Thursday, November 5, 2020

Caracas Arepa Bar is closing its East Village outpost after 17 years

Sunday is the last day in business for the East Village location of Caracas Arepa Bar on Seventh Street just east of First Avenue.

Co-owner Aristides Barrios made the announcement on Instagram yesterday (and Eater was first to report on it):
Thank you to all who helped build this place, we did it with our own bare hands. Thank you to those who helped us navigate these 17 years... Those part of the team, now became family and those supporting us over the years, also became family...
Caracas Arepa Bar will continue on with their Williamsburg location.

Barrios and co-owner Maribel Arauj started the business of selling the stuffed Venezuelan arepas here on Seventh Street in 2003. The original location at 93 1/2 E. Seventh St. suffered extensive fire damage in September 2016, and the owners were never able to reopen in the space. 

And that storefront remains vacant, along with the former Luke's Lobster next door. This will make three consecutive empty spaces then after service on Sunday.

Previously on EV Grieve:

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6 comments:

  1. NeighborNovember 5, 2020 at 9:04 AM

    Nooooo!!!!! They have amazing arepas and the absolute best micheladas!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousNovember 5, 2020 at 9:27 AM

    This is sad. I live next door and they’ve been around since I moved here. It’s always been my landmark and I tell friends who are visiting that my building is right next to Caracas. Damn.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousNovember 5, 2020 at 10:11 AM

    such a loss. I recently introduced a friend to Caracas during covid, too. Was hoping to go back.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousNovember 5, 2020 at 12:36 PM

    FFS

    ReplyDelete
  5. sam_the_manNovember 5, 2020 at 5:35 PM

    Small correction FWIW: the current space that’s closing actually is the original location.
    What I don’t understand is what the landlord thinks they’re going get in in that tiny 1-story space. They couldn’t let an established neighborhood presence ride out the pandemic?

    ReplyDelete
  6. ed angerNovember 6, 2020 at 7:46 AM

    It’s not only the landlords that are the problem, many restaurants have reopened but very few people want to go to out to eat. So high fixed expenses and low income is killing the industry.

    ReplyDelete

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