Almond Is Closing

Almond facadeDisappointing news from Almond, which opened on Franklin Street in February of 2015:

Hey Everyone,

So… this Sunday will be our last day in Tribeca. Many thanks to our friends old & new for all of your support and our amazing crew for bringing it every night. In the meantime, come visit us at Almond NYC, L & W Oyster Co., Almond Restaurant & Bar & Zigmund’s.

Cheers,
Jason, Eric and Antonio

There’s an auction on Wednesday.

 

19 Comments

  1. What do you guys think the failure of this restaurant says (if anything) about our neighborhood? It wasn’t my favorite place but it bums me out that we’re losing yet another joint.

    • I think it says more about the tough physical space. side street, deep “L” shaped layout, VERY large space, etc…

      Take a look at Gotan, Two Hands, Houseman, are all examples of newish restaurants that seem to have found a recipe for success in Tribeca or the adjacent fringes.

    • That we have taste!. Over priced for mediocre food. Was much better in the Hamptons.

  2. Prices are just too high! Who can afford to go out to eat in this neighborhood? A quick bite costs a small mortgage. No wonder nothing survives.

  3. I thought Almond was a really great restaurant. Didn’t realize it had only been here for a year. Disappointed it is closing.

  4. Unfortunately it’s all driven by the high rent required by the landlords… Would make sense in high traffic areas but Tribeca simply does not have enough foot traffic to justify them.

    I wonder if I will ever see Vornado rent that strip near the Liberty Towers that has lay empty for 2+ years now…

    The irony is that the prevalence of these empty strips further diminishes foot traffic and also the rents that landlords can charge.

    A healthy neighborhood benefits everyone.

    Maybe common sense will prevail.

  5. I’m surprised to hear this news- they’d seemed a lot busier lately..but maybe it was all the c level Citi people coming in for $6 beers for happy hour. They were the only restaurant open on the night of the blizzard. My husband I had an amazing burger there that night with around 20 other locals.

  6. They brought the restaurant license from kutsher’s, maybe it is expiring?

  7. I actually heard that (at least early on) they ranged somewhere between outwardly hostile and unaccommodating to families who were looking to dine at the location with children. If this is actually true and the behavior carried on, I’m not surprised to hear of their inability to make a go of it and subsequent departure from Tribeca.

    • I went often with my family, and that couldn’t be further form the truth. The were as accommodating as any restaurant in the area when it came to kids, and families. This is going to be a tough loss

  8. Just a few doors down from long-lost Tribeca pioneer restaurant Riverrun . . . not that that matters, just thought I’d toss in a bit of history.

  9. bad food, poor service. i went many times. never once had a decent experience

  10. Greedy landlords destroying neighborhood and economy. Impossible for any restaurant to cover rent and purchase quality ingredients and employ competent staff. Market will change when banks cut costs and all abandon expensive retail locations. Clothing companies will be the next to drop out of retail locations as people buy on-line. As the service business shrinks, this will lead to increased unemployment and a big depression.

  11. Funny enough I went there for the first time a few weeks ago to meet some friends. Was just saying hi so I can’t speak to anything about the restaurant. Although I did like the look of the raw bar.

    However, don’t something like 80% of NYC restaurants fail? Someone confirm or correct please, but I know it’s high.

    I think we can all agree, especially in Tribeca, rents are sky high, no doubt about it. But we never mention that sometimes business are also just poorly run. It may not be a problem with service or food or anything else we can see. Cash flow, credit terms, payroll, taxes … it all factors in.

    Josephine was opened by a very sweet lady who had never been in the restaurant business, she spent way to much money building it out and just didn’t have the experience to operate it. Not sure what her rent was, but rent today would not be her major problem, operations would be her problem.

    There are restaurants with high rents that do succeed. High rents don’t make it easy. Again correct me if I am wrong but Almond opened when the rents were high, no?

    Anyway, I think the discussion, when it comes up, is great. Hope everyone is well.

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