New Yorkers launch fundraising effort to save West Village diner La Bonbonniere

New Yorkers are fighting to save an iconic West Village diner from closing. A group of New Yorkers launched a GoFundMe to help La Bonbonniere, a century-old, cash-only luncheonette on 8th Avenue, renovate the restaurant and disassemble the eatery’s outdoor dining curbside structure. While outdoor dining helped the diner survive the pandemic, owner Gus Maroulletis said the new guidelines surrounding outdoor structures have made it difficult to participate in the program.

Outdoor dining was an economic lifeline to dining establishments during the pandemic, including La Bonbonniere, helping them stay open while ensuring patrons felt safe. A new permanent outdoor dining program approved by the city last year makes the program seasonal, allowing roadway set-ups from April 1 to November 29. Sidewalk seating is permitted year-round.

The program also sets requirements for how sidewalk and roadway cafes are designed and built and bans fully enclosed structures. Restaurant owners have voiced concerns over the cost of participating in the program, including the removal of the structure during the winter. As 6sqft reported, about 15 percent of the 13,000 restaurants that had outdoor dining applied by the August 3 deadline to keep their setup.

“More than $30,000. Take it down, put it back maybe $50,000, $60,000 and now November I have to take it out again,” Maroulletis told Fox 5, referring to the costs of a new dining shed.

In operation since the 1930s, La Bonbonniere is currently owned by Maroulletis and Marina Cortez Arrieta. The West Village mainstay has been open through it all, including 9/11, the blackout of 2004, and Hurricane Sandy, as reported by TimeOut.

Regulars of La Bonbonniere worry their beloved eatery might face the same fate as many classic mom-and-pop diners that have closed in recent years. New York City diners are disappearing at an accelerated rate due to rising rents, gentrification, and other factors, according to the New York Times.

This isn’t the first time the diner has sought community support. On March 26, 2020, it launched a GoFundMe to secure financial aid for surviving the lockdown, complying with city mandates, and compensating for lost wages.

“When the city reopens, what will the city be, without a place like Bonbonniere? If Bonbonniere is gone when we’re all back in business and hungry for lunch, then what has New York become?” the original GoFundMe post stated.

Organized by Gabriel Nussbaum and Happy David, the current fundraising campaign has currently raised nearly $90,000 of its $120,000 goal, which will be put towards removing the outdoor dining structure, installing a new awning to prevent flooding, restoring the diner’s historic interior, and supporting staff members while the renovation is taking place, according to TimeOut.

If they can raise enough money, the restaurant will resume outdoor dining in 2025 in adherence to the new guidelines. You can learn more about the effort and donate to La Bonbonniere here.

RELATED:

• Times Square food festival is back with more than a dozen restaurants
• Historic Governors Island building to become year-round restaurant and event space
• NYC outdoor dining to shrink by over 80 percent under new rules