My Restaurant Was Named One of New York City’s Best. Here’s Why It Closed.

The New York Times ^ | Dec. 28, 2024, 7:00 a.m. ET | Yannick Benjamin

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Last Saturday, I poured wine, greeted regulars and strangers and bused tables at Contento, the restaurant I co-owned in East Harlem, for the last time. After more than three years of service, during which The New York Times ranked us twice among the 100 Best Restaurants in New York City and the Michelin Guide gave me its sommelier award, I had to say goodbye to my talented staff and lifelong dream of owning a restaurant. The combination of inflation, rising crime that required us to pay for security guards and declining profits simply proved insurmountable.

I’m crushed that we had to close Contento. I have to admit I’m also relieved. Running a restaurant in 2024 meant taking no salary while working a full-time hospitality job elsewhere in order to afford private health insurance. This is the cruel math of owning a small business and being disabled in America.

My story is one small part of an ongoing struggle for restaurant workers and culinary culture across New York City and the country. If you’re wondering why you so rarely see a disabled person like myself on a wheelchair on the floor of your favorite restaurant, why menu prices seem so high or why service feels uneven nearly five years after the pandemic began, the American health care system deserves much of the blame. If that sounds melodramatic, ask your favorite server.

It has always been difficult to sustain a career in hospitality, but brief rumblings of progress during the early days of the pandemic brought us some hope. In 2020, when the true value of essential workers and the inequities they faced finally pierced the public consciousness, it seemed like we were on the brink of major change.

[HIDEK6]

when the true value of essential workers …

That is where I stopped reading.

[bray]

Ain’t Communism Wonderful

[simpson96]

If the story ended with him saying “...and that’s why I voted for Trump in 2024”, I’d have some respect for him.

[vpintheak]

Vote Dim, get dim. Live Dim, get dimmer.

[Organic Panic]

“Welcome to the party pal.”

[Bonemaker]

“I had to say goodbye to my talented staff and lifelong dream of owning a restaurant.”

Pick a city in America next time mate,

[montag813]

TLDR: NYTimes trying to justify the murder of the UNH CEO. Again.

[PGR88]

The reason we can’t have restaurants is because we don’t have single-payer, government-run healthcare

got it?

[No name given]

As would we all.

[TalBlack]

“…the American health care system deserves much of the blame.“

No way. Obama fixed it. Try again.

[jonrick46]

I saw their menu and since I couldn’t get the link, I copied some of the text:

Vegetable Curry: collard greens, potato, carrot, chickpeas, eggplant, white rice ——————$33

Fish and Grits: catfish, cheese grits, tomato stew-———$37

Curry Goat: white rice, carrot and cucumber salad————$38

Griot: fried pork, djon djon, pikliz, sweet plantain-——$39

Picanha: farofa, cassava puree, broccoli rabe, chimmichuri—$60

Hot Honey Fried Chicken (for two): whole chicken, pickled collard green stems, choice of side-—————$70

In my opinion, the prices are too expensive.

[Wuli]

The first three to five (max) years of ANY restaurant in New York is the probation period. If you can’t make it past the probation period then the business plan was wrong and you were not going to make it.