“Pretty good for an Italian standby that has been sailing along under the media radar for nearly 90 years. Who are these people? “ ‘Ninety percent regulars,’ ” said my waiter. “ ‘Some people who live in the neighborhood, some people who used to live in the neighborhood. Same old faces.’ ” – Eater NY
Maria didn’t do trendy, as she liked to say, and Gene’s is not trendy.
The West Village restaurant, which has been in business since 1919, became a tradition one year when Maria and her husband, Stanley drove up for visit. I don’t know how they found out about Gene’s; perhaps Stanley knew about it, having been a Depression-era kid from Queens. Whatever its provenance, we were hooked.
As old-school Italian as it gets, Gene’s plays no music, is intimate, and has 1950s-style Venetian-scene murals on the walls. I always pictured Grace Kelly and Jimmy Stewart dropping in for a bite, when they weren’t holed up in his apartment around the corner in Rear Window. And in very Miss Lonelyhearts style, my dear friend Jonathan and I once sat at the bar and watched a woman try to fend off the advances of the man sitting next to her. We rallied against her leaving Gene’s with him, but sadly we lost.
I can’t count how many birthdays, graduations, and get-togethers with old friends we’ve had at Gene’s. I couldn’t bear to think of them not being there when we emerge from this darkness.
And then, I mustered up my courage and went on their website. Open for take-out, they were running a Go Fund Me campaign for their employees. The goal? $10,000, As of yesterday? They had raised $11, 140.
“Thank you all so much for your generous donations! We have reached the goal of $10,000, and I am in the middle of distributing to our workers. This experience has certainly been humbling, as my appreciation for everyone involved with Gene's (including patrons, and employees) has been reaffirmed so many times over. The genuine compassion and sincerity that you have shown us has been at times overwhelming.” – David Ramirez, Owner Gene’s.