West Village Legend Shopsin's Shutters, Eyes LES

Monday, December 18, 2006, by Lockhart

Months after its lease went up for grabs, Kenny Shopsin's famed West Village restaurant Shopsin's seemingly has served its last meal. Reports Gridskipper, which broke the news this morning:

It looks like this past weekend was truly the last for the West Village institution. A tipster reports that on Saturday, a horde of brunch hopefuls amassed outside the door. The staff, however, was only letting in regulars. Our tipster, a regular, said the atmosphere was moribund as the whole Shopsin family sat in a booth looking forlorn.

The closing, it seems, wasn't rent-related; rather, the pressure and pace of catering to so many diners caught up with the family. So where next? A booth in the Essex Street Market on the Lower East Side is the plan. Opening in a few months, it will consist of "a sandwich stand and maybe a counter," says Gridskipper—an odd next chapter for a true neighborhood legend.
· Shopsin's RIP [Gridskipper via Eater]
· Shopsin's Lease Up for Sale [Curbed]

Filed under Manhattan: Greenwich Village, Manhattan: Lower East Side, Restaurants,

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Comments (7 extant)

This is around the corner from Gilda's Place for people with cancer and one Sunday Morning I overheard a woman wearing a Fuck Cancer shirt say, " I'm going to have my last meal here". This news is double sad.

By Anthony Barba at December 18, 2006 11:53 AM

this place is unbelievably overrated – i love old time village stuff as much as the next guy (more, perhaps) but this place just sucks... and the owner is a dick.

By me at December 18, 2006 12:08 PM

Good riddance. I agree with #2 and the place is filthy . . . at least the owner had the decency not to blame the landlord.

Too many of these retail places that can't hack it in the big city blame the landlord for raising the rent (remember that if the rent doubles from the last time the lease was signed 10 years earlier, then that equates to only 7% annual increases.)

By me too at December 18, 2006 1:12 PM

I have to agree with #2 in general, but I still wish the place would stick around.

By me too 2 at December 18, 2006 2:27 PM

#3...

"only 7% annual increases"?

only?

how many businesses do you know that can raise their prices 7% a year – every year – and keep their customers?

By me at December 18, 2006 3:16 PM

Agree. The "rules" were really ridiculous. Some places can only dream of having as many devoted customers as this place had. It's almost like they wanted it to fail. I think in one interview the owner gave, he said he would lose money if he had too many customers. Who knew too many customers mean the end of a restaurant.

By Snarky at December 18, 2006 3:23 PM

Seems like my cable bill goes up at least 7% a year . . .

How much have expenses gone up over the past decade? When Bloomberg hikes taxes, oil or gas shoots up and insurance rates go up post-9/11, how does a landlord recoup the costs . . . he raises the rent.

But the point of my "7%" comment was that when you hear a tenant complain that his rent has doubled, it sounds far worse than if he complains that his rent has doubled over the past decade.

By Anonymous at December 18, 2006 3:26 PM