Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Beron Beron at 164 First Ave. at 10th Street has closed. Dec. 31 was the last day of service.
Co-owner Yuta Umeki (below), who owns the restaurant with his brother, Kyota Umeki, says they decided to close after the death of their father, Yuji Umeki, last fall.
Yuta says they made the difficult decision to close, citing the difficulties operating both restaurants (they also own Kenka on St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue) after his father's sudden death.
Yuta says some of the staff (below) at Beron Beron will be transitioning to Kenka, which now has late-night hours on Friday and Saturday until 3 a.m.
Yesterday, there was a sidewalk sale of free items, and Yuta says he wasn't looking to make any money off them — just to find them a good home.
Beron Beron opened here in the fall of 2014 and served a long menu of affordable, high-quality dishes in an old-school, Taisho-era atmosphere. They will be missed.
