Jeepney restaurant in New York closes on September 25

Attention, Pinoy foodies in New York City! Filipino restaurant, Jeepney, just announced that it will be closing its doors on September 25. However, it's not entirely a sad news because it's not really the end of the popular Pinoy gastropub.

According to a statement from Jeepney owner Nicole Ponseca published in Eater New York, their brick-and-mortar restaurant at 201 First Avenue in the East Village will be closing down to prepare for the big expansion of their food business.

“I want to graduate from being an independent operator into something more formidable with more support,” Ponseca reveals. “I don't want this to be the end of Jeepney.”

Moreover, Ponseca said that they're planning to partner with a restaurant group to establish more a casual version of Jeepney restaurant in multiple cities, just like their branch in the Wynwood neighborhood in Miami that opened earlier this year.

“I would like to see Jeepney grow into that,” Ponseca says. “It's a hybrid of something that is fast-casual and something that is fine-casual. I call it fast-fancy.”

The bar at Jeepney restaurant / Source: @jeepneynyc (FB)

Jeepney opened its doors in 2012 as a followup to another famous Pinoy restaurant Maharlika, which was closed after a nine-year run in 2019.

Both restaurants championed modern Filipino cooking and helped introduce Southeast Asian cuisine to the city dwellers in the Big Apple. At one point, both Jeepney and Maharlika were hailed as two of the best Filipino restaurants in NYC.

Jeepney restaurant offers a complete Pinoy dining experience, from the mouthwatering and nostalgia-inducing Filipino food to the interior design that's reminiscent of the iconic Filipino public transportation.

Jeepney has become so popular that many Filipino celebrities and personalities have made the pilgrimage to the famous Pinoy dining spot.

Among them are Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach, eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao, Apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Peas, model-writer-director Geena Rocero, stand-up comedian Jo Koy, and award-winning singer-actress Lea Salonga.

If you want to have your last meal in their East Village branch of Jeepney, they're open for dinner from 5 to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays until their last day, September 25.

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