On June 17, 2011, the wonderful Hungarian Meat Market in Yorkville was ravaged by fire. The institution, which traces its history back to the 1950s, when the area was still a Hungarian stronghold and Second Avenue was called "Goulash Avenue," said at the time that the closure was temporary. "Due to an unfortunate fire accident, our store on 2nd Avenue is temporary closed!," read the store's website. "We are going to reopen after the remodeling of the store, probably around September."
A year after that scheduled September reopening, the market is still shuttered. The website says the reopening is "currently unforeseen." But it's not going rise from those ashes. The inside has been gutted, and a sign in the window says that space is for lease. The Hungarian Meat Market, home Tirol salami, Csabai smoked sausage, Szekely Goulash and authentic Hungarian paprika, is no more. It was the area's last Hungarian butcher.
More sadness. I used to go there a fair amount and always seemed to be walking by since that part of Yorkville was my NY nabe. The market was part of what made you remember that once upon a time there were lots of ethnic neighborhoods. Now I guess you have Chinatown and that Italian island in its midst, in Manhattan, otherwise you have to go to Brooklyn or Queens to get that international flavor.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely hate this. Also noticed a couple weeks ago that Ottomanelli's, the tiny hundred year old cafe on York near 86th, had been seized by the marshal and has yet to open. Hands down my favorite restaurant in the neighborhood, closed down and not a single person seems to have noticed.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the first comment. If you are unfortunate enough to live in the center of the city, it comes as a huge relief to go deep into the outer boroughs and see actual ethnic neighborhoods, complete changes of neighborhoods block-by-block, and being able to walk around without constantly dodging cabs moving to fast and tourists/ cellphone walkers moving too slow.
ReplyDeleteAnd also by "center" I don't quite mean Manhattan, I mean Manhattan below 96th Street on the East Side and 110th Street on the West Side, and a part of Brooklyn bounded roughly by 9th Street and Washington Avenue.
However, as much as I want to move to the outer boroughs, I realize that they are dependent enough economically on what happens in the center of the city that they are pretty much doomed. Better to get out of New York entirely if you can.
Anyway, I've learned the hard way that when businesses close "temporarily" in New York that means they are over. Even on the few occasions when they actually there is enough remodeling that the ambiance that made them attractive is gone. I wish we were back of the days when people would just post "gone out of business" or "going out of business" signs, but again you adjust.
I still mourn Mrs. Herbst's Hungarian Strudel.
ReplyDeletePerhaps they now exist in an alternate universe.
Im sad to read about this. As a child i used to go to the market daily for my mother. It was always thriving and i never ever thought it would close down. very sad news.
ReplyDelete