More details about the new home for Sammy's Roumanian Steakhouse on the Lower East Side

Updated 5/17: Sammy's received the OK from Community Board 3.

As we first reported on April 27, NYC classic Sammy's Roumanian Steakhouse is looking to reopen in a new location.

Next Monday, ownership will appear before CB3's SLA committee for a new liquor license for 191 Orchard St. between Houston and Stanton — space that has been vacant for nine years.

The questionnaire (PDF here) is now online at the CB3 website before that meeting.

According to the public document, Sammy's 2.0 would feature 58 tables for 118 guests. They're also looking for seating in the outdoor garden behind the restaurant.

The paperwork notes that there will be two seatings per evening .... and that an estimated 90% of the seating will be by reservation only. Other highlights: The sale of Sammy's merch (T-shirts are mentioned) and the entertainment will feature "a lounge singer on keyboard." (The application says they'll hire a sound engineer "for comprehensive sound mitigation.")

The proposed hours are Monday-Wednesday from 4-11 p.m., with a midnight close on Thursday and 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. Sunday hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. The outdoor space would shut down at 10 p.m. all days.

Sammy's closed in early January 2021 after 45-plus years of serving up ice-encased vodka, smeared pitchers of schmaltz and enormous platters of meat from the lower level at 151 Chrystie St.

The restaurant had been shuttered since the PAUSE of March 2020, and this wasn't a business ready-made for delivery or outdoor dining.

In an Instagram post at the time, owner David Zimmerman left the door open for a return. 

Sammy's Roumanian Steakhouse has closed for now on the Lower East Side

Word circulated this weekend that LES staple Sammy's Roumanian Steakhouse had closed for good on Chrystie Street after 47 years of serving up ice-encased vodka, smeared pitchers of schmaltz and enormous platters of meat to the backdrop of Yiddish sing-alongs. 

This afternoon, Sammy's ownership (David Zimmerman) responded to the rumors in an Instagram post. (East Village-based storefront photographers James and Karla Murray initially observed what appeared to be a closure.)  

It is with great sadness that we announce that the rumors are true and we have had to shut the doors to the infamous basement. 

Sammy’s Roumanian is more than just a restaurant. It's a community. A celebration of tradition. An experience difficult to put into words. It's where families come to dine weekly, where partygoers begin their night (if they survive the frozen vodka), and where Simchas are celebrated. It's a place where you can be yourself, make friends, discover what a Shiksa is, and maybe even get called out as one too. Above all, it's a place where everyone feels at home, welcome, and part of a larger family.

However, it sounds as if Sammy's is leaving the door open for a return some day in a new location.

So chins up fellow schmaltzers. All the years of devouring chopped liver with our special schmaltz, schmered on rye bread with a side of pickles and a shot (or glass) of frozen vodka to wash it down will be remembered fondly. We may be closed now, but when all this is over and we feel safe enough to hold hands during the hora, we will be back stronger, louder, and tastier than ever before. We are New York. We will survive this. We will always cherish the memories we shared with all of you.

He confirmed as much in a text message to Gothamist. 

Sammy's had closed when the PAUSE went effect last March, and was never able to reopen. And this is not the kind of food that works for delivery. 

Schmaltz on full display in new-look exterior at Sammy's Roumanian Steakhouse

[Photo from 2010 by James and Karla Murray]

There's a new look outside down at the Chrystie Street mainstay... EVG reader Mike House shared these photos... first, of the usual entrance (which transformed back in the spring)...



A new addition is on the kitchen side of the operation just to the south ... the windows had previously been covered ... now there are giants pitchers of schmaltz, not quite to scale of the ones found on the tables inside...



I'm not sure if the work is complete out front. Perhaps more Sammy's signage will return. (The interior remains the same.)

This northwest corner of Chrystie and Delancey was under cover of a sidewalk bridge and scaffolding for some six years, finally coming down at the start of 2016.