New York’s dining scene has changed again just weeks after the city lost three other beloved restaurants. September brought fresh goodbyes in the East Village and Williamsburg, including a dumpling destination, a plant-based pizza pioneer and a chicken-and-waffles flagship.
All three restaurants built identities strong enough to outgrow a single menu. Customers came back for the food, but also for the personalities, collaborations and neighborhood energy that made each place recognizable.
Mimi Cheng’s in the East Village
Mimi Cheng’s closed its final New York City restaurant on September 11 after a 12-year run. Sisters Hannah and Marian Cheng opened the original East Village shop in 2014, naming it for their mother and building a following around freshly steamed and fried Taiwanese-style dumplings.
The menu stayed playful, including collaborations such as the Emmy Burger Dumpling, while the storefront remained casual enough to become part of customers’ weekly routines. The sisters said their lease had ended, but the business itself is not disappearing: Mimi Cheng’s is shifting its attention to frozen dumplings sold nationally. Time Out New York called it one of the city’s standout dumpling destinations.
Double Zero in the East Village
Double Zero closed on Second Avenue in early September. Its farewell note described a 12-year East Village chapter, while the plant-based pizzeria itself debuted as 00+Co in 2016 before evolving through later concepts and returning to the Double Zero name.
The restaurant became known for vegan pizza and wine at a time when plant-based dining was moving rapidly into the mainstream. In the closing notice, the team pointed to rising food and operating costs, lease realities and a broader slowdown in plant-based dining. For customers who had watched vegan restaurants move from niche to fashionable and back again, Double Zero’s closing felt especially symbolic.
Sweet Chick in Williamsburg
Sweet Chick’s original Williamsburg restaurant closed in September after 13 years. Founder John Seymour opened the first location in 2013, turning fried chicken and waffles into the centerpiece of a restaurant that blended Southern comfort food, cocktails, music and Brooklyn nightlife.
The concept grew beyond Bedford Avenue, with rapper Nas becoming an investor and additional locations opening elsewhere. The Williamsburg flagship, however, remained the restaurant that started the story. Other Sweet Chick locations continue operating, but the loss of the original removes a familiar piece of a neighborhood that has changed dramatically since 2013.
New York restaurants open and close constantly, yet a long run still creates real attachment. These three September closures show how quickly even highly recognizable neighborhood fixtures can become part of the city’s dining history.
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