New Yorkers Are Mourning The Closure Of This Infamous McDonald's
They say all McDonald's are the same. But they're only talking about the food (via The Data Lounge). What set the McDonald's apart at West Third Street and Sixth Avenue in Greenwich Village, New York, was the ambiance. As shown by Google Maps, this McDonald's location was right next door to 3 Sheets Saloon. Next to that was the Fat Black Pussycat, whose website says it offers "some of the best 10-ounce martinis in the city." The Comedy Cellar and the Blue Note Jazz Club are within a block of the McDonald's. People who know New York know the bars never close and neither did this particular McDonald's. If you don't know New York, or you haven't been to this particular corner of the city, then you can only imagine what people got up to at this McDonald's at 3 a.m.
An observant Twitter user noticed that this McDonald's is closed for good. Like guests at a wake, customers gathered on Twitter to mourn their loss. Some shared tame memories. Steve Herold commented, "Wow. Sat upstairs and looked out of there many times in 80s after record shopping at Tower and Second Coming." Others had more colorful memories of the old McDonald's seared into their brains. Eric Chan remembered a guy who walked into the restaurant with a python wrapped around his shoulders. "Then he placed it on mine so he can go grab his order.... Good memories," he commented.
The West Village location wasn't the last NYC McDonald's with an edge
Someone who calls himself Coach Clancy on Twitter summed up the loss of the McDonald's this way: "NYC loses one of its greatest 3 a.m. fight venues." Others mourning the loss of the Golden Arches on this particular West Village corner took a wider view. Twitter user "KP" tweeted a sad-face emoji with the words, "Old New York is disappearing."
Media accounts, from Time Out and Fox News, blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for the closure – or, more accurately, government-ordered shutdowns of businesses, intended to limit the spread of the virus. This may be true, but we can't be sure. Neither media outlet got a comment from McDonald's or the franchisee who owned this particular store. Suffice it to say, a lot of hungry college students, tourists, and late-night partiers will need to go elsewhere to satisfy their Big Mac urges or relieve themselves in a public bathroom.
Some say it's the end of an era, but others will tell you it depends on the neighborhood where you like to hang out. For people looking for a Manhattan McDonald's with a certain edge, there's always the one on Delancey Street (via Bowery Boogie).