Goa New York, the first restaurant in the States for noted and prolific Canadian chef Hemant Bhagwani, appears to have closed. (Thanks to J. for the report.) The liquor license was transferred to a new entity back in February, so I assumed it had been sold, but the owners never replied to me after that. J. said there are no tables inside, and the website is down.

Goa opened in February 2023, taking over the former Tetsu space at 78 Leonard. Bhagwani must have put a fortune into it — I was never in Tetsu, but Goa in his vision was beautiful. (A pal and I ate at the miles-long bar in front of the open kitchen in May 2023; I guess I never wrote it up??)

Bhagwani, who told me at the time of the opening that he moved to the city to oversee this restaurant, has tons of restaurants in Canada — dozens, actually, including a couple franchises — including Goa Indian Farm Kitchen, Popa Burmese, Amaya Express and Bombay Frankie.