Where Have All The Restaurants Gone?

Long time passing for many of New York's eateries, including a few that do quite well, but they just can't seem to pay the rent. Even popular restaurants are getting hammered by ridiculously high rents that are nearly impossible to pay. One victim of this two years ago was the 2nd Ave deli. New Yorkers were flabbergasted to see the city's best (in many a view) deli shutter its doors. They are thankfully now re-opened but at a smaller location and with much higher prices on the menu. I'll still pay for it but this is a problem that many restaurants are facing.

From Crain's:

Prominent chef Pino Luongo, who has opened 11 restaurants in the city over the past 20 years, now faces one of his worst nightmares.

He expects to have to shutter Tuscan Square, his decade-old eatery in Rockefeller Center, at the end of the month. The landlord, Tishman Speyer, is raising the rent, which is already more than $1 million a year.

"Rents in New York City are totally unrealistic," Mr. Luongo says. "We could definitely see a recession in the restaurant business."

Stories like Tuscan Square's imminent demise are becoming common, and experts predict many more closures this year. Rents in some neighborhoods have more than doubled since 2003. Though restaurants open in the city nearly every day and many spots continue to thrive, evidence is mounting that the industry is entering a rough patch.

The article continues to cite examples in Manhattan and is definitely indicative of a growing problem. Real estate rents are being blown out of the water and the independents will suffer the worst of it, no matter how good their food is.