An internet sensation’s venue got a salty reception in midtown. The luck of the Irish ran dry at a Times Square watering hole. And online shoppers welcomed a new type of bar.
Here is a rundown of what establishments the city lost and gained in January:
Langan’s
Langan’s, an Irish pub frequented by the likes of Meryl Streep and U.S. Sen. John McCain, closed after almost 25 years in business at 150 W. 47th St. in Times Square, the New York Post reported.
The paper said the closure came after Langan’s landlord sought to increase the monthly rent from $16,000 to $53,000.
Happy Returns
Ever spend too much online and wake up the next day with a purchase hangover? Want to avoid the hassle of mailing it back?
Happy Returns offers a free fix with its in-person return bar, now open at the Rockefeller Center retail concourse, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
Participating retailers include Everlane, Tradesy, Carbon38, Thursday Boot and Crap Eyewear, a Happy Returns spokesman said.
Denny’s
The national restaurant chain glitzed up its first Manhattan location, offering two Grand Slam breakfasts and a bottle of 2003 Dom Perignon Premier Cru champagne for $300, according to Eater.
But the makeover was not a money-maker for the 150 Nassau St. location, which opened in April of 2015. The company closed the restaurant, and said it had “not been financially sustainable,” Eater reported.
Blackbarn
New Yorkers can now grab a coffee — and a coffee table.
Blackbarn, a furniture shop, cafe and bar all rolled into one, debuted on the ground floor of Chelsea Market at 75 Ninth Ave., Eater reported.
Items that are used for serving guests — such as tableware, flatware, glasses and linens — can be bought at the shop.
Soogil
Chef Soogil Lim opened his eponymous restaurant at 108 E. Fourth St. in Manhattan after cooking for several years at French restaurant, Daniel, and serving as executive chef at Korean restaurant, Hanjan, Grub Street reported.
The cuisine reflects those experiences, with the menu including brussels sprouts, monk fish, foie-gras and mung-bean Korean pancake, according to the eatery’s website.
Bar Matchless
Pour out a beer for Bar Matchless in Greenpoint, where music, comedy and community were mainstays.
The venue announced its closure via social media on Jan. 8 with the hashtag #partysover, Bedford + Bowery reported.
Bar Matchless was asked to leave after its building, 557 Manhattan Ave., was sold, according to Greenpointers, a blog.
Nusr-Et Steakhouse
Nusret Gökçe, the famous Turkish butcher better known as “Salt Bae,” has shaken the dining scene with Nusr-Et Steakhouse, which recently opened at 60 W. 53rd St. in Manhattan.
The soft opening of the restaurant was widely covered, including here at amNewYork. But the eatery already has been called a “rip-off” by a New York Post critic, who wrote last week that the phone reservation line did not work and online booking was not available.
Pod Times Square
Pod Hotels opened its flagship location at 400 W. 42nd St. in Times Square, Curbed reported.
Describing itself as the “new generation of budget hotels,” the Pod Times Square has 665 rooms, which start at $75, and 45 apartments available for short and long-term leasing.
The hotel will also have a Parm sandwich shop and Tiki Bar, Curbed noted.
Novelty Nachos
A Tex-Mex restaurant in Kingsbridge shut down at 318 W. 231st St., a location that The Riverdale Press reported has proven tough for previous businesses.
City marshals closed down the shop, which court records show owed more than $10,000 in back rent, the newspaper noted.
Fuku
Fuku opened at Hudson Eats, the food court at Brookfield Place, according to the Twitter account for Momofuku, a restaurant group founded by Chef David Chang.
The 225 Liberty St. fried chicken joint is the sixth Fuku in the city, Eater reported.
