Jimmy's No. 43 Faces Possible Closure

EAST VILLAGE, NY — The East Village favorite Jimmy's No. 43 is facing a likely closure unless the bar and restaurant can get financial support from a generous backer or its patrons, according to the owner.

The neighborhood spot, which opened in the neighborhood in 2005, was closed for repairs earlier this summer but will likely stay closed absent a Hail Mary financial backer, owner Jimmy Carbone told Gothamist on Monday. Carbone told Patch that he didn't have any additional comment, but said that patrons could support the restaurant by buying gift certificates.

Carbone told Gothamist that a number of factors had contributed to his business's financial plight, including fines incurred in the city's letter-grading system and the business's month-long closure and repairs in the wake of a deadly gas explosion in the East Village in 2015.

"I have to believe that we're closed for a revamp and there's going to be someone who realizes there's a great location in the East Village that people know about that's ready for a business partner," Carbone told Gothamist. "That's the only way I will be able to reopen."

Carbone has been active among local business owners calling for steps to provide protections from independent businesses from the city. Like many Manhattan neighborhoods, the East Village has seen numerous local businesses close their doors after decades in the Village, shuttering shop or moving elsewhere thanks to increasing real estate prices. Carbone, who is also president of the East Village Independent Merchants Association, has been part of a vocal group of small business owners in the neighborhood asking for city officials to enact a number of measure that would support locally-owned shops and restaurants. Among these steps is a proposal to create a special business district in the East Village, which would place limits on how many chain stores could open in a given block, among other measures. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

The restaurant's closure does not appear to be imminent; Carbone told Patch that he would be holding special tastings throughout the fall and that loyal diners at Jimmy's No. 43 could buy gift certificates.

Lead image via Patch