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New York Post
16-07-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Iconic NYC diner from ‘Taxi Driver' to close as ‘spirit' of old Meatpacking District vanishes forever
An iconic Meatpacking District diner featured in the movie 'Taxi Driver' will shut down as part of a deal with the city – as locals said the 'spirit' of old New York is slowly vanishing. Hector's Cafe and Diner, a 76-year-old eatery tucked under the High Line, will shutter on Friday after the local butchers that supply the eatery struck a deal to pack up so the city can build affordable housing and public space on the block. 6 Hector's Cafe & Diner has served breakfast and lunch to local workers for nearly 80 years in the Meatpacking District. Aristide Economopoulos 'If we were making money, we'd be kicking and screaming,' owner Nick Kapelonis told The Post, 'but we're just barely surviving. 'We know everyone by first name, last name, the kids, their parents,' Kapelonis, 55, added. 'People come by in their 60s and 70s and say, 'my grandfather brought me here.'' Butchers from the Gansevoort Market co-op, which Hector's is a part of, 'elected' to vacate last August as part of an agreement with the city and the New York City Economic Development Corporation. The city is looking to make way for its Gansevoort Square development, a 66,000-square-foot project complete with mixed-income housing, public open space and an expansion of the Whitney Museum of American Art and the High Line. 6 'If we were making money, we'd be kicking and screaming,' owner Nick Kapelonis, 55 (center) said, 'but we're just barely surviving.' Aristide Economopoulos The EDC plans to select a developer for the housing site by the end of 2025, and for the city's land use review process to be completed by 2027, a rep told The Post. A City Hall spokesperson said the administration has 'worked closely with the site's current tenant who decided it was time to leave and make way for what's to come — a 24/7 community and cultural hub where New Yorkers will come to live, work, play, and learn.' 6 Busboy Marcus Vasquez peers through a window from the kitchen to the dining room. Aristide Economopoulos Even though Hector's has an active lease until 2033, the owner said the business never fully recovered from COVID — and a decline in tourism and reduced foot traffic from both daytime butchers and late night partygoers all served as writing on the wall. But locals couldn't believe the old-school spot would soon be no more. 'There's really no [other] breakfast around here,' said diner regular Tony Melis, an electrician who has worked at the High Line for five years. 'We always come here for lunch … sometimes they give you a discount if you bought a meal,' he added. 'Every time a store has a guy come fix something, where do they go to eat? Right here.' 6 Waitress Miriam Morales (center) takes a breakfast order at the diner Tuesday morning. Aristide Economopoulos Hector's Cafe & Diner opened in 1949, joining more than a half-dozen coffee shops around the neighborhood servicing hundreds of local butchers, before it was sold in 1984 to Kapelonis' family. The site remained a local staple for decades and even appeared in Martin Scorsese's classic 'Taxi Driver' as well as 'Perfect Murder' and multiple 'Law & Order' episodes. 6 Cook Baldomero Pas lays out a breakfast dish for the waiter to take at Hector's Cafe & Diner. Aristide Economopoulos 'We're losing the spirit of New York,' said diner patron Jane Aiello, 45, who grew up in the neighborhood. 'It's completely gentrified. Affordability is out the window. Places like this, are a dying breed.' 6 Susan Stockdale, 80, told The Post she was glad to have visited the diner before it closed. Aristide Economopoulos Kapelonis noted Hector's story may not be over yet — and, after a much-needed 'break' during the summer, he will be scouting locations in Manhattan for another outpost. 'We're going to take a break and we're trying to find another location,' he said. 'Rents are horrendous, so it's a whole different ballgame to get acquainted with. 'Just give us a little time.'
Daily Mail
13-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
76-year-old diner closes as city neighborhood changes beyond recognition
Hector's Café and Diner will be closing its doors for the last time after 76 years of business. The iconic restaurant, located in New York 's Meatpacking District, is shuttering on July 18 following challenges after the pandemic and demographic changes within the area. During its heyday, Hector's was a go-to restaurant featured on various films and television shows and frequented by the local meatpacking workers. Co-owner Nick Kapelonis revealed the butchers became 'like family' over the years, and crew members from Law & Order became regular customers. Now, the diner sits across the street from a row of high-end fashion retailers and its business has rapidly declined. The restaurant is part of a seven-member co-op run by the city, and everyone part of the structure insisted it was 'time to go.' Kapelonis explained that some of the co-op members plan to retire or move to other areas outside the Meatpacking District while speaking with PIX11 News. The city plans to have the building become part of an expansion of the Whitney Museum, large offices, and a 600-foot residential tower. The restaurant was founded during a time when there were 260 butchers and 6,000 employees in the area surrounding the district. According to Kapelonis, the diner was opened specifically for meatpackers. The restaurant would be open at 2:00 am in the early days, with its busiest time usually being around 4:00 in the morning. Now hardly any customers walk in, and Kapelonis was forced to close the restaurant early last Sunday due to a lack of business. Customers were heartbroken to learn the news about the diner's closure, some calling the eatery the 'last man standing' in the district. 'This was the only place I was really able to afford when working in meat packing. Thanks for yummy meals!,' an Instagram user wrote. 'The only place left in that neighborhood where you don't have to take a loan for dinner,' a commenter added. 'Hectors offered no frills, just quality diner food. So sad to see it go,' a customer responded. Fans and employees are urging customers to visit as many times as they can before the 18th Social media users said they thought this district diner would be the one that stood the test of time. 'I really thought this was the one thing in Meatpacking that would stay forever,' a fan wrote. Architectural photography authors James and Karla Murray were just as heartbroken about the once 24-hour restaurant's shuttering. 'Hector's was able to survive the many changes in the neighborhood/gentrification due in part to the fact that it had a long-term below market lease with the City... We absolutely love their Jumbo Beefburger Deluxe with fries which costs only $15.75,' they wrote. The Murrays included the dinner in their 2023 book 'Store Front NYC: Photographs of the City's Independent Shops, Past and Present' and have advised everyone to stop by the diner before it's too late. Hector's is not the only New York landmark restaurant that has shuttered over the years. Manhattan's iconic La Grenouille restaurant closed last year following rising costs and inflation, and Robert De Niro 's restaurant Tribeca Grill closed in March after 35 years of business.
