Thursday, August 15, 2013

Paradise Lost


Sad to see that the Paradise Cafe in Chelsea has closed after 20 years, the victim of yet another ridiculous rent hike. I wish I could say I'm surprised, but with both Bendix Diner and the Big Cup now the home of huge nail salons -- and a Chase Bank or a Starbucks on every corner where the bodegas used to be -- it's really become par for the course. While most people will miss Paradise for its homestyle baked goods and casual atmosphere, I will always remember it fondly as the site of the legendary "This is really fucking stupid"  incident, one of my all-time favorite New York City moments. Owner Michael Turowsky (pictured) tells DNA Info that he's on the lookout for a new space to possibly revive Paradise, but he has not found any leads yet. Good luck, Michael.


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

why hasn't the city instituted some sort of rent control for business property similar to the rent control they have for residential apartments? All this seems to be doing is destroying small businesses in favor of large chains.

Anonymous said...

"All this seems to be doing is destroying small businesses in favor of large chains."

Well, since that is absolutely the goal, I'd say their mission is succeeding fantastically. This chain mentality that exists amongst so many Americans for so many aspects of daily living makes me sick.

john. said...

Are they going to put a parking lot?