Historic Preservation, Meet Restaurant Preservation – A panel discussion moderated by Village Preservation’s Karen Loew

There are restaurants, bars, and food shops we all miss. From University Diner to Rocco Ristorante, Holiday Cocktail Lounge to Havana Chelsea – and next up, Union Square Café – insert your heartache here. Can we stanch the bleeding? In London, San Francisco, and Barcelona, people are trying to preserve “uses” as well as architecture. Maybe New York City will be next to create a model for small business preservation.

Join food, real estate and retail experts for a panel discussion on the issues and possible solutions. We’ll hear from Eater.com restaurant critic Robert Sietsema, who proposed this preservation plan, plus former New York Times restaurant critic and longtime Villager Mimi Sheraton, Columbia University assistant professor of urban planning Stacey Sutton, and Tower Brokerage president Robert Perl. We’ll look at all sides of the issue, from rent hikes to owner retirement, to explore what can be done to save our favorite cafes and bars: our hangouts, our clubhouses, the places that feed our souls as well as our stomachs.