Daily Mail
12-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
New York diner shuts down after 76 years
By Published: Updated: Hector's Café and Diner will be closing its doors for the last time after 76 years of business. The iconic restaurant, located in New York's Meatpacking District, is shuttering on July 18 following challenges after the pandemic and demographic changes within the area. During its heyday, Hector's was a go-to restaurant featured in various films and television shows and frequented by the local meatpacking workers. Co-owner Nick Kapelonis revealed the butchers became 'like family' over the years, and crew members from Law & Order became regular customers. Now, the diner sits across the street from a row of high-end fashion retailers, and its business has rapidly declined. The restaurant is part of a seven-member co-op run by the city, and everyone part of the structure insisted it was 'time to go.' Kapelonis explained that some of the co-op members plan to retire or move to other areas outside the Meatpacking District while speaking with PIX11 News. The city plans to have the building become part of an expansion of the Whitney Museum, large offices, and a 600-foot residential tower. The restaurant was founded during a time when there were 260 butchers and 6,000 employees in the area surrounding the district. According to Kapelonis, the diner was opened specifically for meatpackers. Customers were heartbroken to learn the news about the diner's closure, some calling the eatery the 'last man standing' in the district. 'This was the only place I was really able to afford when working in meat packing. Thanks for yummy meals!,' an Instagram user wrote. 'The only place left in that neighborhood where you don't have to take a loan for dinner,' a commenter added. 'Hectors offered no frills, just quality diner food. So sad to see it go,' a customer responded. Social media users said they thought this district diner would be the one that stood the test of time. 'I really thought this was the one thing in Meatpacking that would stay forever,' a fan wrote. Architectural photography authors James and Karla Murray were just as heartbroken about the once 24-hour restaurant's shuttering. 'Hector's was able to survive the many changes in the neighborhood/gentrification due in part to the fact that it had a long-term below market lease with the City... We absolutely love their Jumbo Beefburger Deluxe with fries which costs only $15.75,' they wrote. The Murrays included the diner in their 2023 book Store Front NYC: Photographs of the City's Independent Shops, Past and Present and have advised everyone to stop by the diner before it's too late. Hector's is not the only New York landmark restaurant that has shuttered over the years. Manhattan's iconic La Grenouille restaurant closed last year following rising costs and inflation, and Robert De Niro's restaurant Tribeca Grill closed in March after 35 years of business.
Eater
07-07-2025
- Business
- Eater
A 76-Year Old Diner Is Closing in the Meatpacking District
Longtime restaurant, Hector's Cafe and Diner, which had been in the Meatpacking District for 76 years, will shutter on Friday, July 18, at Little West 12th Street. Owner Nick Kapelonis tells Eater that 'the meatpackers decided to leave, and we agreed with them it was time to leave as well,' referring to the hold-out butchers, of which the neighborhood takes its name. In 2024, the New York Post reported that the block would be taken over by the Whitney Museum, as part of a building expansion, as well as the group behind the High Line, the elevated park built above Hector's, and a rental complex. Despite Hector's lease lasting until 2033, the team has decided to shut down now. 'COVID changed so much of our business,' he says, adding that he and his family, who took over the diner 45 years ago, will take some time to reset — but aren't ruling out opening another restaurant somewhere else. Kapelonis said the butchers were some of the diner's most reliable, longtime customers, who had become 'like family' over the years. Throughout its life, the diner also appeared in many films and television shows, including Law & Order , and counted crew members as ongoing regulars. Perhaps most notably, Hector's was also featured in Taxi Driver . The Meatpacking District has changed so much since Hector's first debuted in 1949: A cobblestone neighborhood once filled with industrial businesses and, later, nightclubs, has transformed into a luxury hub for designer shopping and high-end restaurants. All through that, Hector's has remained an affordable constant — until now. Eater has reached out to the Whitney Museum for comment. See More:
