Mon Petit Cafe, Upper East Side French Restaurant, Closes After 32 Years

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Mon Petit Cafe, a bistro that served up simple yet delicious French staples on the corner of Lexington Avenue and East 62nd Street, is closing after 32 years in business on the Upper East Side. The owners of Mon Petit Cafe announced the closure Sunday in a Facebook post and thanked their customers for patronizing the restaurant.

"It is with very heavy hearts that we inform the community that Mon Petit Café has closed after 32 years in business. We are so deeply grateful to all of our customers, many of whom have been with us since we opened our doors in 1984," the post read. (For more Upper East Side neighborhood news delivered right to your inbox sign up for Patch's free daily newsletter and news alerts.)

Running the restaurant had been a "way of life" for Mon Petit Cafe's owners and their staff, but New York City's changing business climate has been a "crushing force" on the small business, the owners said in a letter.

"Mom-and-pop stores of all kinds are now an endangered species in our city. Small business are all but disappeared in our neighborhood, giving way to massive Duane Reades, banks and Starbucks on seemingly every corner. Despite our best efforts to keep MPC alive, our reality is that we carried on “in the red” for quite some time," Mon Petit Cafe's owners said.

Even though the restaurant is closing, fans of Mon Petit Cafe will still be able to enjoy dishes such as croque monsiers, quiche and steak au poivre. The restaurant's chef and owner, Alessandra, will be opening a catering and private chef business, according to Mon Petit Cafe's owners.

Here's the full letter from Mon Petit Cafe:

Photo of restaurant interior by Enrique Vázquez via Flickr/Creative Commons