Longtime Tribecan (since 1998) Jupira Lee has closed Casa Brazilian, her charming restaurant on Duane between Hudson and West Broadway, permanently as of July 11. She opened there, the former Khe-Yo space, in late 2024.

“When I opened Casa we were beginning another long chapter, one that would last for many years,” she wrote on Instagram. “But life has a way of writing its own story.” She is soon to become an empty nester (her son is going to MIT –“I feel accomplished ✅✅” she said in an email) and her partner lives in California — a draw even after four decades as a New Yorker. (Jupira was born in Brazil and came here at 17 for art school.)

“Although our time here was shorter than I ever would have imagined, it was filled with more unforgettable memories than I could have dreamed of.” Jupira applied for an Open Streets permit that allowed for tables on a lovely stretch of Duane Street; she hosted Brazilian dance parties; and she finished these last few weeks with watch parties for the World Cup.

We all know too well how hard it is to run a restaurant in this town, and Jupira knew as well as anyone: she had her first iteration of Casa in the West Village for 24 years. And she really didn’t intend to do it again, after leaving that space on Bedford and Commerce in 2022. But she was walking to Pilates one morning and the owner of Khe-Yo and his landlord were outside putting the ‘for rent’ sign up. She wished them luck and left for Mexico City the next morning,

But the landlord called her and put it simply: Jupira would be her tenant because she loved her food in the West Village. Her daughters’ godmother is Brazilian. It was destined.

“We never really know what comes next — sometimes the most beautiful chapters are the ones we never planned,” Jupira wrote. “So while last night marked the end of this casa, it doesn’t feel like the end of the story.”