WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES AUGUST 27, 2020 3
Shiro of Japan closes Glendale location
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
AACEVEDO@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Shiro of Japan, located at The Shops
at Atlas Park in Glendale, has permanently
closed its doors aft er a
14-year run.
“We made it through a lot of different
situations — economic recession,
shopping center bankruptcy, that
restructuring, and everything else
— but COVID-19 put the nail on the
coffin,” said Shiro co-owner Peter
Faccibene.
The restaurant is one of about 13
restaurants that have permanently
closed its doors in the “World’s Borough,”
according to Eater‘s running
list of New York City-wide closures
since COVID-19 forced the city to
shut down in March.
The longstanding traditional
sushi and hibachi restaurant, what
they call the “first name in New York
sushi,” established its main location
on Long Island in 1972. They then
expanded into Queens, and had
a grab-and-go post at Grand Central
Terminal.
Their Grand Central Terminal
location, which opened in 2013,
closed shortly prior to New York
City’s COVID-19 lockdown. Faccibene
said that location saw 30 percent decrease
in sales in the last three years
due to many factors, including the
city’s administration “inability” to
help businesses there and address
the homeless population seeking
refuge at the historic station.
Their location in Glendale, where
Faccibene said they invested “several
million dollars,” was sustaining
itself well before the pandemic hit
the city.
“We were in a good momentum, we
kept building and growing,” he said.
“But this hit us hard.”
Shiro at Atlas Park is located on
the second floor of the shopping
center, which made it logistically difficult
to offer outdoor dining. While
they tried takeout and delivery for
a few weeks, they weren’t making
ends meet.
Faccibene also attributes the
increase in minimum wage (at their
Queens location they had about 40
employees), taxes and rent as to why
the business couldn’t keep up.
But the business owner said the
city’s lawmakers aren’t introducing
policies that allow for businesses to
prosper.
“The policies aren’t making anything
conducive,” Faccibene said.
“We’re never opening up anything
again in New York City.”
Last month, small business owners
across Queens called for immediate
financial relief from lawmakers to
offset loses brought on by the economic
crisis as a consequence of the
pandemic.
In comparison, their Carle Place,
Long Island locale has maintained
itself even during the pandemic.
Restaurants on Long Island were
allowed to reopen indoor dining at
50 percent capacity in their phase
three, which began on June 23.
New York City officials have yet to
announce plans or a date for when
indoor dining will be allowed in the
five boroughs.
“We have a very loyal following,”
Faccibene said. “We still get a lot of
people driving in from Queens every
weekend.”
Shiro of Japan was located in The Shops at Atlas Park, on 80-40 Cooper
Ave. Photo via Google Maps
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