EAST VILLAGE — Simone Martini Bar closed Saturday, 15 years after it first opened on First Avenue near St. Mark’s Place, its owner said.
“It was pretty crazy,” said Lika Ramati, whose family ran the bar before it sold the business. “Everybody stayed here until 3:30 [a.m.] and then that it was it and we said goodbye.”
Ramati said the family-owned business decided to close for “personal reasons,” declining to elaborate further, although she said rent was not an issue.
“It’s time to move on,” she said.
According to its website, the bar also served a selection of appetizers, salads and sandwiches. Most recently, Simone Martini Bar served food from Yaffa Café, which closed in October after the Department of Health shut it down. Ramati said the family also owned the café.
The owners of The Wayland, a bar on East Ninth Street and Avenue C, will take over the space, according to EV Grieve, which first reported Simone Martini Bar’s closure. They plan to offer a “tavern/seafood-style menu,” it reported.
The owners were not immediately available for comment.
