Natori remains open on St. Mark's Place

At the end of November, we heard that Natori, a longtime favorite on St. Mark's Place, was closing for good on Nov. 30. We understood that the owner needed to return to Japan for family matters. Workers confirmed this closure to us.

However, in the last week, several readers noted that Natori was back open. We brought this up to our original tipster, a reliable source. The tipster was surprised. "I went there that [last night] and the owner was sobbing over it being the end."

Then an EVG regular just had dinner there, and brought up the topic. The waiter said that they weren't closing, and dismissed the topic. The EVGer tried again to no avail. The waiter though, was friendly and talkative about other topics. The EVGer also noted that there weren't any early-bird specials that Natori had been known for... In any event, Natori is still open. We'll try to get more information about what's happening here.

[Updated] Longtime favorite Natori closing for good Friday on St. Mark's Place

[Photo via The Village Voice]

Sad news via the EVG tipline... a reader passes along word that Natori, the hole-in-the-wall Japanese restaurant at 58 St. Mark's Place, will close on Friday night. The tipster understands that the owner has to return to Japan for family reasons. A Natori employee confirmed the closing as well.

Hirokazu Takaya opened Natori here in the late 1980s ... among other reasons, the place was well-known for its generous early-bird specials. Last year, The Voice named it as a "Best of" in the Japanese — Sushi category.

Updated:
Back on Nov. 26, a worker confirmed that Natori was closing. However, Natori remains open for now ... we'll see if we can get an update on what's happening here. Anyway, good news for now...