No more wishing & dishing
COVID forces Clyde’s restaurant to close
The Delta variant hit the final buzzer on Clyde Frazier’s restaurant.
After nine years in Hell’s Kitchen, “Clyde Frazier’s Wine and Dine” closed permanently as financial losses mounted because of the pandemic and the city began to enforce its vaccine requirements for all indoor dining.
“Clyde’s amazing. If it wasn’t him as a person, we probably would’ve closed it earlier,” Michael Weinstein, a partner in the business with Frazier as CEO of ARK Restaurants Corp, told the Daily News. “We were just waiting for the some sort’ve indication that COVID is over. But it’s not. That’s the problem.”
“Wine and Dine,” located on 10th Ave. between 37th and 38th streets, had the allure of being frequented by Frazier, the Knicks Hall of Famer and New York legend who greeted and chatted up restaurant patrons.
But the pandemic pummeled the business, which drew from a clientele that became non-existent in NYC – tourists, office workers, basketball fans leaving MSG, Broadway show goers and Javits Center spillovers.
The restaurant initially closed in August with a plan to re-open this month. But the Delta variant’s surge squashed any hope of financial recovery for “Wine and Dine,” which sits on a sloped street and couldn’t set up an outdoor café.
“We just noodled and said, ‘This is unclear,’” Weinstein said. “Until it becomes clear, we shouldn’t be in business. And if we close, maybe they’ll be another opportunity coming down the road.”
“We just need clarity. Clyde’s an important presence in the city among sports fans. It’s amazing how people love him. And rightfully so.”
Frazier, 76, who is entering his 34th season as a Knicks analyst and rhyming aficionado on MSG network, announced his restaurant’s closing Tuesday on Twitter.
“Thank you for your patronage throughout the years. …it was wonderful ‘meeting and greeting’ with you,” Frazier wrote.
Weinstein’s ARK Restaurants still owns restaurants in Bryant Park and Columbus Circle. But revenue is down dramatically since the start of the pandemic,
and Weinstein noted that ARK Restaurants wasn’t allowed to apply for the second round of PPP loans because it’s a publicly traded company.
On Monday, the city began enforcing its mandate requiring indoor dining patrons and restaurant employees to show proof of
at least one vaccine dose. Clyde Frazier’s restaurant didn’t make it to the latest restriction.
“It’s just sad. It had a place in the city. People loved it. And it’s just sad that we had to close,” Weinstein said. “But without any indication that we could do better, it was the right move.”