Goodbye, University Diner?

I'm not quite as good at keeping track of all the closings and openings of local businesses as some of my fellow members of the "NYC blog mafia" (specifically EV Grieve ... he's got a lock-down on that beat), but when it comes to my own neighborhood, it's hard not to notice big changes.

Then again, what is a "big change"? Nowadays, things change so quickly and so dramatically that upheaval is the new normal. Places close up shop and gut themselves almost as fast as they open. All too often, new shops or bistros will shutter so swiftly that I never even get the chance to properly check them out. There are almost too many examples of this to cite.

In any case, I was legitimately stopped dead in my tracks the other day by one impending closing. Evidently, the University Diner (or, technically, the University Restaurant) on the northeast corner of East 12th and University Place is up for rent.

When I first moved to East 12th Street in 1996, the diner in question was pretty much my only link to survival (well, that and the Cedar Tavern). It's not that it's the greatest diner in the city (by a loooooong shot), but it was my local. When I moved a few blocks to the south in 2002, I still regularly patronized University Diner (instead of my new local, that being what I would consider the frankly dispiriting Silver Spurs on 9th and Broadway).

Anyway, I can't really wrap my head around it beyond the inevitable assumption that their rent must have quadrupled. The place is always pretty packed, and they do a consistent business, although maybe I'm just projecting.

If a solid, dependable joint like the University Restaurant can't hold it down, what hope is there for the rest of the city?

Comments

[James Taylor]

Argh. This hurts, not because I went in there very often, but because it was a daily reminder that not every establishment in lower Manhattan is a purveyor curated fro-yo. Plus who could resist their preference for chunky barware:

http://www.jamescampbelltaylor.com/2011/04/egg-cream-u-bet/

[Davide-NYC]

Teeny tiny silver lining: There will be no Full Liquor license at this location as it is too close to the Village Temple. Being that it's already vented for a restaurant that's probably what's going to go in there.

[margiela]

I wish I could believe it will be a restaurant again. Not that I don't have complete trust in real estate companies. But if you're skeptical too, email the realty agent: [email protected] and let them know we want a restaurant with the same home family like qualities as the University Coffee Shop. Thanks.

[Muckity]

Shut the doors & close it down. Most expensive, sloppiest tuna sandwich I have ever eaten. Maybe they will put a new watering hole, w/o any bloody televisions in there, but gadzooks please no more pizza places and/or pasta joints. How about a record store! haha
As for SilverSpurs - agreed dispiriting Texan vibe - but seeing Pablo and having breakfast at the counter with the grumpiest of the locals is sometimes a treat, along with watching the cook staff bark at one another in a sort of Greekish-Spanishy tinge. Only the counter, don't deal with the tables, as the waitresses are a hot mess with a roll of the dice.