Café des Artistes

Café des Artistes was a fine restaurant at 1 West 67th Street in Manhattan. New York City. It was owned by George Lang, who closed the restaurant in early August 2009 and announced later that month that the restaurant would remain closed permanently.[1] His wife, Jenifer Lang, had been the managing director of the restaurant since 1990.[2]

Not to be confused with the Manhattan building in which the Café was located nor the Café des Artistes in Puerto Vallarta.

Café des Artistes
Front entrance to Café des Artistes in October 2008
Restaurant information
Established1917
Closed2009
Food typeFrench
Street address1 West 67 Street
CityNew York
StateNew York
Postal/ZIP Code10023

History

The restaurant first opened in 1917,[3] at street level of the Hotel des Artistes tower. Café des Artistes was designed for the residents of the Hotel des Artistes, since the apartments lacked kitchens. Artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Norman Rockwell, Isadora Duncan and Rudolph Valentino were patrons.[4] Late in 1985, there was a fire in the kitchen, but the restaurant was able to reopen.[5]

In early September 2009, two years into the Great Recession, Lang announced that the café was closing; shortly thereafter, Lang filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, claiming debts of nearly $500,000, some of which was owed to a union benefit trust.[6] At the time, he also faced a lawsuit from the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union Welfare Fund.[6]

Ready for outdoor dining

In 2011, a new restaurant, the Leopard at des Artistes, opened in the location. According to the New York Times, it caters to those in New York society who derive "fame from power rather than the other way around".[7]

The murals

The restaurant's famous murals, retained in the new restaurant's 2011 renovation,[7] were painted by Howard Chandler Christy. Christy was a tenant of the building, Hotel des Artistes, until his death in 1952.[8][4] There are six panels of wood nymphs, the first of which were completed in 1934. Other Christy works on display include paintings such as The Parrot Girl, The Swing Girl, Ponce De Leon, Fall, Spring, and the Fountain of Youth.[3]

References
  1. Fabricant, Florence (August 29, 2009). ""Café des Artistes closing"". Dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  2. "212dressingroom Blog". Archived from the original on September 4, 2009. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  3. "Café des Artistes history". Archived from the original on June 3, 2007. Retrieved November 30, 2006.
  4. New York Deco, page 127, Richard Berenholtz, Carol Willis, Maren Elizabeth Gregerson (captions), Welcome Books, 2009, ISBN 978-1-59962-078-7.
  5. Anderson, Susan Heller; Dunlap, David W. (December 18, 1985). "NEW YORK DAY BY DAY; Cafe des Artistes Making a Comeback". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  6. Wells, Pete (September 9, 2009). "Aftermath". The New York Times.
  7. Sifton, Sam (August 2, 2011). "The Leopard at des Artistes". The New York Times. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
  8. "Lafayette College - Howard Chandler Christy Papers - Biographical Sketch". Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
  9. "Nine 1/2 Weeks Film Locations - [otsoNY.com]". onthesetofnewyork.com. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  10. "Manhattan Murder Mystery". sonymoviechannel.com. Sony/CPE US Networks. Archived from the original on January 13, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
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