It seems there are a few more restaurant obituaries to write in the dregs of 2016, the latest of which, Da Silvano, served its last meal yesterday evening in Greenwich Village. The celebrity hotspot and longtime Italian favorite closed last night, the Post reports, with owner Silvano Marchetto blaming rising operating costs including rent that'd risen from $500 a month when the eatery opened in 1975 to $41,000 a month today.
At last year's 40th birthday celebration, Marchetto noted the dramatic rent increase, but told the Wall Street Journal he'd "be here all [his] life."
"Da Silvano, which received two stars in The New York Times from Ruth Reichl in 1998, has been around for more than three decades," wrote Frank Bruni in a 2006 review. "Over that time it has evolved from a trailblazing showcase for unadorned Tuscan cooking to something of a downtown Elaine's, with a proprietor, Silvano Marchetto, practiced at coddling stars and manufacturing his own luster."
In addition to being a well-loved hangout for celebrities, the restaurant garnered a fair bit of controversy, from recent wage theft allegations, to sexual assault lawsuits against Marchetto that were ultimately settled out of court.
