The entry to Village Yokocho was lit up per usual here at 8 Stuyvesant St. on Friday night, giving the impression that the longtime Japanese restaurant was open as it has been for the past 25-plus years.
However, the door to the space Village Yokocho shares with Angel's Share, the speakeasy-style bar, upstairs was locked, and the second level was dark ...
Village Yokocho and Angel's Share closed after service on Thursday night.
This was expected as four popular businesses — including Panya and Sunrise Mart — along Stuyvesant Street between Ninth Street and Third Avenue were set to close either at the end of March or in April.
There was word of a "rent dispute." According to
a previous statement by landlord Cooper Union to EVG: "Unfortunately, the tenant informed us of their decision to vacate the property. They were not asked to move out, despite the fact that they haven't paid any rent since 2020."
The timing for the end of service was murky, as the Yoshida Restaurant Group had not publically commented on potential closures or relocations for any of these businesses. Information to date in articles had come from bartenders/waitstaff/counter help. (
New York Times correspondent Alex Vadukul was first to report on the pending closures in
a series of tweets last month.)
Over the weekend, signage arrived confirming three of the closures (
h/t Eden) ...
Panya, the bakery-cafe, remains open. Yesterday, a worker said they hoped to be here for the rest of the month.
Meanwhile, there's
speculation that Angel's Share may turn up elsewhere; Village Yokocho would likely not. Sunrise Mart will not reopen elsewhere in the neighborhood — its three other NYC locations remain in service in Soho, Midtown and Brooklyn.
Early this past Thursday evening, a line formed for a last dinner and drinks at Village Yokocho and Angel's Share (following two photos by Steven) ...
There were several farewells on social media, including ...
No word on what might be next for these spaces. A Cooper Union rep told us previously that there wasn't any truth to a rumored new building here.
This corridor has been called a micro-center of Japanese culture. Angel's Share opened here in 1994, with Panya arriving next door in the same year. Sunrise Mart debuted in 1995.