Neighbors Say Good Bye to Cafe La Fortuna

After news spread that Upper West Side institution Cafe La Fortuna would close today, many people came by to bid farewell.

The restaurant was packed last night and this morning and afternoon, as people enjoyed the sandwiches, Italian coffee drinks and opera music one last time, lamenting the closing of another standby. One woman arrived with a bouquet of flowers and a card for the staff.

Owner Vincent Urwand explained that the West 71st Street cafe's closing was spurred by his wife's death (see his letter after the jump), but the soaring real estate market also played a role. Urwand summoned the spirit of John Lennon, who, with Yoko Ono, were Cafe La Fortuna regulars, in a new letter posted in the cafe's window:

A hardware store will replace the cafe. The Cafe La Fortuna website will remain open "so that people may read our history and send comments."