Bank on end of popular restaurant

The end is near for the restaurant at the corner of 18th St. and Eighth Ave. — a Chelsea favorite for the past 14 years — and the hardware store next door. Ed Okubo, the owner of the restaurant, 18th and 8th, who also owns the two four-story buildings at 157 and 159 Eighth Ave. where the eatery and the hardware are located, confirmed last week that he intended to close the restaurant. Stuart Gluck, owner of the hardware store for the past 14 years, received notice two weeks ago that his lease would not be renewed. Okubo was not prepared to say what would take the places of the two adjacent businesses but he acknowledged that a bank was a possibility.