New York City is losing Elmo, one of Chelsea’s last great gay restaurants
It's a sad day for New York City's gayborhood and its gay restaurant of 25 years.
Mark
It’s a sad day in Chelsea — the New York City gayborhood is losing its Elmo.
The beloved gay restaurant, whose snappy name was always stylized in a sophisticated lowercase font, announced it will be closing its doors for good later this month in a touching Instagram post.
With mirrored walls, swaths of tile, and classy couches, elmo was inspired by the legendary (and blue-zebra stripe-covered) New York City nightclub El Morocco. Fittingly, its menu featured seafood, sandwiches, and brunch with hints of Moroccan influence — and a to-die-for “famous” fudge brownie sundae.
A 2021 New York Times article deemed it one of the neighborhood’s last-standing gay restaurants, so its loss is especially heartbreaking to the community.
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“For nearly 25 years, elmo has been the destination for hundreds of thousands of guests to enjoy some of life’s best moments,” owner Bob Pontarelli wrote.
“It was just confirmed to me that our building — home to elmo for 25 years has been sold. Our lease expires with that sale.”
Unfortunately, its new owner plans to convert the space into a residential building, meaning a hallowed spot that once hosted LGBTQ+ weddings between guests and staff, birthday parties, memorial services, and political fundraisers will soon be gone.
As Pontarelli revealed, its last day of operation will be Friday, March 13, and he plans to move forward by embracing “all the beautiful memories and wonderful experiences” his home away from home has given him, and pursuing “new ventures and philanthropic projects.”
That said, surviving nearly a quarter of a century in a city like the Big Apple is a testament to elmo and the community it curated.
“We opened just months after the events of 9/11 and stayed open and serving food and cocktails through [Hurricane] Sandy, several black outs and record snowfalls,” Pontarelli recalled.
“We survived COVID with style by launching our wonderfully successful speakeasy, Coby Club. We’ve enjoyed so many proud moments I lost count a long time ago.”
Naturally, the comment section quickly filled with stories and tears from both travelers and locals alike.
“Hard to imagine Elmo not there,” @nysocialbee wrote. “Chelsea is Elmo and Elmo is Chelsea. Birthday parties downstairs, dates upstairs, running into friends outside. So much of what we love New York for is wrapped up in this.”
A visitor from Britain recalled visiting “as a wide-eyed 19-year-old Brit in 2002” and making the “pilgrimage back every time [he] crossed the pond ever since.”
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Still, the sweetest comment came from former employee Ryan Kehoe, who wrote that elmo “changed the trajectory of [his] life forever.”
“I started [at the restaurant] half of my life ago when MySpace was a thing and flip phones were the coolest invention in technology,” he remembered.
“We live in a very different world now, and we are all trying to find our way while adapting alongside of it … Elmo was not just another restaurant. It was a huge light in a very dark world.” (He also added that Vanderpump Rules didn’t “have sh*t” on their BTS drama, and we have to laugh!)
Let this be a reminder to cherish these special spaces while we have them — the eatery where the waiter knows your name and drink order, where the table next door is filled with new friends, and the air vibrates with a frequency only afforded to rooms filled with LGBTQ+ people who can be themselves.
Because you’ll never know when you’re going to lose it.
Pour one out for elmo — may we never forget you!
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