Back on Friday, we reported that the Lower East Side Coffee Shop, which opened in 2008, is now in the legal possession of the landlord here on 14th Street just west of Avenue A.
Gov. Cuomo's moratorium on commercial evictions expired on Jan. 31 The posted eviction notice is dated Feb. 4...
Cuomo is
advancing legislation to extend the statewide moratorium to May 1.
News of the closure prompted conversations about the dwindling number of diners left in the neighborhood. While the Lower East Side Coffee Shop was on the new-ish side, it had an old-school vibe, thanks in part to the neon signage that was a welcome sight alongside the Domino's, Trader Joe's and Target.
Elsewhere: Little Poland, which opened in 1985 at 200 Second Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street, has been closed since last March.
At the start of the year, the diner's Instagram account posted a New Year's wish... with a note saying: "We ... hope we get to see all your beautiful faces soon!"
The storefront remains frozen in March 2020 time...
Meanwhile, as you know, Odessa, which dates to the mid-1960s on Avenue A between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place, closed in July. Longtime manager Dennis Vassilatos said that Odessa was shutting down after a prolonged slump in business due to COVID-19.
Closer to the last day, however, co-owner Steve Helios told Gothamist that Odessa was only closing temporarily, that the space would be renovated. (The building's landlord is Odessa partner Mike Skulikidis.)
To date, seven months later, no work has been done on the space... here's a look from this past weekend...
As for what remains open. Two institutions,
Veselka, 144 Second Ave. at Ninth Street, and
B&H Diary, 127 Second Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place, are doing their best under trying circumstances. (Noting: Some purists will say that Veselka is more of a restaurant than a diner, having evolved from its 1950s and 1960s roots, and that B&H is more of a lunch counter. You can debate that in the comments.)
Kitchen Sink, a (slightly) more upscale diner, remains open at 88 Second Ave. at Fifth Street...
---
Updated: Adding
Remedy (b. 2007) here over at 245 E. Houston St. at Norfolk.
---
And not too far away, there's
the Famous Cozy Soup 'n' Burger at 739 Broadway near Astor Place... (this photo is from last summer when they reopened after a five-month hiatus) ...
The diner is struggling to afloat with the downturn in activity (students, tourists, office workers) along this corridor. Manager John Stratidis, who has worked here since age 9, was featured on
NY1 back in the fall. His father and uncle opened the diner in 1972.
