A Piece of My History Bites the Dust

I learned today while reading Greenwich Village Daily Photo blog that Frankie and Johnnie's steakhouse in Manhattan would be closing at the end of the year. As a kid, I remember my parents bringing us to this wonderful restaurant in the theater district. My family went to dinner there one night before going to see a play sometime in the early 1980s and my father regaled us with stories about how his parents used to visit the place when it was a speak-easy during prohibition. The coolest part about the place was the narrow staircase that led to the second floor diningroom where the door still had a peep-hole used to "screen" guests during earlier times. I was so enamored by the place that after I proposed to my law school girlfriend one New Year's Eve in 1994, we ate dinner and drank champagne at Frankie and Johnnie's. The most memorable part of the meal was the stone-faced waiter. There we were beaming over having just gotten engaged. We were so excited our feet were barely touching the ground. My fiancée, with shiny new diamond on her hand, looked at our server and said, "we just got engaged!" He nodded, did not smile and poured more wine for us.

The imminent closing of Frankie and Johnnie's makes me sad, because that particular place meant something to me. I saw it as a connection to my past and my future. Of course, it is just a restaurant, and like thousands of others that have closed over the years. I remember as a kid wanting to have my parents take me to Luchow's, a German restaurant in Manhattan. My father resisted, however, deciding that Luchow's was a decrepit restaurant (perhaps correctly?) not worth the visit. By contrast, I was fascinated by the idea of visiting a restaurant that had opened in the late 19th century and was still operating almost a century later. When Luchow's closed when I was 14, I remember that it made me truly sad. While my attempts at getting my parents to Luchow's failed, I did wrangle a dinner at Fraunces Tavern down in the financial district -- I think it was for my 12th birthday. I vaguely remember polishing off an enormous steak.

Unlike the closing of Yankee Stadium, which lost its authenticity for me with the 1974-75 renovations, I am sad that Frankie and Johnnie's is closing. While I hope that some New York developers embrace the importance of restraining themselves to preserve some of Manhattan's historic gems, I am realistic. Throughout its history the city of New York has been in a never-ending process of being built up and torn down. Frankie and Johnnies is just the latest casualty -- thanks for the memories.