all photos: Molly Woodward
One piece of hopeful news: The shutter signage says "We hope to see you in the near future at a new location." Let's pray they take the beautiful faux-bois clock, the baby-chair swiveling tables, and everything, just as it is. My fingers are crossed, though I doubt this will happen.
Until then, go now, eat a burger, drink an egg cream, enjoy the atmosphere untouched since the 1960s. It's another funeral for New York.
Previously:
Prime Burger
PB Egg Cream
Vernacular Typography
Don't think I've been in Prime Burger since I was a little kid - shame on me - but these are the types of places that shape your love for a city and the character it contains. Much the same way I love the old luncheonettes that used to await on so many corners downtown, promising a tasty meal afer being dragged up and down Orchard St. as a kid while mom found the best deals on underwear and socks.
ReplyDeleteWas just thinking about this yesterday when discussing the Murder of Meatpacking with a buddy; there was a place called Bohemian Meat Market (I think that's the name - maybe someone else remembers this place?), and I used to love when we had to stop there to get our meats; they knew what 'torture' it was for a 9 year old boy to get dragged around on these trips; one of the butchers would always come around from behind the counter, make small talk about the Yankees, and just when we were leaving, out of nowhere hand me a plastic bag with all sorts of taffy and other candy in it. I guarantee that bag of candy tasted way better than anything that has ever come out of the kitchen at Catch.
Speaking of the continued loss of the city, I almost choked on my bagel this morning when I opened the Post and read Caretaker Bloomy's 'plan to revitalize cities' by forcing municipalities to take in immigrants (page 4 NY Post). How ironic that the same mayor who has led NYC's transformation into a place impossible for the non wealthy to live in is now championing the idea of cities being saved by large infuxes of immigrants. I suppose he sees other large cities as a hospital for the displaced victims of NY's hypergentrification tornado.
And a few pages later, in the article on the gambling den busted in Chinatown (oh the horror!), they mention how Prosecutors are moving to seize the building, and how it is worth about $14 million in the current market. Then comes this nugget from a city suit named James Hayes: "If it were not being used for unauthorized gambling business, you've got a lot of commercial space in the building that could fetch fairly sizeable rents." Well, now we see why, of all the gambling dens that have existed in Chinatown forever, this space has been targeted 3 times since March 2011. Because to the city administration, sky high rents are a GOOD thing!
As a quote from the article says "If mahjong caught the eye of the investigators, they can shut down all of Chinatown." And with that, Marc Jacobs began drooling.
j, after reading this, I'm glad I no longer live in NYC. I ate here for years - cheeseburgers, tomato soup, tomato stuffed with tuna, apricot pie. Great food, great service. With all the coffee shops closing, where are people supposed to eat? Duane Reade?
ReplyDeleteOh noes!!! Loved Prime Burger (and Bun & Burger, which back in our Angophile youth we liked to call Bum & Bugger). At least we still have Burger Heaven...long may it endure!
ReplyDeleteHeartbroken about Prime Burger--best hamburgers in NY! The waiters were awesome...plus they had those crazy chairs up front. Today we went, ate, bought our tshirts, and mourned. Whenever I went they were hopping, but the building got sold and, well, we know how it goes. I can't wait to see what takes its place--it's too small for a Duane Reede or bank.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what prompted the owners of Prime Burger to sell their building? Guess there's a price for everything...
ReplyDeletethe owners of Prime Burger did not own the building. it was sold from under them. they had a deal with the new owners, and the new owners reneged. "they didn't want us as tenants," said Prime Burger's owner.
ReplyDelete1) where exactly is prime burger? no one has given the location. is it on broadway or 7th, in the west 40s? 2) re: immigrants, new york is for the rich & the rest do their laundry, bus the tables, wash the dishes, change the diapers, clean the buildings, work @ duane reade......get it??? & those people will live very far out of manhattan. 12 to a room i am sure. or just cram together w/the 200,000 illegals in chinatown. or live in the dorms in queens where the chinese are warehoused as they work 6 or 7 days a week. or warehoused w/the africans, e.indians, etc. dont forget NYC is exempt from enforcing immigrations laws.
ReplyDeleteI don't have the book nearby, but I think Holly Golightly had her weekly meetings with the lawyer for "Sally" Tomato at Hamburg Heaven. There is a reference to the lawyer's eating trays of relish, a tradition the Prime Burger continued.
ReplyDeleteMore NYC DNA gone.
Wish Randy Hage would do a miniature of the Primeburger.
ReplyDelete@ laura
ReplyDeleteYou're obviously versed in using the internet. I'm sure you can find Prime Burger's location with just a cursory search.
According to Eater: The building, which the owners of Prime Burger own, is being sold.
ReplyDeleteaccording to Eater, says the owner of Prime Burger:
ReplyDelete"The building's been sold. We had an agreement with the new owners to stay here longer, but those agreements fell through. They decided that they don't want us here as tenants anymore. I just found out about this the weekend before last.
We knew the building was going to be sold and that we’d have to close after a while. We were going to take some time to look for a new space, but this all happened so quickly. We just haven’t been able to figure it out yet. The way it happened, it wasn’t great, but in the end, with the building being sold, it was out of my control. And that’s what happened. We just thought we’d be able to stay with the new owners, but it didn’t work out like that."
http://ny.eater.com/archives/2012/05/midtown_institution_prime_burger_to_close_on_saturday.php#more
tim please respect tech challenged people. when one reaches a certain age, AND has a learning disability, it takes a few minutes to figure it out. in general jeremiah does give exact locales. i found an old post on JVNY from 2008 prime burger w/location. good photos too from early 1960s. some of us are oxi-morons or idiot savants, depending upon you way you choose to see us.
ReplyDeleteWent for my last lunch at the Prime Burger yesterday at half past 1, and the place was packed full like the IRT at rush hour. A line maybe 30 people deep waiting to pay and another 20 waiting to be seated. It was great to see the energy and such an overwhelming show of support, but obviously a spirit of melancholy hovered over the proceedings with the ax falling in just two days. Sandro waited on us after we managed to get seats at the counter and was, of course, classy and professional and efficient.
ReplyDeleteSomeone related to the restaurant owners, using the restaurant's address, does appear to have sold the building. See, for instance, the building's registration info at the NYC HPD website (http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/home/home.shtml):
ReplyDeleteBuilding Registration Summary Report
Owner Last Reg Dt
Reg Expire Dt Organization Last Nm First Nm House No Street Nm Apt City State Zip
Head Officer 07/28/2011 04/01/2012 DIMICELI ANTHONY 5 E 51 STREET NEW YORK NY 10022
...
Corporation 07/28/2011 04/01/2012 HUAN HOLDING CO 5 E 51 STREET NEW YORK NY 10022
i asked one of the family members about this sale, and without going into detail, let's just say not everyone agreed to it. it's more complicated that it seems.
ReplyDelete