'We Tried Very Hard To Survive': 3 Guys, UES Mainstay, Soon To Close

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — After 33 years on Carnegie Hill, 3 Guys Restaurant is closing up shop.

Sunday will be the last call for Greek diner on the corner of Madison Avenue and East 96th Street, according to workers and one of the owners. COVID and sky-high rent put an end to three decades of Greek specialties, said owner Costa.

"Diners — it's very hard to survive," he said. "Especially with this rent."

The news comes only two weeks after an 84-year-old diner, Neil's Coffee Shop in Lenox Hill, was evicted for owing around $1 million in back rent.

"It's very sad, people are very sad that we are leaving," Costa told Patch. "Thirty-three years is a long time. They love us in the neighborhood, it's like a second home here."

Costa said that once COVID hit, many customers skipped town.

"My customers are not here — business never recovered," he said. "We tried very hard to survive."

The landlord let the diner stay in place until he found a new tenant able to afford the higher rent he was seeking, Costa said.

The diner owner had entertained hopes 3 Guys would be able to stay, but now he worries what the future will bring to a post-pandemic Carnegie Hill.

"It never was the same," Costa said. "The mom and pop stores are not going to be here anymore."