The Upper East Side Businesses We Lost To The Pandemic

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — As the year ends, Patch is taking a look back at the beloved neighborhood businesses that closed amid the difficulties of the pandemic — including many on the Upper East Side.

Even before the coronavirus swept New York, times were tough for retailers. Between January and February, Upper East Side mainstays Fantastic Kids Toys, Rotisserie Georgette and Burger Heaven all closed their doors permanently.

One of the earliest pandemic casualties was also among the most painful: Beyoglu, a popular Turkish restaurant, which announced in May that it would close after more than 20 years on the Upper East Side due to fallout from the coronavirus.

"COVID-19 has caused huge financial damage to our business. In this current situation we are not able to keep our common home alive," owners of the Third Avenue eatery wrote in a notice on the restaurant's window.

Last week, when we asked Upper East Siders which closures had been the most painful, readers responded with their own bygone favorites.

Several were coffee shops: Cafe Jax, which closed in June; Oren's Daily Roast, whose First Avenue location shut down in July; Beanocchio Cafe on York Avenue, which closed for good on Sept. 26.

Others have cited bigger businesses, like the 86th Street Barnes & Noble, which became one of dozens of chain retailers to close on the Upper East Side when it shut down over the summer. (Target plans to move into the space.)

Closures have picked up again during the fall and winter, a mixture of chain stores and local small businesses: Bed Bath & Beyond, the Central Park Boathouse, Flying Tiger Copenhagen, Bistro Le Steak, and, most recently, Williams-Sonoma, which announced plans to close its Madison Avenue shop shortly after supplying the neighborhood with another year's worth of holiday kitchenware gifts.

Amid the loss, there have been signs of hope. This fall, neighbors banded together to save Kitchen Arts & Letters, a storied culinary bookstore that was in danger of shutting down before an online fundraiser racked up more than $100,000 in donations. Another campaign, "Save Our Stores," aims to support the neighborhood's small businesses by urging people to shop local.

But stories like that may be the exception, not the rule — one study found that one in three New York City small businesses may never reopen after the pandemic.

Industry advocates have called on the U.S. Senate to pass the RESTAURANTS Act, a bill with bipartisan support that passed the House in October and would provide more than $100 billion in grants to independent restaurants, small chains and catering companies.

Which neighborhood businesses will you miss the most? Let us know in the comments.

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