Café Loup, the famed West Village literary haunt, closed its doors with no warning on Sept. 19. Left behind were its devout patrons, many from The New School, heartbroken, as if they had just been evicted from their childhood home. Only one week later, the clouds hovering over West Village dissipated, and the sun shined on the doors of the café; a New York City resurrection.
Just a week later, after a Twitter funeral, Café Loup tweeted “Back in business!” The next night, Thursday at 6 p.m., Cafe Loup was as lively as ever. People flowed in with excitement on their faces, as if an old friend was back in town. Some were amazed, others seemed suspicious — almost as if it were too good to be true. The bar was full with cocktails, martinis in front of everyone. The phone was ringing, reservations were coming in, and people busied in.
The temporary close happened because there are five outstanding tax liens against the café, totaling around $295,000,00, according to the NYSD of State Tax Warrants.
Café Loup at 105 W. 13th St, was seized by the New York State Department for Taxation and Finance for failure to pay taxes. These tax liens were imposed to acquire the delinquent taxes owed to the state, with the latest unsatisfied lien filed on Sep. 28, 2018 for $53,734.22
“It’s a complicated and private matter but the issue has been resolved. It took a week to get it resolved but we worked to get it resolved immediately. We’re back in business and here to stay,” said Harry Duberie, a representative for Café Loup. The café declined to comment on any specifics of the outstanding tax liens.
Twitter was set ablaze by customers who were left shocked, saddened, and ultimately confused by the cafés abrupt closure. A tweet from Caroline Eisenmann, an associate agent at Golden Agency, summed it up by saying “I went to go see Café Loup myself and the man standing outside commented, ‘The world has ended.’”
During its brief closure, some visited the café to see its demise for themselves. The doors of Café Loup were adorned with a bright red sign, which read “SEIZED” in black, bold lettering. The home for stiff martinis, New School Faculty gossip, and celebrity run-ins with the likes of Patricia Clarkson, a Café Loup devotee, was no more.
“Between this, Bendel closing, and the MTA, New York is officially dead,” said Alexandra Svokos, a news editor for Bustle.
The closing led to an outpour of love for the café, and might have been a blessing in disguise, reminding diehard patrons to return to the place they love. “It definitely won’t make me stop going. If anything, [the closing] may motivate me to go more, so they have more of my money,” said Robert Khederian, a real estate agent and monthly visitor of the café.
Beloved by New Yorkers, the eatery has long been a favorite of New School faculty and students for decades.
To Philip Silvia, New School alum and part-time New School Professor, it brought together people from the university community. “[It’s] a democratic space where it didn’t matter who you were, how famous you were, you could always go for a drink and a burger,” Silvia said, before the café reopened. “It’s a daily, easygoing place. It has always been a real accessible spot for prospective faculty [at the New School] to be taken out to lunch.”
The café is integral to the New School community, namely the faculty. Dominic Pettman, Lang Professor of Culture and Media dubbed Café Loup “The de facto lounge for New School Faculty.” The café will forever will be a part of the West Village’s storied history, but it also has a special place in the New School’s history as well.
Stephanie Brower, dean of Lang, spoke to her relationship with the café, saying “I have been many times. In fact, one of my interview meetings was there over lunch.”
“Community depends on a certain amount of continuity and Café Loup is one of the few places that provides that,” Pettman said. “As the city hoovers up public space for private interests, we need these kinds of generous, accepting, de facto gathering spaces or oases to regroup, plot, hatch, dream, etc. I’m glad and grateful that New Yorkers who understand the importance of genuine community hubs still have this option to escape to.”
There are few iconic spots left in West Village, and Café Loup is one of the few places left that boast a strong cult following. With so many trendy restaurants popping up overnight, and folding within a year, it’s refreshing that places like this do still exist.
“When I was at the New School, it was known as a place where you could go and have a good lunch, unhurried, sit down and spend an hour or two. It was very convivial,” said Sean Elder, who taught in the Lang Writing department from 2006 to-2010. “‘The Loup’ was a good place for the faculty because if you could afford more than a slice of pizza, it was the place to be.”
Photo by Orlando Mendiola