The 10 Biggest Closings of 2023

The Upper West Side lost a lot of iconic businesses this year, but here we’re honoring those we consider the biggest losses. Factors we considered were both the longevity and popularity of each business.

Here were 2022’s biggest closings.

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Columbus Natural Food, 725 Columbus Avenue (between 95th and 96th streets)

Columbus Natural Food closed in September after a run of 20+ years. Store owner Chet Patel said at the time that the landlord was looking to make changes to the building and wouldn’t be able to renew his lease. He was understanding. “The landlord has other plans. There are expansion ideas going. We have no hard feelings against him.” Patel told us he’d be moving to Florida, where he owns another business.

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Storico, 170 Central Park West (77th Street)

In July, Constellation Culinary Group closed Storico, the Italian restaurant it operated at the New-York Historical Society for over a decade. While many of our readers expressed disappointment and sorrow, others cited a downhill trend in recent years, with the quality of both food and service declining after the pandemic. Along with Storico’s departure was the shuttering of Parliament Espresso Bar, run by the same group. Within a few months, Storico was replaced by Clara and Parliament was replaced by Cafe 77.

Lenny’s Bagels, 2601 Broadway (98th Street)

(Google Maps)

Lenny’s Bagels was in the neighborhood for more than 23 years until it closed in late June. “I am so sad, we have so many regular nice customers, we tried to keep the store open,” owner Linda Choi told ILTUWS at the time, adding, “the rent is too much, it’s unreasonable.” Choi notified her customers when there was only a day left, and they showed up in droves for one last bagel.

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Broadway Restaurant, 2664 Broadway (between 101st and 102nd streets)

Photo by @jasonhoma.nyc

Broadway Restaurant closed in June after 43 years. The diner had plenty of regulars, though reactions to its closing were definitely mixed – with some saying good riddance to both the food and the people who served it.

Ansonia Cleaners, 230 West 74th Street

Ansonia Cleaners ran for over 30 years. In May, owner Brian Chu closed as his landlords didn’t want to renew his lease – though he also told us that business had been slow at the time. Chu took over the business in 2001. “It has been a pleasure being a part of the community for 22 years, getting to know you and having support of so many wonderful people,” read a note left on the door of the business. “I have considered many of you more than customers, but friends, and family members.”

Mike’s Lumber, 254 West 88th Street

(Google Maps)

We discovered that Mike’s Lumber would be closing from the owner of the building it operated in for almost fifty years. At a Community Board 7 meeting in March, Asaf Dror presented plans to convert his building at 254 West 88th Street into a four-unit residential property, while stating that the ground floor commercial space would be one of those apartments. Caught off guard, board members said “that’s too bad” and “it was a good store,” to which Dror replied, “It may be a nice store but the awning is disgusting. It’s not such a great looking store.” Manoli Papagiannakis was the owner of Mike’s Lumber; he still currently operates MCC Construction & Millwork, which provides general contracting work for residential and commercial spaces.

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Indie Food & Wine, 144 West 65th Street

Indie Food & Wine was a café and wine bar which operated at Lincoln Center‘s Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center from 2011 until February 1, 2023. “What was great was the simple fare, great sandwiches, intimate atmosphere,” wrote an ILTUWS reader. Another commenter wrote, “Another local wonderful spot without tourists gone with the wind. Sure, it will reopen with booze and double the prices. Who needs more of those??” About a month later, the space was taken over by Cafe Paradiso, an Italian-American restaurant by The Fireman Hospitality Group (Cafe Fiorello, Trattoria Dell’Arte, Redeye Grill, Brooklyn Diner, Brooklyn Delicatessen and Bond 45).

Bed Bath & Beyond, 1932 Broadway (65th Street)

(Google Maps)

The February closing of the Upper West Side Bed Bath & Beyond came as the chain’s parent company announced the closing of all Manhattan locations (outside of the Chelsea store). The company declared bankruptcy in April and has since closed all of its physical locations. In June, overstock.com acquired the brand and has relaunched its own website as bedbathandbeyond.com.

Marshalls, 2182 Broadway (78th Street)

(Google Maps)

Marshalls closed its location on 78th and Broadway on March 25 “due to problems in the building,” according to a store employee we spoke with early this year. “[They] are closing for safety,” the employee added. Shortly after we broke the news about Marshalls closing, the company’s press department contacted us with a statement which had nothing to do with building safety. “We are always assessing and reviewing our real estate strategies, and our decision to close this store reflects that thinking,” the statement read in part. There was really nothing else of substance in the statement, but parent company TJX Companies has continued to close both Marshalls and T.J. Maxx locations across the country.

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New Parisian Deli, 501 Columbus Avenue (84th Street)

Photo by @dannydalynyc

New Parisian Deli closed in June after more than forty years on the same corner. We don’t know why they closed for sure, but amidst our investigation, an elderly local told us they had quite a few building issues like leaky ceilings and problems with the flooring.