The Last Coffee Shop
Au Revoir, Gardenia, Farewell, Soup Burg—Viand, Don't Go!
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The Observatory
“Where else around here can you get that kind of food?” she said.
Up and down the prime retail stretch of Madison Avenue, new luxury European designer emporiums are popping out as prolifically as celebrity babies. Meanwhile, the old-fashioned coffee shop, one of New York’s most quintessential and beloved establishments, has become an endangered species, so imperiled that many neo-New Yorkers now consider the phrase “coffee shop” synonymous with—the horror!—“Starbucks.”
Also gone, since the summer of 2006: Soup Burg on 73rd Street. Threatened: 3 Guys, between 75th and 76th. Where are Upper East Siders supposed to get a decent grilled cheese, chicken salad or BLT? What about a cup of coffee that doesn’t taste artfully over-roasted and come served with a world-music soundtrack? How about a sense of community that hasn’t been generated in some corporate boardroom?
“When Gardenia’s doors closed, it closed a piece of our lives,” said Jill Simonson, director of corporate relations at Dress for Success, who used to eat at the diner several times a week when she worked at Ungaro, across the street, and became friends with the owners.
“I went to stop by for lunch the other day and was shocked that they weren’t there,” said Albert Hadley, the well-known interior designer. “It’s a great loss. I went there several times a week. We all miss a place like that. It was very popular with lots of people.” Mr. Hadley said that he’s been eating at his desk of late.
“The area is not the same without Gardenia,” said Joyce Black, who has lived in the neighborhood for about 30 years. “Where do you go now? When I walk past it, I feel sad.”
BLT’S WITH J.F.K. JR.
According to George Katsichtis, 24, one of the family members who ran the Gardenia, it was his own uncle, owner of the building, who decided to renovate and lease the property to a more profitable mystery tenant. “We were devastated,” young Mr. Katsichtis said. “It was our bread and butter. We had three generations of customers.”
Mr. Katsichtis is currently looking for space to open his own restaurant. “Not a diner,” he said. “Something trendy.”
John Zannikos and Spiro Argiros, the owners of 3 Guys for 30 years, said that they are hoping to renew their lease, though their landlord, William Friedland of Friedland Properties, wants to raise their rent to three times more than what they are currently paying. “We don’t want people to lose their jobs,” Mr. Zannikos said.
“The city is turning into a nightmare with rents,” said Mr. Argiros. “We hope our landlord will be understanding that this is an institution, not just a restaurant.”
Mr. Friedland, who also owns the building that formerly housed Soup Burg, refused to comment.
Wendy Chaiken, 32, a local mother of three young children, shudders at the prospect of losing 3 Guys. “There are so few places that accommodate strollers,” she said, noting that the popular restaurant Serafina nearby has steep stairs. “And you can’t just order a grilled cheese at places like Serafina!” Next Page >
the majority of these places are not real "coffee shops" anyway. they are overpriced holes serving absolutely crappy cafeteria food to rich folks with no taste buds. 3 guys, amity, gardenia, and the especially heinously overpriced nectar all fall within this category. the only madison ave coffee shop in the true sense is the viand on 61st st. still crankin out the best b.l.ts, and tuna sandwiches in town, best enjoyed at the counter while perusing the ny post.
hey wiseking-
Speaking of undeveloped tastebuds, do you really think there's a difference between the Viand @ 61 and all the others? Puh-lease. Simply put, they're all storefront diners serving the same decent stuff.
The pace at Viand@61 -- not to speak of its cramped dimensions -- almost seems to make the food irrelevant. I've never sat at the counter (who could actually sit and eat or even read in the presence of so much activity?), but have grabbed takeway there for the last 25 years or so, mustering up psychic strength to give my order quickly and loudly, waiting in a telephone-booth-sized area to hand over money, receive my tuna fish sandwich and change, and then depart, all the while conscious of the many others doing the same thing at the same time. It's a wonder how many meals were turned over given the size of the place. Occasionally, a metal hatch in the floor would open up and a sweating kitchen worker would hand up a whole turkey and then disappear back into the basement, undoubtedly keeping up what must be the same pace below stairs. I've seen some of the servers actually jiggling in place behind the counter during a brief (say 30-second) lull, probably so that they can keep their engines revved the better to service the next customer in a minute and a half. I used to call it the "Type A coffee shop" and now that I'm older and work in another place, have taken my business to some other, slower backwaters
A meal of grilled cheese and extra-crispy fries at 3 Guys tops my list of dining experiences in New York. Who needs yet another designer flagship (which are generally loss-leaders who can afford to sink $$ into steep rents) to further diminish the neighborhood quality of the UES? Madison Avenue has turned into a generic mall, while the last bastions of true New York flavor reside in these disappearing diners.
Mr. Bloomberg, you love these diners. Can't you save 3 Guys or Viand?