End of an Era as Iconic Gotham Restaurant Closes After 40 Years in New York City

The renowned Gotham Restaurant has permanently closed its doors after serving the New York City dining scene for forty years. In addition to becoming a fine-dining mainstay renowned for its culinary skills and “tall food” innovations, Gotham Bar & Grill, which opened its doors in 1984, also served as a cradle for up-and-coming talent that influenced the city’s restaurant scene. As reported by Nation’s Restaurant News, the restaurant posted a memorial statement on their website, thanking customers for “an extraordinary 40 years.”

Due to COVID-related closures, Circle 2021 suffered a significant financial setback and rapidly accrued debt. Then, according to a statement that Eater was able to receive, a cyberattack earlier this year stole $45,000, rendering their payroll operations impossible. The once-thriving establishment was unable to cope with these conditions, as well as over half a million in unpaid taxes owed to the New York State Department of Taxation.

With alumni including Wylie Dufresne, Tom Colicchio, and Bill Telepan, Gotham Restaurant has made a significant impact on the food industry outside of its walls. The restaurant was first run by chef Alfred Portale and then Victoria Blamey, whose creative style earned it a three-star rating from The New York Times. The location of numerous early culinary encounters, as noted by Nation’s Restaurant Newsnotes, Gotham witnessed a dramatic change in 2019 when Portale left to open his own restaurant. Through its newsletter, “Friends of Gotham,” which is run by co-owners Cassandra and Bret Csencsitz, the spirit of Gotham lives on even after it is closed.

“The goal was to go back to our investors to reopen this fall, and time just kept going by until it became clear we could not reopen this fall or for the holidays,” owner Cassandra Csencsitz told Eater in her reflections on the closing, expressing the tremendous loss of the establishment. It’s over.

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