People who dine out in Queens will have to make do with just one napkin now that the upscale Five Napkin Burger restaurant in Long Island City has closed its doors.
The restaurant that opened three years ago at 35-01 36th Street closed without fanfare – or prior notice on December 9.
“We thought it was closed because it was a Monday and almost all restaurants in this area are closed on Monday,” Astoria resident Jennifer Lee said. “But when the place was dark on Tuesday, we knew something else was up.”
Lee said she and several friends ate at 5 Napkin Burger on a number of occasions during the last two years.
“Birthdays and stuff like that,” she said. “It was more expensive, but it was a change of scenery – and it wasn’t far from where we live in Astoria.”
Lee, like many others, was disappointed and confused by the note that was taped to the front doors at the restaurant that read, “It was a hard decision to make as we have enjoyed being part of the community, but we are eager now to focus on other growth opportunities for 5 Napkin Burger in New York City and beyond.”
“What does that mean, really?” Lee said. “It feels like they didn’t like being in this neighborhood, or they didn’t like the people who ate there. It really seems like the note has a double meaning.”
Other Long Island City residents echoed Lee’s sentiments.
“The place was always packed, both inside and at the sidewalk tables,” local resident Joel Landers said. “They were right across the street from the Museum [of The Moving Image], the Kaufman [Astoria] Studios and the Frank Sinatra School [of the Arts], and there never appeared to be a lull in their business. So why did they just pick up and leave like this?” Landers said. “It doesn’t make any sense, unless they were just unhappy with the neighborhood. If that’s why they left, good riddance.”
Workers packing up the restaurant on December 11 said most of the staff at the Long Island City restaurant were offered jobs at other 5 Napkin Burger locations.
“It closed all of a sudden,” a worker named Sal said. “But at least people have a job somewhere else, if they want to travel to the city.”
5 Napkin Burger has three restaurants in Manhattan: in Hell’s Kitchen, on the Upper West Side and in Union Square.
