Acclaimed Michelin Restaurant Annisa In Greenwich Village To Close In May

GREENWICH VILLAGE, NY — The 17-year-old high-end, contemporary American restaurant Annisa in the Greenwich Village recently announced it's plans to close in May. Award-winning chef Anita Lo owns the restaurant and says the substantial increase in real estate taxes and the new minimum wage increase prompted the close, The Times reports.

Lo says real estate taxes on the space at 13 Barrow St. doubled in the past two years and now tops off at $80,000. She told The Times it feels "impossible" to keep up with the costs.

Annisa also moved to a no tipping model a year ago that forced the restaurant to raise menu prices. Lo wanted to even out the playing field of her employees, saying the front-of-house staff made three to four times as much as what the back of the house made.

Since she raised menu prices, Lo said she lost almost a quarter of her diners each night.

“We just can’t raise our prices anymore,” Lo told The Times.

Annisa was destroyed in a fire on July 4, 2009, and Lo completely rebuilt the business and reopened in April 2010.

The restaurant is highly acclaimed and has won many awards over the years: The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation recognized Annisa with a Village Award in 2011; The Times gave it a three star review in 2014; and it also has many Michelin awards under it's belt.

Annisa, which means "women" in Arabic, offers first-class cuisine—combining flavors from Lo's Asian roots, her travels and the seasons with her classic French technique. Favorites include the seared foie gras, the miso marinated sable and duck stuffed with pig feet.

The wine list features women in wine, and offers selections produced by female vintners or vineyard owners.

Annisa is open from 5:30-10:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 5:30-9:30 p.m. Sunday.

Photo: Annisa's Instagram