BY SCOTT STIFFLER | Mere coincidence, ominous sign of the times, or a little bit of both: Draw your own conclusions about last week’s announcement that beloved restaurant/lounge elmo will end its near-quarter century run in Chelsea on–get this–Friday, March 13.
A cornerstone of Chelsea’s “gayborhood” heyday and a pillar of the community for years to follow, the drink/dine/date/celebrate destination’s demise was confirmed by co-founder Bob Pontarelli, in a March 4 public statement.
Recalled Pontarelli of elmo’s time in Chelsea: “We opened just months after the events of 911 and stayed open and serving food and cocktails through Sandy, several blackouts, and record snow falls. We survived COVID with style by launching our wonderfully successful speakeasy, Coby Club. We’ve enjoyed so many proud moments I lost count a long time ago.”
The cause of closure, Pontarelli confirmed, was the sale of the building (156 Seventh Ave. btw. W. 19th & 20th Sts./) whose ground floor served as elmo’s one-and-only home for nearly 25 years. “Our lease expires with that sale,” said Pontarell, noting, “The new owners will soon bring a residential building to our neighborhood.”
Michael Musto, a contributor to this website, wrote in a Facebook post, “I’ll have to find my gay food elsewhere.” In an email to LGBTQCommunityNews.nyc, Musto expanded on that thought, thusly: “As a gay-owned, gay friendly eatery, the place was a neighborhood necessity, with cheery service and yummy comfort food. And the downstairs lounge [Coby Club] was really swanky, with some serious old Hollywood ambience. But Chelsea continues to change, further cementing Hell’s Kitchen and the Village as the go-to queer nabes.”
Pontarelli, whose Hell’s Kitchen gay bar Industry continues to thrive, vowed to “move forward with new ventures and philanthropic projects that hopefully will have a wide impact…To own a restaurant that has enjoyed the astonishing success and iconic stature that elmo has is a privilege and an honor…I will always remain deeply and profoundly grateful for your years of support and for your friendship. I’ll see you around.”
Note: For more about elmo, click here for our 2025 interview with Pontarelli–and to read about the legacy of 2024-shuttered Chelsea gay bar Barracuda, click here.
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