HUNTERS POINT — Long Island City's Waterfront Crabhouse has closed its doors after decades in business following the death of its owner last month, according to a sign posted on the door of the eatery.
The closing is with "deep regret and heavy hearts," according to the announcement, which said the restaurant was shuttering due to the passing of owner Tony Mazzarella, who died in January.
"It has been over two decades since Tony Mazzarella opened these doors in pursuit of his dream," the sign reads. "Friends were made here and lives were changed."
The LIC Post first reported the restaurant's closing.
Waterfront Crabhouse, at 2-03 Borden Ave., originally opened in the late 1970s and was known for its seafood and memorabilia-decked walls.
The family-owned eatery endured a fire in 2009 and was then flooded with several feet of water during Hurricane Sandy. It rebuilt and reopened several months later.
"It's really a wonderful place to come," one diner told DNAinfo New York in 2013, when the restaurant reopened post-Sandy. "The ambiance is friendly, warm. We feel at home here, we really do."
Mazzarella, 77, died last month after a long illness, according to a press release from Ring 8, a local boxing group of which he was a longtime member. The group described him as a "legend in New York City boxing," known for hosting awards dinners and promoting events.
Joe Conley, a member of Queens Community Board 2, told DNAinfo last month that Mazzarella was "a real champion in the neighborhood," who had been active with charitable organizations, including the American Cancer Society.
A person who answered the phone at the Waterfront Crabhouse Wednesday said Mazzarella's family declined to comment at this time.
The sign posted on the restaurant's door thanked its "staff, customers, friends and supporters."
"We are eternally grateful to those that have graced our tables, supported our causes, and have made this the institution that it has become," it read.
