New York City is an ever-changing city - this is nothing new. However, when the institutions that give our city character - institutions that are a part of Broadway and New York history - are forced to shutter due to rising rents or perceived insignificance, it becomes necessary for New Yorkers and visitors to our great city to speak up against it. McHale's. Colony Records. Smith's Bar & Restaurant. Howard Johnson's. Times Square Bagels. All have been torn down (or are slated to be) to bring in large commercial retailers or chain restaurants, stripping away yet another layer of our beloved Theatre District's history. And now the Cafe Edison. A tea room where August Wilson is said to have worked on three of his plays. A diner that inspired Neil Simon to write "45 Seconds From Broadway." A place where Sharon from Spokane can sit next to an honest-to-goodness Broadway star while having the best bowl of matzo ball soup in Midtown, if not the city. We ask that you and your hotel management please reconsider renewing the Cafe Edison's lease, and at a fair and reasonable price, with the knowledge that you would be preserving what's left of the character of the old Theatre District and your own hotel.
There are some things that should be preserved in a district that makes NYC the premiere theater destination point of the world. A place like Cafe Edison has been an important gathering place for theater casts and crews for years. It is a place dearly loved. With imagination and goodwill, wouldn't it be possible to preserve it as the treasured institution that it has become?"
"I seem to have wandered into the BRAIN load-out thread... "
-best12bars
"Sorry I am a Theatre major not a English Major"
-skibumb5290
How many of these celebrities actually eat there? I've seen Rosemary Harris and Jackie Mason in there, but are all these people really going to be sad that it's gone?
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
I've seen countless well known recognizable faces over the years either getting takeout or at one of the booths or the counter. That's not the point although it doesn't hurt to have them on board to support this lil institution. This place has character built from decades of service to all who have lived, worked, or visited the theater district. That matters a great deal. The people who work there are almost to the person longtimers and deserve much better than this. Very sad indeed...
If it were profitable enough, they would keep it open. Sadly, it hasn't been turning a high enough profit for the current owners to keep it in business. No amount of signatures can change this now.
So, find a white knight who wants to "belong" to the theatre crowd and persuade him to take it on. No I'm not joking. Recently a great Toronto Music spot The El Mocambo (TheElMo) was slated to close its doors, they put it's iconic neon palmtree sign up on Ebay. And lo and behold a white night by the name of Michael Wekerle (a gonzo style venture capitalist banker) plunks down 3.7 mill promising refurbishment rooftop patio etc breathing new life into this fleabag institution. It didn't hurt Wekerle; is a wanna be guitarist . So go find a big bucks venture capitalist and persuade him he'll have access to all the doers and makers and schleppers in the theatre biz.
Just had the Matzo Ball soup there tonight on my way to 1/2 hour for NEWSIcal. Why change the format & make it all fancy. Why not just keep it open longer so us theatre folk have a place to go for some great comfort food after theatre. All the reasonably priced hang outs are gone. I was wracking my brain last night for a place to have a burger & a chat with an old friend after theatre that was nearby, affordable and have a table free. The Edison shouldn't revamp it's name & demographic it should EMBRACE what it already has and improve it. What could be better then a clientele that LOVES you and cherishes you and SUPPORTS you!
I somehow don't think the post written by 'Sean Connery' was written by 007 Sean Connery. It's not exactly what I would expect a respected actor would post online under his own name. If you really want to look for it, it refers to 'cream cheese'.
Sorry, but they lost me at "Howard Johnson's." What an overpriced dump that was.
I barely ever go to the Edison Cafe but obviously lots of people want it to stay open. Probably should have seen this coming when the divey Rum House transformed into a mixologist's paradise...