worst Spanish food in the world, though. Just awful. But the bar tapas ruled.

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 16:11 (twenty-two years ago)

w/r/t the delmonico's/gage & tollner debate, i think the former is the oldest in manhattan (1827) while the latter was the oldest in brooklyn.
tracer is totally otm about the incongruity of g&t's location. it was next to a 24hr luther's fried chicken ("delicious butter biscuits")!

― lauren (laurenp), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 16:18 (twenty-two years ago)

don't hate on the Fulton Street Mall, yo.

― hstencil, Tuesday, 24 February 2004 16:20 (twenty-two years ago)

dude! i love fulton mall! that's not the point. you have to admit it was a bit funny to see the stately, gaslit facade of gage & tollner bang in the middle of luther's & gold-chain by the foot emporiums.

― lauren (laurenp), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 16:26 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah, I know, that's kinda why I wanted to go there.

― hstencil, Tuesday, 24 February 2004 16:28 (twenty-two years ago)

I loved Grange Hall, despite the misinformed disparagement on this thread. Incredible Manhattans, all locally grown meats and vegetables, a fantastic BLT, wonderful roasted brussels sprouts that will live in memory forever. They even had falernum behind the bar.

I went there twice last week. I'll miss it. Apparently Chumley's is taking over the space, sigh.

Gage & Tollner is sad too but more sad is that they apparently didn't tell their staff until the day before.

― Paul Eater (eater), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 17:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah I dunno, I only ate at Grange Hall once and I thought the ambience, location, and price wrote checks their food couldn't actually cash. Maybe I just chose badly. I agree about the bar, it was nice, but pretty hard to actually sit or stand at during peak times. I'm a much bigger fan of the Cherry Lane Theater!!

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 19:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, you had to be willing to lay down the dollars, but I can't think of a better place over there for early evening cocktails and snacking. And peak hours are horrible everywhere.

― Paul Eater (eater), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 21:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Am I wrong, or didn't they have big NRA poster there? That always struck me as a bit odd. I mean, at The Village Idiot, sure, but at Grange Hall?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 00:17 (twenty-two years ago)

....by the bar, right near the front door, I mean.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 00:18 (twenty-two years ago)

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~1930s/images/nra.jpg

My bad. It's a "National Recovery Act" poster, not National Rifle Association.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 00:20 (twenty-two years ago)

haha Alex:

deja vu

― gygax! (gygax!), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 00:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Indeedy.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 00:30 (twenty-two years ago)

i liked the grange hall's pb & j, washed down with a ginger beer. of course, that was in 1999 ... augh

― maura (maura), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 05:36 (twenty-two years ago)

twelve years pass...

the deli on the block where i work used to to be under colombian ownership. really nice older woman and what i think were here sons worked there.
now it has been bought by someone, not sure of their exact ethnicity, but they are muslim, so no more beer.
and i'm really scared that the pork tacos are going to be done away with.

why :(

― ian, Wednesday, 23 March 2016 23:42 (ten years ago)

tragic

― we can be heroes just for about 3.6 seconds (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 24 March 2016 02:18 (ten years ago)

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