Tuesday, January 16, 2018

The Joint (fka 99 Miles to Philly) has closed on 3rd Avenue



Multiple readers have shared the news that The Joint closed earlier this month on Third Avenue between 12th Street and 13th Street. (The first report that I heard was on Jan. 5.)

There's now a for rent sign on the space. The cheesesteak specialists started as 99 Miles to Philly in February 2005. They rebranded as The Joint this past July. Here's what 99 Miles partner Neil Barsky told me at that time:

"After 12 years and outlasting every other cheeseteak joint that did not have a bar attached to it, we could no longer survive the costs of doing business in NYC with only having basically one product," he said via email. "We had a choice — close or take advantage of the vacancies left by the closing of Blue 9 and other restaurants in the area. We felt by rebranding with an expanded new menu, which will ... feature Pat LaFrieda's burgers, specialty hot dogs and monthly specialty sandwiches, we could continue to survive and keep good people employed."

I did not hear back about this closure.

The Joint's neighbor, Blue 9 Burger, closed earlier in 2017. That space remains on the rental market...

13 comments:

  1. Noooooooo! Such good cheesesteaks!

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  2. So if you want a cheese steak, go to Philly. It's less than 99 miles.

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  3. Not surprising. Having had many Philly Cheese Steak heros on the streets of Philly and after tasting one at this place, I would rather wait until I get to Philly. Once here was enough. I guess a lot of people felt that way.

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  4. Wogie's in the WV was good a few years back. Haven't been in a long time.

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  5. Food was so-so. The great cheesesteak in the city was at 34th and 3rd, Carl's, perhaps? Incredible! Long gone.

    Look at what else has closed: Brother Jimmy's on 16th, Republic on Union Square (both papered over with printed signs confirming permanent shut downs), Jam Paper and Ricky's soon, too.

    We're really screwed.

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  6. Having lived in Philly for 4 years, the idea that there are great cheesesteaks around every corner is just false. Most of them suck. This place was as good as 80%+ of those in Philly. It will be sorely missed as a simple, cheap dinner alternative that would be delivered to my door less than 15 minutes after ordering. Sorry to see it go.

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  7. Blue Water Gril is scheduled to close also. It’s not in the same affordable class as Republic, but indicative of the rent rises in Union Square. Starbucks moved from 17th street corner down the block when landlord raised the rent to $150,000/mo.

    Union Square Cafe, which started the comeback of Union Square, couldn’t even afford to stay after 2 years of trying to negotiate with their landlord on a new lease.

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  8. @2:21 you mist know then the best Philly cheese steak is in Jersey...

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  9. Actually, Fedoroff's Roast Pork in Williamsburg is the closest to an authentic Philly cheesesteak that you'll find in NYC. RIP 99 Miles to Philly!

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  10. All sad news, including everyone's posts about other iconic restaurant closures in nyc.

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  11. Loved this place. Does anyone know where I can get a good cheesesteak in NYC now ? And don't say Woogies, or Shorty's. They're nowhere near as good as this place was ! I've heard good things about the food trucks, but they don't deliver....

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  12. They had the best cheesesteaks..you could customize them to your liking..meat and bread were on point as well as the hot sauce..sad shit bruh

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  13. Yes, but good news ! They've now reopened as Izzies on the Lower East Side !

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