Press Release
 

Kosher Dining in New York’s East Village Takes Another Hit
15 year Veteran Village Crown Moroccan Restaurant Closes Due to Rent Spike

New York, NY  August 14, 2006 - Fifteen years after Eli Vaknine scraped together funds to open an Israeli café in the then somewhat derelict East Village, he closes the doors on the successful and well-known Village Crown Moroccan restaurant.  The culprit is the increased rent and the inability to increase prices in tandem.

“Every single one of my customers has been stunned when I’ve told them the news,” says Eli Vaknine, owner of the Village Crown Group, “they plead with me to open another downtown location.  I’ve moved my catering commissary to a great midtown location, but that obviously isn’t the same as coming into a family-owned restaurant just down the street.  There’s a general sense that this is the end of an era for small businesses in New York City.  First it was the Second Avenue Deli and now unfortunately we’re in the same boat” 

Customers will still be able to order from the Village Crown menu for midtown delivery and Shabbat orders and both catering divisions are now housed there as well.  “I’ve been fortunate to be able to move my business,” explains Eli Vaknine, “but as a kosher restaurant you’re providing a service to the community, especially at holiday time.  We’ve hosted communal Passover Seders each year and an amazing Sukkah and now those opportunities to interact with our customers are gone.”

Customers have also used special Moroccan tent at the Village Crown restaurant to celebrate many special events such as weddings, bar mitzvahs, birthdays and brit milahs.  “It seems that once we knew that we might have to close the restaurant, the phone has been ringing like crazy with people wanting to reserve the tent for an upcoming celebration,” said Ellen Vaknine, co-owner with her husband.  “Many of our customers celebrate their life cycle events at the restaurant - the wedding, the brit milah, then the bar mitzvah and now they’re not sure where to go.  It really comes as a shock to them.”

 About The Village Crown Group
The Village Crown Group now includes Village Crown To-Go, Village Crown Catering that provides primarily “drop-off” orders and Esprit Events, a full-service special events catering division.  Village Crown is a leading off-premises kosher caterer under the supervision of the OU, providing quality catering for many universities, corporations, non-profit Jewish organizations, government entities and hospitals throughout the New York area.  Visit the Village Crown website at www.villagecrown.com to learn more.

Contact:
Ellen Vaknine, Director of Marketing
The Village Crown Group
216 E. 49^th Street, 2^nd floor, New York, NY 10017
T.  212.207.3888
http://www.villagecrown.com

###