The same EV Grieve reader who passed along the Cafe Brama news also noted that Mingala Burmese Restaurant at 21 East Seventh St. (a few doors east of McSorley's) had closed. Indeed. I didn't even notice that the place had shuttered and been put up for sale so quickly... The rent is $9,300, according to the Tower Brokerage listing. There is also a Mingala Burmese on the Upper East Side.
oh nooooooo!! we called last week and didn't get an answer, and i worried but didn't follow up. they were our FAVORITE delivery place -- fast and delicious and so nice. i'll miss the ginger and tea leaf salads especially...
ReplyDeleteugh! that place had become a new favorite.
ReplyDeleteHow do any of these places survive with such crazy rents?
ReplyDeleteOh no, the Rangoon Night Market Noodles! The Thousand Layer Pancakes! CRAP!
ReplyDeleteIn the 1980s I did restaurant reviews for the old East Villager newspaper, writing under the name Brillat Savarin, and at one point my columns were in a number of windows in the neighborhood. Over the years all but Mingala closed; the last time I went for dinner a few weeks ago, my review from 1986 was still in the window, the last survivor of a long-gone era...
Guess the landlord figured the neighborhood needed a bar more than a great old Burmese restaurant - they're a dime a dozen in NY anyway.
"How do any of these places survive with such crazy rents?"
ReplyDeleteI don't think they do.
I realized the other way why most great places I find start declining in quality soon after I discover them (I don't think its me). Pretty much they are unprofitable with these high rents, so they run into financial problems once they open. The owners and manager then start cutting corners in a desperate bid to keep the other costs down.
If people were rational about operating small businesses in this city, we would start looking like Detroit.
Oh NO! I've been going to Mingala since it opened! I LOVED that place. Was planning to stop in for ginger salad this very weekend!
ReplyDeleteThe owner was always so kind to me. Bless him.....hope he and his family are okay.
What terrible news. I'm crushed.
Awww...I went there a few years ago. Not the best meal I've had, but the owner was nice and it's just sad to see these mom and pop restaurants closing...
ReplyDelete