Posted: 1/3/16 at 1:15pm
To Angus McIndoe's for many years of wonderful food and drink in the theater district. I would also like to thank the companies of Slyvia and Dames at Sea for very enjoyable productions!!
Updated On: 1/3/16 at 01:15 PM
Posted: 1/3/16 at 5:44pm
Nice memories at Angus McIndo, especially of a waiter named William (never learned his surname) with ambitions of becoming a successful playwright. I hope it comes true for him--and all best for all the staff.
Posted: 1/3/16 at 6:05pm
Angus was wonderful in its heyday -- the rare buzzed-about place that really lived up to its hype. I felt that the quality dipped in recent years but I'm still sad to see it go.
Posted: 1/3/16 at 7:07pm
Sad to see this place go. I just had dinner there on Friday night.
Posted: 1/4/16 at 2:10pm
Angus indicated the reason he was closing was the landlord. These rents are getting out of hand with the Edison Cafe, Frankie and Johnny's, Toys R US and now Angus closing. Whatever replaces it will have a hefty nut to meet every month and I don't think you can sell enough beer and burgers to meet it. Maybe if enough businesses close, the city will have to look into some type of rent control in these areas. I would think the Broadway community should be more concerned about this disturbing trend.
Posted: 1/4/16 at 2:28pm
Am I the only one whose mind went directly to this with the thread title?
http://dlp2gfjvaz867.cloudfront.net/product_photos/2332470/Col_original.jpg
Posted: 1/4/16 at 2:31pm
Where we live, businesses go in & out like crazy. We now have a stretch of 5 empty stores. Landlords want to become instant millionaires. . Do not look for any form of commercial rent control anytime soon. Ditto for a control on ticket prices which are the real killer. Many people now cannot afford to go out to eat & than a show as prices are in the stratosphere with no end in sight to the increases. The recent bill signed and reported with much ballyhoo will do zilch to stop the rise in prices. Some will be helped by it but the theater going public will not.
Posted: 1/4/16 at 2:37pm
Whatever replaces it will have a hefty nut to meet every month and I don't think you can sell enough beer and burgers to meet it.
Or it will sit empty. A friend of mine worked at a Hell's Kitchen restaurant that closed 2 years ago after 25 years, due to an unreasonable rent increase. It's a prime store front, great location, and it's been vacant since the day the restaurant closed. As I walk around Hell's Kitchen/Midtown West, where I've lived off and on since 1990, this is becoming a more and more common sight.
Posted: 1/4/16 at 2:52pm
I never can comprhend the reasoning behind this. Landlords would rather raise the rent sky high then sit with an empty property for however long it takes for the market to get there. Yes, it can be years! Without getting a dime for the property. I do know that when people rent these places they do so with really long leases to assure a gradual rent hike each year.
Posted: 1/4/16 at 2:56pm
I agree that the prices are soaring out of control but people are paying it. There was no shortage of money on display during the holiday week in Times Square. Every hotel, restaurant and most theaters were booked. I just would like to know what these people do for a living because they certainly don't work in the industry I do!
I'm not sure if this current Mayor has any plan at all for the theater district that may be the biggest money maker in the country (except for Disney). Maybe the landlords are using these empty businesses as some tax write off because it makes no sense of how paying taxes on an empty building would work for someone in business. Or maybe there are just too many businesses to begin with to be successful in the radius of the district.
I don't think the word gentrification applies totally, but its beginning to seem that way. Its happened in the West Village and the Meatpacking district, so the theater district may be the next area of NY to fall exclusively to the wealthy.
Posted: 1/4/16 at 4:56pm
I believe it was Rockefeller's plan when he built Rockefeller Plaze that Manhattan bcome the Isle of the Rich with all the support servers residing in the outer boroughs. Seems his dream is coming to fruition.
Posted: 1/5/16 at 11:38am
Although I knew the subject of this (sad) thread, I must admit that like poster SNAFU, my mind also temporarily detoured to that very silly but funny SNL sketch with Christopher Walken. So much for southern gentility.
Posted: 1/5/16 at 4:25pm
Every trip to NYC included a meal and/or drink there. Great location and reasonable prices. Took friends there for brunch, sat one time at bar next to Andrea McArdle, talked with staff right before Hurricane Sandy. I shall miss the place!
Posted: 1/5/16 at 5:40pm
So sorry to hear this. Angus was a real staple and frequented by theater pros, and patrons who loved the theater district and want a quiet, good meal and conversation. We'll miss you, Angus.
