The Meatball Shop to Close its Lower East Side Flagship this Weekend
For The Meatball Shop, its ten-year anniversary is likely more bitter than sweet.
Indeed, the Lower East Side institution is shutting down the flagship location this weekend. Employees were reportedly informed of the news last week.
We received confirmation that the last day in business is this Saturday (February 8). Apparently the lease on Stanton Street is up and the company is “taking a different direction.” (Probably the rents.)
The imminent closure of 84 Stanton follows other Meatball Shop departures in Westport last month, as well as Washington, DC back in September. Of the Connecticut restaurant, the Westport News quoted something similar – that ownership is “changing its business model.”
The following update is found on the official website:
We’re growing with the times: shifting focus to a fuller, more familial, and more modern Italian experience, with amazing new appetizers and drinks, pasta dishes, items to share and main courses to savor, and a bunch of gluten-free and vegan delights throughout….and even as the brand evolves, the meatballs won’t……we still have the classics! This is only available at our Chelsea Shop, 200 9th Ave for now, but with your support, will roll out to the other locations by Spring 2020
The five other outposts remaining across Manhattan and Brooklyn are not affected.
High school buddies Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow founded The Meatball Shop at 84 Stanton Street in 2010. It became an instant hit, and one of the hardest seats to get in the neighborhood, thanks in part to media exposure on late-night television (and Celebrity Apprentice). A year later, they expanded to the West Village and Williamsburg. With each expansion, though, the restaurant seemed to lose its luster.
Recent Stories
Adam Schlesinger, Fountains of Wayne Cofounder, Dies of Coronavirus Complications
Adam Schlesinger – whose infectious melodies with Fountains of Wayne, as well as That Thing You Do! endeared himself to a generation – died yesterday morning from complications due to coronavirus. The Emmy Award-winning songwriter was 52. His condition the day before yesterday was reported by his attorney of 25 years as “very sick and heavily […]
Daily Clap: Cheering for COVID-19 First Responders
Since last week, city dwellers confined at home have been applauding first responders in the fight against COVID-19. Each evening at 7:00pm, a citywide round of applause commences. Windows open, balconies fill, and hands emerge. Clapping – or banging pots and pans – for the tireless, selfless work of first responders on the front lines […]
Cuomo Shutters All NYC Playgrounds as COVID-19 Threat Intensifies
It’s finally happened, and this is why we can’t have nice things. All New York City playgrounds are closed to the public to promote “social distancing” during the COVID-19 shutdown. The order comes from Governor Andrew Cuomo, who circumvented Mayor de Blasio on the decision. Hizzoner had not yet ordered closed the playgrounds, but did […]
New 12-Story Development to Rise Across from Essex Crossing on Ludlow Street
Nevermind the pandemic at the doorstep, more development must happen on the Lower East Side. New construction permits were filed this week for a twelve-story mid-block development directly across from the International School of Photography. The property in question is 89-91 Ludlow Street, two parcels which last year changed hands for $12.3 million. The filing […]
Emergency Rehab of Burned-out 70 Mulberry Street Resumes
Chinatown, and the city at large, is increasingly becoming a ghost town, devoid of pedestrians and traffic. Yet, despite the COVID-19 shutdown, work continues at the former PS23, where a devastating five-alarm fire gutted its top floors in January. The project site is apparently considered an emergency, and granted an exception to Governor Cuomo’s executive […]
