Relish: Maybe But Quite Possibly Closed For Good
We’ve been hearing rumors that Relish, the great little diner (+yard) on North 3rd and Wythe, closed over the weekend. A friend of mine was at the bar when an all-hands staff meeting was called. When the bartender returned, he asked, as if he had just lost his job, “Anybody want some shots?”.
The L Magazine notes the restaurant is closed today for a photo shoot.
Gothamist found a Facebook profile of an employee who writes, “RIP Relish…All I know is Sandy told them yesterday (Sunday) he was closing today (Monday). That’s a lot of my friends who are great workers and people who need jobs. Sucks.”
So, is this the end? What have you heard? Employees! Shine some light on this matter, will ya! Write in, we’ll keep it anonymous if it’s a sticky issue.
We called last night for comment and left a voicemail, but have yet to hear back.
not surprised. food used to be great. but the screwed with the menu, food went downhill and then end of story…
I went here a few times for brunch on the weekends and had literally the worst service I have ever had. That’s cool these people have friends, but they took my money away from this place (where the food and atmosphere I liked) for good…
good riddance.
I’m not surprised… the food there has not been good for a while now. A restaurant without good food is pretty much worthless, especially since they used to be so great. Oh well…
place was a dump. worst food.
Well, the food was usually pretty good, but was rarely worth sitting through the dependably crappy service.
I have it on pretty good authority that offers have been made to buy out the lease by the owners of Waffle House chain (a fast-food chain popular elsewhere)
I guess that’s what happens when you remove the best items from your menu for ‘easier to prep’ but significantly less inventive cuisine. Tweet CornedBeef# to show your appreciation of the corned beef hash with roasted red pepper sauce…the moment that left the menu was the moment my dining experience there was sabotaged.
Sad day…sad sad day.
I have been completely spoiled by the pillow soft pancakes and creamy waitress butter found within my walls. Come sample my delicious country cooking.
went there last week….the food was straight up wack.
Fuck that place. It was the only time in my life I’ve ever gotten sick from food. The three other people I was with, and myself all had different orders and we all puked. I mean that we “puked” in the classic sense, as in the food we ate came out of our mouths at our separate apartments. Worst restaurant in our delightful neighborhood.
I heard they closed because all the traffic that has been detoured from Kent on to Wythe, has made that road awful to run a business. No one wanted to sit outside with all the trucks and traffic jams.
If this food was garbage, then please tell me where you’re brunching.
The grilled chicken sandwich was my favorite in the hood. Where should I go now?
Freewilly, you should change the heading to “terrible business goes under.” Clearly from the comments, we have all had a terrible experience. I was always shocked that somebody with such choice outdoor seating could mismanage the place to that extent. Its a cash cow and hopefully someone savvy like the Woods or Robertas owners buy it.
i used to like getting the chicken parmesan but every time i ate it and went home and had crazy diarrhea.
i thought they made most of their money renting to tv shows/movies/commercials. i mean, the place was easily closed once a month for filming.
Man I have to disagree with the haters. I loved that joint. The old diner atmosphere the cute booths on a rainy day were the best(not to mention the hot staff!). I always had good service, only a few times I had to wait because it was so crazy busy; understandable. I loved the food, that chicken sandwich was the best and they also had a great veggie/regular burger. Their salads were always great as well. Milkshakes were kick-ass and they made my favorite Arnold Palmer. Anybody who didn’t like it didn’t spend enough time there to make it a home. It was my home away from home. I always looked forward to coming back between tours. This restaurant will be sorely missed by myself and many other artists. I hope it can come back from the ashes:)
Haters are going to hate, that’s for sure. I can’t say enough about that place. Shakes with bourbon, incredible veggie and normal burgers, huge plates of food — but most of all it’s the place itself. That rare NYC noir is few & far between, which is why it’s so popular with Hollywood. Like Watts says here, those who took the time to make that place their home benefited from its charms, and I would say my career is in part built on the thousands of creative conversations I’ve enjoyed there. Maybe it will rise from the ashes & maybe it won’t; but like Hopper’s “Nighthawks” its moment will live forever.
http://www.edwardhopper.info/i/Nighthawks.jpg