Edith’s Eatery and Grocery (312 Leonard St.) has closed after a year and a half in Williamsburg. The sit-down restaurant closed its doors on May 28, but Edith’s regulars can still enjoy Edith’s Sandwich Shop nearby at 495 Lorimer Street.
A week prior to closing, on May 22, Edith’s owner Elyssa Heller announced the sad news on Instagram, writing, “Edith’s has had a pretty crazy start as a pandemic-born pop-up, turned sandwich counter, turned eatery & grocery store. It has been a wild and crazy couple of years to say the least and true to our journey, the next chapter of the Edith’s story will take us over the Williamsburg bridge. As we prepare to take on Manhattan and the opportunity to expand the presence of our sandwich counter, May 28th will be our last day at 312 Leonard Street.”
Heller ended the note thanking her customers. “Thank you for dancing on tables, gazing at family photos, laughing with loved ones & brunching like no people have ever brunched before.” Heller also nodded to Edith’s new location in Manhattan again, writing “L Train won’t be able to stop us now, get ready Tribeca!”
Edith’s Eatery and Grocery was only open a year and a half, from January 2022 to May 2023, before making the decision to close the restaurant and focus on the expansion of the sandwich shop.
Heller told Greenpointers, “We decided to close to focus on growing our sandwich shop footprint,” adding that the decision came from a “combination of [her] bandwidth and wanting to grow Edith’s as a brand.”
As Greenpointers previously reported, Edith’s was one of the few bright spots in the early days of the pandemic, running a pop-up shop out of local favorite Paulie Gee’s (60 Greenpoint Ave.). The pop-up’s success allowed Heller to open the standalone sandwich counter in 2021 and the restaurant in 2022.
Eater reported that the space at 312 Leonard Street which housed Edith’s Eatery and Grocery will not be empty for long. It will soon be home to Levantine restaurant Huda from restauranteur Gehad Hadidi, who owns Le Bonne Soupe in Manhattan.
Elyssa Heller turns her back on Williamsburg for Manhattan and we’re supposed to cheer her on? No thanks. I’m just glad to see a new restaurant is taking over, hopefully that gorgeous corner location will be in more capable hands.