UWS Restaurant Shifts To Grocery Store Amid Coronavirus Closure

UPPER WEST SIDE, MANHATTAN — An iconic Upper West Side restaurant has turned itself into a market in order to stay open and feed the neighborhood during the coronavirus pandemic.

Cafe Fiorello, which has sat on Broadway and West 64th Street for more than 40 years, has turned itself into "Fiorello Gourmet Market" since restaurants were ordered earlier this week to close to dine-in customers, NY1 first reported.

The Italian institution has stocked its shelves with imported foods typically used to make its extensive menu and a selection of pre-made favorites like cake, soup and pizza.

"We’ve opened up our kitchen so you can stock yours," the restaurant wrote on an Instagram tourof their new set-up. "We’ve been feeding the neighborhood since 1974, and we’re not stopping now."

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The gourmet market is also stocked with hand sanitizer, gloves and anti-bacterial wipes to ensure customers are safe while shopping and has even added perhaps the most highly-coveted item during the pandemic to its inventory—toilet paper.

A full menu of its offerings as a market can be found on the restaurant website. It will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. each day.

The shift comes as restaurants in the Upper West Side and across New York City grapple with how to stay in business as they enter the indefinite mandated closure. All bars, restaurants, casinos, movie theaters and gyms were ordered to close up shop by 8 p.m. Monday, aside from takeout, until the Gov. Andrew Cuomo deems them safe to reopen.

Fiorello's switch to a market isn't without its hardships, though.

General Manager Michael Vitanza told NY1 that the restaurant was forced to lay off 83 workers when it stopped serving meals. The market now only staffs three people.

"The layoffs are the worst part for the heart," Vitanza said. "To see all those people on the unemployment line, live paycheck to paycheck, is worrisome."

The restaurant isn't the only spot on the Upper West Side that has shifted its focus.

Vietnamese spot Bonmi at 150 West 62nd St. is selling “meal kits” for customers to cook at home, the West Side Rag reports. The meal kits can be ordered by phone from the restaurant.

I Love Upper West Side has also compiled a round-up of the neighborhood's delivery and takeout options during the restaurant closures.