Manhattan Loses Quirky Diner Florent
WNYC News | Jul 12, 2010
New York, NY —
A 24-hour French diner that helped transform Manhattan's meatpacking district into a destination with cachet enough to draw celebrities has closed.
Florent, on Gansevoort Street, dimmed its peach-neon window sign last night after 23 years in business.
The restaurant's closing came after weekly parties thrown by its owner based on the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.
The landmark Florent opened in 1985 in an old diner on a cobblestone street of meatpacking plants. Today, the district is an area of chic boutiques, galleries and restaurants, that's driven Florent's rent to more than $30,000 a month.
