(Google Maps)
Mel’s Burger Bar will close for good this Sunday after more than 13 years on the Upper West Side. An employee at Mel’s confirmed the closing via a telephone call with ILTUWS.
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The Upper East Side location at 1450 Second Avenue (between 75th and 76th streets) will remain open.
The UWS spot, located at 2850 Broadway (between 110th and 111th streets) just a few blocks south of Columbia University’s campus, has been a favorite among both students and locals since its 2010 opening.
According to the Columbia Spectator, Columbia students are organizing a “Mob Mel’s” event for Saturday night at 10 p.m. before the establishment closes permanently.
The Mel’s UWS location has long been a fixture of the neighborhood, becoming a go-to spot for many for its happy hours, spiked milkshakes, and of course its burgers and fries.
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Like many restaurants, Mel’s got creative when the pandemic threw the industry a curve ball, opening a ‘general store’ to offer grocery items along with their takeout and delivery menus in 2020. They also started selling restaurant-branded merchandise to keep themselves afloat.
In 2021, Mel’s launched Trashed Wings – a St. Louis-style wing delivery concept which made it onto its regular menu.
The person we spoke to at Mel’s confirmed that they’d be closing but did not tell us why.
“It’s tragic,” said frequent patron Alex P. “The staff have made this place a home away from home for so many people, and they’ve hands down got the best bartenders in the city.”
I hope they get replaced with another restaurant that’s more reasonably priced. I never understood the love for this place. Inflated prices, small portions… Liked the bathroom so that’s a loss but… I hope it’s a legitimate business that fits with what this area needs. No more weed stores or banks or manicurists. Oh well. 5hat was a long 13 years
You seem like a real hoot.
You know you’re old when you still think of a 13-year-old restaurant as “the new burger place on Broadway.”
Burger wasn’t that great. Not sure what the hype was all about