By Serena Solomon
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — Local residents may soon be developing a case of fine-dining withdrawal following a recent spate of restaurant closures in the neighborhood.
The sudden closings of a pair of the area’s newest offerings — BarBao and Eighty One — have provided a sad reminder of how some Upper West Side standbys have not been able to weather the economic downturn.
BarBao, the stylish Vietnamese restaurant on W. 82nd Street and Columbus Avenue, recently closed with no plans to reopen elsewhere, and the highly acclaimed modern American restaurant Eighty One nearby said it planned to shutter this past Sunday, Eater reported.
The closings come after the high profile losses of dining destinations like Central Park’s Tavern on the Green and Café des Artistes, which both shut down last year and had served customers more than 150 years combined.
The real estate broker currently shopping the Bar Bao space, Rafe Evans of Walker Malloy and Company, said the restaurant still had time left on its lease. The restaurant's owners had tried offering a $15 discount to returning patrons, but the strategy apparently didn’t pay off.
Tavern on the Green, the iconic restaurant on Central Park West, filed for bankruptcy late last year, auctioning off everything from chandeliers to salt shakers. It also lost its trademarked name in a legal battle with the City Council.
Café des Artistes on W. 67th Street, which opened in 1917, met its end last summer, citing "steady losses and a union law suit," according to the New York Times.
Other recent causalities on Broadway alone include Bloomingdale Road, which closed after four month at 88th Street, the eight-year-old Neo Sushi at 83rd Street, and the Corner Café and Bakery between 84th and 85th streets, the Westside Independent reported.
