The program should continue.
A Broadway power couple is buying out the long-struggling Hell’s Kitchen West Bank café – saving from closure a quirky but infamous basement theater where Joan Rivers played her final show.
Producers Tom and Michael D’Angora now own the café and its performance space the Laurie Beechman Theatre, whose visitors over the years have included Stephen Soundheim, Al Pacino and Tennessee Williams.
“This has meant a lot to us for a long time,” Tony nominee Tom D’Angora told the Post Monday.
The couple, who live just across the street from the café, will replace 70-year-old owner Steve Olsen, who opened the café in 1978. A slight renovation is planned, which will cause the location to be temporarily closed.
Michael D’Angora, producer of “How to Dance in Ohio” and the 2024 revival of “Cabaret,” called the new effort “crazy,” adding that the purchase began as part of an effort to help Olsen and her business – Part of a prestigious neighborhood and theater community.
“It wasn’t on our bingo card,” he said. “It’s just crazy that this new chapter has kind of fallen into our lap.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The café has faced a series of financial struggles, its latest hurdle being a planned closure over the summer, which was only Fundraising efforts of Broadway stars,
D’Angoras previously ran a fundraiser when the cafe turned to GoFundMe in 2020 due to a lack of COVID bailout money, when fans raised $350,000 to keep the lights on.
In June, he led A GoFundMe that raised over $124,000 to save the place in June Along with actor Joe Iconis, Olsen announced that the restaurant would be closing its doors by August after struggling with a lack of financial support.
D’Angora then took steps to create a sustainable business plan with Olsen and Related Companies – the owner and operator of Manhattan Plaza.
According to the couple, after careful consideration, Olsen decided to step down, handing over responsibility for the future of the establishment to the D’Angoras.
Steve Olsen, owner of the venue for 24 years, said, “We are forever grateful to our Hell’s Kitchen and theater communities and the support we have received during our wonderful 46-plus years on Theater Row.”
The restaurant will close from December 15 and will be grand reopened in January 2025 after spending on “essential renovations”.
The Broadway power couple said they are hoping to just give the upstairs restaurant a small “facelift”, and will focus primarily on improving the behind-the-scenes infrastructure.
The biggest change will be in the downstairs section of the Laurie Beechman Theatre, D’Angoras said. The new facilities will revitalize the space so it can better host dramatic workshops and evening events.
Tom D’Angora said, “In the evening it can be a venue for the best of the best Broadway stars… for Broadway, burlesque jazz, cabaret, all the wonderful entertainment that makes up our community.”
Management, bartenders, waitstaff and menu favorites will all remain the same at the iconic location, D’Angoras pledged.
“And, for all the personal relationships and shared history we have built with our customers and friends,” he said.
Local politicians appreciated this news.
State Senator Brad Hoylman-Siegal said, “I am grateful to Tom D’Angora and Michael D’Angora for stepping forward to save these iconic institutions, whose legacy could not be in better hands.”
“This is one of the best news I’ve heard in a long time,” said City Council Member Eric Bottcher.
Although the West Bank café has been officially saved, D’Angoras said there is still a lot of work left.
Michael D’Angora said, “There’s a lot going on, it’s going to be a fun adventure.”
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