Cafe Luna

"The space’s previous tenant, Café Loup, was a bona-fide writers’ hangout, home base for a brainy, artsy Manhattan scene that, in the café’s forty-odd-year history, encompassed Seymour Britchky, Susan Sontag, Christopher Hitchens, and an army of other literary-world regulars." - Helen Rosner

"After just a week of being closed, the NYC literary scene’s favorite restaurant will make a triumphant return. Cafe Loup, seized by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance last week, will reopen tomorrow, according to the restaurant’s Twitter and Instagram. In the days since the seizure of the more than 40-year-old restaurant, eulogies have poured out — in the New Yorker but also across social media, with loyal Loup patrons mourning its potential demise with specific stories about what the bistro meant to them. Now, it looks like all that worrying was for naught. Cafe Loup, open since 1977, will live to see another day, presumably after settling its tax balance of $188,394.40. Eater has reached out to the state and the restaurant for more information. At Cafe Loup, it wasn’t the food people would miss but the heavy pours, dishy but welcoming atmosphere, and familiar faces both dining and working. In particular, it has long been known as a place for writers and people in the publishing industry, counting Susan Sontag and the late Christopher Hitchens among its fans. Regulars also include people like actor Patricia Clarkson, who reportedly lives nearby and is one of those familiar faces often seen in the restaurant. According to the restaurant’s announcement, which is accompanied by a graphic of a wolf and a quote from The Jungle Book, Cafe Loup will reopen at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday for regular dinner service and is currently accepting reservations once more." - Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya

"Though Cafe Loup’s fate still hangs in the balance, New York’s literary scene has been crying over its potential demise already over the last 24 hours — showing the restaurant’s niche place in West Village and in the city’s publishing world. The restaurant was seized by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and now owes $188,394.40, according to a rep from the department. In the New Yorker, writer Sadie Stein asks what an NYC without Cafe Loup looks like in her tribute to the restaurant. Open for over four decades, the bistro — though not known for its food — has nonetheless become a staple, particularly in the literary world due to its proximity to several publishing houses as well as universities. The restaurant attracted celebrities and respected writers — including a recent visit from Fran Lebowitz — but folks on Twitter echoed the sentiment that it has remained unpretentious and welcoming through the years. It’s known for consistently big pours and laid-back vibes, an old-school style of neighborhood bistro." - Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya