When the news broke in November that Broadway mainstay Cafe Edison was closing, outpourings of support and love came from many a far corner of New York City. But it wasn’t enough.
The hangout for the theater crowd, from August Wilson to Neil Simon, and its hangers-on, serves its last meals on Sunday, Dec. 21.
Veremiah’s Vanishing New York, a blog that has meticulously tracked the closings of old New York, spoke with Jordan Strohl, grandson and son of the Edison owners:
“We lost the fight,” he said, “but we did not lose the battle. Six weeks ago, we would have just shut down, but the campaign to Save Cafe Edison re-inspired my family. We are committed to reopening in a new space, and to bringing our food and our family warmth back to the city.”
Strohl told the blog that the city had “tried its best” to save Edison, but legally there was nothing they could do. A petition had nearly 10,000 signatures, but that did not change the fate of the restaurant either. In November, the Edison Hotel’s general manager, Richard Hotter, said the hotel would undergo a “multi-million-dollar investment to upgrade and restore the space.”
There will be one last “Lunch Mob” on Sunday, to show solidarity with Cafe Edison.
“Bring signs of love for Cafe Edison (and signs of hate for the hotel owner–really, we’re [expletive] pissed). Bring your magic tricks, your klezmer bands, your Christmas carols, your chorus lines, your top hats and tails. Just bring it.”
