Café des Artistes

The story

The apartments in the Hotel des Artistes tower had no kitchens, so in 1917 the building opened a restaurant at street level to feed its residents. That practical necessity became Café des Artistes, one of Manhattan's most enduring dining rooms. A kitchen fire late in 1985 forced a closure, but the café reopened. It survived until early August 2009, when owner George Lang shut the doors two years into the Great Recession, later filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy with debts of nearly $500,000. In 2011, the Leopard at des Artistes took its place, the famous murals still on the walls.