The Harrison Is Closing

The HarrisonThis just breaks my heart. From Grub Street:

“An abrupt and sharp increase in rent will cause chef and restaurateur Jimmy Bradley to close his Greenwich Street restaurant the Harrison sometime after the holidays in December.” It’s been there for 14 years.

I’ve enjoyed so many meals there, especially at the bar. Thanks to everyone there for their terrific, professional hospitality over the years.

UPDATE: I hear from the folks at the Harrison that the last day of service will be Dec. 19.

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29 Comments

  1. This is just so awful, we love The Harrison!

  2. A real shame. A wonderful place with really great people. Thank for the memories! You will be missed.

  3. This makes me so sad!

  4. I just got finished reading how the Clock Building tower in our neighborhood will be converted to a 4 (believe it!) story penthouse, and now the Harrison is closing for the same motive – naked profit.
    I guess the meaning of the word “neighborhood” is now spelled G R E E D.

  5. Yeah, but it’s the perfect spot for a TD Bank!! :/

  6. The retail space appears to be a condominium unit sold for $8,350,000 in October 2013 to an SPE LLC controlled by Walter & Samuels. http://www.walter-samuels.com/

    Obviously it’s their property, but I can’t imagine they’ll be able to find a restaurant that can afford the rent (if a successful, relatively high-end restaurant like The Harrison can’t afford it, who can?), so it’ll have to be a dry-goods retailer…who? I wonder who the retail leasing agent is that’s blowing smoke up Walter and Samuels’ skirts telling them they’ll be able to get $250 PSF or whatever they’re asking?

  7. This is one of the best, if not the best, restaurant in this neighborhood increasingly filling up with $20-plus hamburgers, eggs, drinks…..While not inexpensive, the food, service and room are all top-notch and Tribeca residents will be losing a real gem.

  8. Terrible news. The Harrison is really one of the best restaurants around here.

  9. Now what?? We loved the food at The Harrison and, in some ways more importantly, we could always get a table. They will be missed.

  10. So sad to hear this news. I have many wonderful memories of this restaurant. One of the absolute best in NYC.

  11. Maybe a CVS or Right-Aid can fill the space? KFC? Ba humbug to the greedy landlord. May it take you years to find a new tenant and you end up losing money.

  12. Wouldn’t it be great if their business suddenly became busier because of an increase in customers. We should really support our local business and dine more often in the neighborhood. Small business owners to succeed and earn a living when their is an increase in rent. When there is a rent increase and no increase in profits small businesses will go out of business. As for where to go and eat, my other favorite neighborhood restaurant is Acappella Restaurant. They too are a neighborhood gem just like The Harrison. Yes, pricier, but I guess in order to stay in business and do what you love that’s what it is. Very sad. I wish them the very best.

  13. We moved here in 2003 and the warm and cozy confines of the Harrison were a home away from home for us.
    Great staff, great food, and such genuine warmth.
    I really dislike what has been happening in Tribeca the past few years, and this is one of the unkindest cuts of all.
    Thank you everyone at the Harrison for 14 exceptional years…
    Here’s to hoping you find a landlord who has a clue as to the glue that holds this neighborhood together.

  14. We’ve eaten there often and never had a bad meal. I’m still mourning Ceci Cella moving because of the rent. The rent is too damn high!

    I can’t imagine what they think will succeed more than The Harrison in that spot? Another $100 a head steak house?

  15. Absolutely love the Harrison. We have had dinner at the bar 2-3x per month for the past 6 years. The bartenders have always been great, and we will miss this extraordinary neighborhood gem.

  16. We just discovered this restaurant by chance, last week. We were walking through the neighborhood and we stopped in for a drink because we liked the name. Sitting at the bar chatting with Maya, we were all having a great time so we decided to order food. Five of us ordered and we were all ecstatic about our meals. We ended up spending a good part of the afternoon there and vowed to return soon. So sad that we won’t have an opportunity now.

  17. Very sad news. We have been going since they first opened. I’ll especially miss Sunday dinners outside in the summer, people-watching on Greenwich–the best spot for that. Thanks to Jimmy for bringing it to the neighborhood, and best of luck to all the kind staff.

  18. I hope they can find a new location to open. There are a lot of good restaurants in the neighborhood, but something about The Harrison just seemed really right.

  19. I”m sorry to be so unoriginal, but I can’t believe it. The Harrison really is a great restaurant and the neighborhood is losing out. I will truly miss them. I will be frustrated if that space is vacant for a long time and a mediocre chain opens in its place, or some Starbucks, nail salon, or hair drying salon!

  20. This makes me sick. The Harrison has been our go-to restaurant in Tribeca for years. It is a classy addition to the neighborhood, from the food to the service to the atmosphere. I hope Jimmy is able to find another space. If he did, we’d be first in line to support him.

    And as for the money-grubbing building owner, you should be ashamed. Here’s wishing you true misery.

  21. I think if we all take a step back and realize that this opens up the opportunity for a “Dahlia’s Next Door” then we all might feel more comfortable with removing the razor blades from our spouse’s wrist. I sure hope that that money-grubbing building owner learns from the rest of us, who settle for far less than the market will bear when we sell our apartments. “No, sir, that is the asking price, but I will take far less for my 2 bedroom condo in Tribeca. Thank you, but no”

  22. Maybe it’s just me, but the Harrison was always far better in the abstract. I always wanted to like it more than I actually did. Would it have killed them to have more vegetarian options? I’m not sure this is such a loss.

    • it’s just you.

    • Yes, it is just you.
      I am a vegan and although the Harrison doesn’t have a lot of choices for me I really appreciate that I have never been treated like a second class customer because of my dietary restrictions. The staff has always been well informed and helpful about my options. Service and food is consistently good and without the off-putting attitude of other nearby establishments. Sad news indeed.

  23. There’s some humor here, because the great neighborhood restaurant How’s Bayou – a local institution formerly occupying that location – was pushed out by Spartina and then The Harrison, because the latter could afford the rising rents that How’s Bayou could not.

  24. I’ve enjoyed many many good meals at the Harrison and we will be sorry to see it close. I hope they can find a new location to open in Tribeca. There are a lot of good restaurants in the neighborhood, but something about The Harrison just seemed really right. Really like their sidewalk area!

  25. Haven’t been there in a while, since I always enjoy the food so much I drop a bundle. Even though the chefs seemed to change every year, the food was always terrific. And it’s the only place in Tribeca I frequent where the bartender never changed! But the comment about How’s Bayou and Spartina is spot on. I think I visited every new restaurant in Tribeca since Odeon (which I do not believe was the Odeon Cafeteria, but just had a neon sign saying “Cafeteria) and it was always my go-to spot to celebrate with friends. It will be missed.

  26. Wow. Very sad. I remember when it was How’s Bayou. I worked there. And then, went to The Harrison a couple of times to re-visit the past. (I live in California now.) That space….wow…the secrets it holds. I still miss Hows Bayou. Potatoes with skins. Collard greens flecked with bacon, Honeyed sweet potatoes muffins. Chips and salsa on arrival. Frozen margaritas before they became watered down. Tribeca when you walked at night it was still empty…change happens.

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