BY HANA RASKIN | News that Benny’s Burritos restaurant was closing quickly reverberated through the East Village, and beyond. On the day the word got out, my uncle in Germany e-mailed my father, asking if he was ready to move back to Europe now that “Benny’s has closed.”
Founder Mark Merker opened Harry’s and Benny’s Burritos restaurants in New York after returning from San Francisco to New York, where he had a hard time finding a burrito with a similar taste to those he had enjoyed on the West Coast.
The East Village’s Benny’s Burritos was born in 1988, and provided its customers with affordable California-style Mexican food ever since.
The menu had options to satisfy all, but the gigantic burritos were the real pull. Vegetarians, vegans and other health-conscious eaters could substitute nondairy and healthier options, and kids could put together ingredients to roll their own burritos. The food was good, but what made Benny’s such a neighborhood staple was the friendly, mostly long-term staff who would remember your order, and cheer with you when the Yankees scored a run.
“I’ve been going to Benny’s since I was a child,” said East Villager Rudi Salpietra, “and it’s heart-wrenching to lose this piece of both my personal history and the history of the neighborhood.”
Jody Oberfelder, another Benny’s regular, said, “Benny’s was the place where we always celebrated the end of the school year. Shoving tables together to fit us all, it was a treasured ritual. After the Two Boots restaurant closed, it was the only kid-friendly place in the East Village.
“The margaritas were also great,” she added.
Although the Benny’s we know has closed, it has an afterlife in the form of a takeout place, which is already up and running. The takeout spot is next door to the Avenue A and E. Sixth St. location, and has several tables and the same menu as the restaurant — minus the drinks. They will also offer free delivery seven days a week from 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
Merker has been quoted as saying that Benny’s did not close because business had decreased, but rather because it had been consistent — and with rising costs, consistency was not enough for his business to survive.
Whatever the case may be, the East Village has lost another local business, and this one really hurts.
