17. Toro NYC (Opened 2013)
Toro NYC, a tapas restaurant in Chelsea, shut its doors on March 15. The eatery opened in 2013 as an expansion of the original Toro in Boston, owned by award-winning JK Food Group. With 30-foot ceilings and around 125 seats, Toro NYC was about twice the size of its Boston location and featured a large menu of over 60 dishes. Chefs Jamie Bissonnette and Ken Oringer also own Toro Dubai and were recently named as finalists for a 2020 James Beard award for Outstanding Restauranteur.
Toro NYC was known for its tapas, small Spanish appetizers or snacks, ranging from Erizos Con Caviar with quail egg and uni, salt cod croquettes, and pork belly with apple and rutabaga. The restaurant was also known for its paella with langostino, or “little lobster.”
“Many thousands of workers are unexpectedly unemployed with little to no way to provide for themselves and their families,” the restaurant wrote on their Instagram. “Toro NYC has come to then end of our journey, and the staff will not have a restaurant home to come back to when this pandemic ends. This is a sad sad time. Staying positive will keep the energy up.”