El Sombrero Shutters After 30-Year Run, Long Live El Sombrero
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RIP El Sombrero, March 2014
El Sombrero poured its last margarita (to go) on Saturday night, capping a thirty-year career at the northeast corner of Ludlow and Stanton Streets. It’s a loss for the neighborhood, as yet another budget food/drink option vacates, leaving Hell Square to the vultures.
The writing has been on the wall for a while.
Closure threats were nothing new for the embattled family-owned El Sombrero, yet it seemed to worsen in recent months. First, Artichoke Pizza made a go of it, choosing 108 Stanton for another downtown outpost. Those plans quickly fizzled. The Hat marched onward. Then earlier this month, a business entity called Two Almontes appeared on the Community Board 3 SLA agenda. The applicant withdrew before the subcommittee meeting.
But they’ll be back next month. The Almontes crew are extremely tight-lipped about anything. Their lawyer is quick to avoid; but what we do know is that the applicant has ties to Caridad, a Latin restaurant on Knightsbridge in the Bronx. So there’s that.
Let’s take stock: within the last year, Ludlow Street in this Hell Square lost Max Fish, Motor City Bar, Pink Pony, the Living Room, and ‘inoteca. Damn…
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