Noooooooooooooo!

I've gotten so used to Gino crying wolf so often over the past year that I feel into a false sense of security that the Lexington Avenue standby would never actually close, would always remain open. No so. The heartbreaker from Eater:

Over the past year, stories have surfaced again and again regarding the trouble at Gino, the 65 year-old Upper East Side Italian joint with the oh so famous zebra wall paper. Last February, the owner complained of terrible business. Then it was almostkilled by the union. Then it sat in limbo. Then it was shuttering again. Then it was almost saved. Today comes this from the Post: "Gino is sadly finito. The legendary Upper East Side red-sauce joint is closing its kitchen after 65 years." A call confirms they will close at the end of the month.

What will become of the wallpaper?! What will become of the wooden phone booth? All those old waiters? What will become of New York when the last landmark falls?

Here's all my past coverage of Gino, including a "Who Goes There?" column. There's a lot of it. Gino will actually be the very first of my "Who Goes There?" restaurants to vanish. I never would have believed it.

Hey, Keith McNally! Here's a New York landmark that needs saving. You did it with Minetta Tavern. How about another go? (Graydon Carter, stay away. I want to save Gino, not sully it.)

I goes without saying that I'll be dining at Gino's at least one more time before the zebras gallop off into Manhattan's ongoing sunset.