For generations of New Yorkers, Sarabeth’s was practically synonymous with brunch. Lemon-ricotta pancakes, French toast, eggs Benedict and enough coffee to survive Sunday morning traffic made the restaurant a fixture of the city’s dining scene. So why did Sarabeth’s close in NYC?
The short answer: the math stopped making sense.
Sarabeth’s recently shuttered its Park Avenue South and Greenwich Village locations, with both serving their final meals on August 16. The company said the economics of operating the restaurants were no longer sustainable, despite both locations remaining busy.
According to the restaurant’s representatives, the closures were driven by a particularly nasty New York cocktail: rising labor and operating costs, occupancy expenses, aging facilities and building-management issues. The Park Avenue South location also faced long-term scaffolding and a change in building ownership, making an already expensive operation even tougher to justify.
And then there’s the Upper West Side location, where the drama has moved from the dining room to the courtroom. The landlord is suing Sarabeth’s operator over more than $43,000 in alleged unpaid rent and other charges. The restaurant disputes remain part of an ongoing legal proceeding, so those allegations should not be treated as established facts.
The good news for pancake loyalists: Sarabeth’s isn’t completely gone. As of now, the brand continues to operate its Central Park South and Upper West Side restaurants. Its official website lists both as NYC locations.
So, no, New Yorkers didn’t suddenly stop loving brunch. Apparently, they just couldn’t make the rent love them back.
For Sarabeth’s, the closures are another reminder that in New York City, even a beloved restaurant with decades of history can discover that the hardest reservation to secure is one with its landlord.
