Cornelia Street Cafe
The Cornelia Street Cafe, was a restaurant & bar at 29 Cornelia Street in New York City's Greenwich Village, United States, opened in July 1977. The cafe closed at the end of 2018, due to rising rents from the gentrification of the West Village; ending on its holiday closed day of New Years 2019.[1][2] The cafe had been voted one of the best places to listen to jazz music in the world.[2]
| Cornelia Street Café | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Cornelia Street Cafe, circa 2009 | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | July 1977 |
| Closed | January 1, 2019 |
| Owner(s) | Robin Hirsch |
| Previous owner(s) | Charles McKenna, Raphaela Pivetta, Robin Hirsch |
| Dress code | Casual |
| Street address | 29 Cornelia St. |
| City | Manhattan |
| County | New York City |
| State | New York State |
| Country | United States of America |
| Coordinates | 40.731348°N 74.002391°W |
| Website | corneliastreetcafe |
Music workshop
It was the birthplace of the Monday night songwriter's workshop started by singer/songwriter/and then cafe waitress Carolyne Mas, in December 1977. The group became known as The Songwriter's Exchange, and released an album on Stash Records in 1980. The cafe was a venue in which songwriters like Suzanne Vega, the group's most famous alumna, perfected their craft. The Songwriter's Exchange, over time and under the guidance of Jack Hardy eventually evolved into the cooperative that formed the Fast Folk Musical Magazine.
Other regular contributors to the workshop included Carolyne Mas, Jack Hardy, Tom Intondi, David Massengill, Ray Korona, Cliff Eberhardt, Steven Brant, Lucy Kaplansky, Rod MacDonald, and Michael Fracasso.
Business
In the 21st century, the Cornelia Street Cafe was a restaurant and nightclub, showcasing musicians, poets, writers, and artists. Author Robin Hirsch is one of the owners. Singer/songwriter/pianist Valerie Ghent now runs The Songwriter's Beat, the current incarnation of The Songwriter's Exchange. In 1998, the Cafe was one of the restaurants recognized by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation with a Village Award presented to "Cornelia Street Restaurants".[3]
The Pink Pony open mic poetry series is held at the Cornelia Street Cafe, and Jackie Sheeler is the host. Spoken word and Poetry Slam artists are featured.
In popular culture
- The cafe was briefly featured in the eighth and final episode of the first season of Modern Love (TV series) from Prime Video.
References
- Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya (12 December 2018). "West Village Art Haven Cornelia Street Cafe Will Close After 41 Years". Eater NY.
- Kristen Saloomey (1 January 2019). "New York's Cornelia Street Cafe is latest victim of rising rents". Al Jazeera.
- "Past Village Award Winners". GVSHP.org. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
