The Riviera Cafe will have its last day of business tomorrow, on August 31, as previously reported here. So I went for a last meal.
They've redone their menu to feature a goodbye note and family photos.
"Yes, it's true," the menu reads. "We will be closing our doors for the last time on August 31. It has been a great run of 47 years." The letter recalls the old days--and the old prices--and says, "the current landscape is nothing like it was... we are now saturated with restaurants that keep coming and going. They usually don't last long, but sure enough someone else always shows up to take over. After nearly a half-century, we decided it was time."
"Simply put, given the current environment we can't survive and be what we've always been: a nice neighborhood coffee shop/restaurant that welcomes all with no pretense at an affordable price. And we aren't going to change that format to 'keep up with the Joneses.' It is for that reason, and that reason only, we decided to wrap it up."
Whether it's the rent or the taxes, the price of doing business in a hyper-gentrified neighborhood is usually to blame for these closures.
I'll miss the Riviera. It was always there when you needed an affordable and unpretentious place for a meal. Something that's becoming evermore impossible to find.
8 comments:
. . . sad. Not to mention -- indicative.
It's official. Greenwich Village no longer has a soul.
First went there in 1980. It really wasn't about the food, which was basic, but a nice place to sit and watch Village life outside its big windows. It became my go-to place for dreary, rainy days when I wanted to feel connected to something solid. I no longer live in NY but if I see a Marc Jacobs store, bank or Starbucks there on my next visit to the city, it may be my last. Too sad.
Do we know if they own the building?
Had my first meal at The Riv in 1972...always a go-to place with a comfortable feel. Like so many great ones, it will be missed by those who knew and cherished it. Adios!
Good question.
Ate there back in 1999 with friends and loved it. RIP the nyc I grew up in since birth. One Love!
How sad, another landmark of my Greenwich Village childhood gone. Ariella Ben-Dov was in my 1st grade class at Corlears School -- if you're reading this, Ariella, hi!!
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