After five months at 192 First Ave., Chelsea Thai closed following the holidays. Founder-chef Saruj Nimkarn said that there wasn't enough business here between 11th Street and 12th Street to keep the quick-serve restaurant open.
Nimkarn and his family members are selling off the contents from inside the space... thanks to EVG regular Lola Sáenz for the tip and photos...
The restaurant debuted here in August after 21 years in the Chelsea Market. (A rent increase there forced Nimkarn to look elsewhere.)
Nimkarn will be holding the sale until 8 tonight, then again tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The space is now also for rent... Steven took this photo earlier today...
8 comments:
Too Bad. Nice people!
Sad. I ate here a couple times. It was okay but to be honest I am still smarting and sort of inconsolable from EV Thai closing. Still I had hopes for Chelsea, and am a little surprised at closing after just five months. Business must have been very, very slow, I have to assume.
Such a shame! They had a successful business in Chelsea Market for 15 years. Once the rent was raised, they moved to EV. It made sense to keep their name because of the branding established over 15 years. What doesn't make sense is the high rents demanded by NYC landlords that make it impossible for small businesses to survive.
This is such a shame. They were professional, kind and welcoming. Each time I visited the new location, it was empty with no music. Honestly, it felt like a waiting room in hospital or a sterile clinic. I did enjoy the food, but it could have been a tad better with more spice/heat. I used to patronize them since their inception during the early 2000's in the Chelsea Market; they were considered an institution having developed relationships with patrons and neighbors alike.
This is a gleaming and unfortunate example of what another commenter touched upon. Sadly, small businesses are evaporating in NYC. I just walked in NoHo this afternoon. I counted a number of seven places that were shut down around Houston to Lafayette to Elizabeth Street. Those large FOR LEASE signs are ubiquitous in almost every neighborhood in Manhattan. Greedy landlords are at the helm of this issue. I hope our ineffective mayor can achieve one positive result with his time in office by moving forward with a tax. This would be issued for landlords who indefinitely, yet foolishly and selfishly leave spaces vacant until they receive 30 to 50k a month for a space. It is astonishing how this trend is morphing our city (and others) into a hybrid of something I and others cannot recognize. Unless one is independently wealthy, I don't see how anyone can survive in this climate. It is simply not worth it, I wish the owners and staff of Chelsea Thai the best.
Very sad news, a nice looking place.
Gotta be honest, I worked near Chelsea Market for years and never went there -- the food just wasn't very good. With the high rents in this neighborhood, the level of food just needs to be excellent for a place to survive.
Thank you to EV grieve for being so supporitve and posting about the restaurant from the beginning. We are sad to leave the neighborhood and are very grateful for all of the community members we were able to meet. The closing sale will be open tomorrow, Sunday the 13th until everything is sold out.
Thank you again to everyone who supported us.
The food was ok
The grocery was handy
I couldn't believe it when they moved
They were always packed
They should have made it work somehow and stayed in Chelsea market
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