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Another day, another high-profile closure on Avenue A.
The owners of Harry & Ida's have announced that their Meat and Supply Co. will close the weekend before Thanksgiving at 189 Avenue A at 12th Street.
Siblings Julie and Will Horowitz, who are also behind Duck's Eatery on 12th Street, discussed the pending closure in an Instagram post:
We are heartbroken to announce that we will be closing up shop at the end of the month. We have so loved being part of your community, your celebrations, your lunches, your dinners, and your hearty snacks in between.
Never in a million years would we have imagined that our (not so little) sandwich, once a late night pop-up @duckseatery would receive so much attention this many years later. As painful as it is, we are proud to go out on a high note with the shop busier than ever, our pastrami still holding strong on top national lists and the support of you, our beloved customers.
While our presence on Avenue A will come to an end, we will be carrying on the H&I name with some exciting projects on the horizon. Be on the lookout for our usual array of quirky, cured and smoked products, with a little more plant and a lot less meat this time around. To our fellow delis, we are proud to have served alongside you. Keep the tradition (and the not-so-traditional) alive.
They do not cite any specific reason for the closure.
In August 2018, they shuttered their offshoot Harry & Ida’s Luncheonette in the Financial District after 10 months in business.
Harry & Ida's arrived on Avenue A in June 2015, and immediately drew raves for their pastrami. The market, which specializes in a variety of preserved foods and smoked meats, was named for their great-grandparents Harry and Ida Zinn, Hungarian immigrants who had a store in Harlem.
In October 2017, workers finally removed the sidewalk bridge and scaffolding from the Avenue A side of the Steiner East Village condoplex between 11th Street and 12th Street. For 19 months, the entrance to Harry & Ida's was obscured by all this construction. In total at the time, 19 of their 29 months in business had been under the doom and gloom of a sidewalk bridge.
Other recent closing announcements on Avenue A include Obscura Antiques and Oddities and Three Seats Espresso.
H/T Kenny and Dave!