New York City loses 43-year-old restaurant | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

Can you believe that the world’s oldest-running restaurant has been operating for 300 years?

Amazing, isn’t it? Botin Restaurant in Madrid, Spain was opened in 1725 and it still serves. It entered the Guinness World Records and became a benchmark of first-class cuisine in the capital of Flamenco.

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Imagine running a business with such a long tradition, a business that has survived so many economic challenges and especially the Covid-19 impact that killed so many hospitality establishments.

It’s a significant achievement and a huge responsibility to maintain success.

Nowadays, we see more and more restaurants, diners, and fast food chains succumb to the challenging economic environment consisting of rising inflation and high interest rates on debt, higher labor and food costs, and serious competition. What’s worse, most of the businesses are in a post-pandemic recovery state.

Competition might seem like the smallest problem, but it is equally relevant. There are 17,619 restaurants in New York City, including all five boroughs, according to data compiled by Snappy.

Think about it, all those nearly 18k restaurants in the Big Apple are fighting for its success, struggling to maintain a good location, menu prices as affordable as possible, keeping up with food trends that are constantly changing and so much more.

There have been many restaurant closures across the U.S. this year, and the most recent one is located in a city that never sleeps.

Restaurant closures are happening across the country.

Image source&colon; Shutterstock

Family-owned place with barbecue specials

Back in 1982, Peter Likourentzos built Park Plaza Restaurant to serve Brooklyn Heights’ residents and workers. The family-owned popular restaurant is located at 220 Cadman Plaza West.

Peter’s son Dimitiri, attended the Culinary Institute of America and also honed his culinary acumen under some of the top chefs in New York. That’s how Dimitiri, the chef-owner, developed his own vision of Park Plaza as a courtyard of multiple restaurants.

Parl Plaza became a favorite place for many Brooklyn residents, attracting them with diverse offerings including American breakfast, dinner and lunch specials, salads and sandwiches, but also barbecue specials. In fact, Brooklyn BBQ was its first brick-and-mortar addition.

The restaurant has Greek Kouzina and Bitch’n Burger ghost kitchens built only for delivery and take-out treats, and it also provides professional catering services.

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The menu is modern, answering the current demands for alternative, healthier, or just popular trends including vegetarian, vegan, and even gluten-free options. On Trip Advisor, Park Plaza has a 4.1 out of five stars from 104 reviews and ratings.

“Absolutely incredible brunch spot. Cosy, relaxed diner atmosphere, super friendly service and the food was outstanding,” one customer wrote. “My wife and I came here looking for brunch and Park Plaza served up the most delicious pancakes either of us have ever had. Unbelievably light and fluffy and the flavour was amazing.”

The customer went on to say that the pancakes were “life-changing” and that it is clear “everything here is made with a lot of love and care. Cannot recommend highly enough.”

Park Plaza Restaurant files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

On May 30, 2025, Park Plaza Restaurant filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Eastern District of New York.

The restaurant reported assets of less than $50,000 and liabilities between $500,001 and $1 million. The company is proceeding as a small business debtor.

The key creditors include the US Small Business Administration ($190,000), several food suppliers, and a disputed $500,000 lease claim from Whitman Owner Corp.

Does this mean that the restaurant will be immediately closed and that there’s no second chance for those life-changing pancakes and other treats?

It’s still unclear, because under Chapter 11, businesses and individuals can reorganize their financial affairs in a process where a debtor can continue to run their business while working a way to repay creditors. Park Plaza didn’t issue any statement regarding its bankruptcy filing at the moment of reporting.

However, data from the U.S. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals that just 34.6% of Restaurants successfully operate for more than 10 years, as reported by Owner. Park Plaza managed to survive 43 years, which makes it an amazing accomplishment.

Will it be able to recover from such financial distress and make yet another impressive achievement, it remains to be seen.

If not, it will be joining many other restaurants, diners, and even fast food chains that unfortunately have closed their doors this year, including Fog City, Denny’s, Adobe Gila’s, Oscar’s Taco House, Red Lobster, One Market Restaurant, TGI Fridays, Blue Door Seafood Taverna, Mama’s Pizza, Planta, Winner, Polka Dot, Nino’s Ristorante, among others.