Chinatown has lost another favorite spot. Word started to spread yesterday morning (we first heard about it from Chinatown activist Karlin Chan) that late night cheap eats standby, 69 Bayard, would be closing this coming weekend.
The restaurant is immediately identifiable to a lot of people as the place with dollar bills covering the wall. There are conflicting reports about the exact closing day (it’s either Saturday or Sunday). The owner is, at least for the moment, not offering up any details about the reasons for closing.
Customers are already flocking to the restaurant for a last meal. Here’s a shot from Wilson Tang, owner of the Nom Wah Tea Parlor. “End of an era,” he wrote on Instagram of a “favorite outpost of mine with the best chicken wings in Chinatown.” He noted that the restaurant has changed hands many times over the decades. He was holding out hope that the landlord “didn’t jack up the rent too much” and that someone else might take over from the current owner.
How much was the rent since this article mentions that there is an implication that the rent was hiked?