#Bennie’s Thai Cafe in Manhattan to close after 24 years, citing COVID-19 crunch

Bennie’s Thai Cafe is about to become the latest restaurant casualty of the coronavirus in Lower Manhattan.

The popular eatery at 88 Fulton St. is calling it quits on July 26 — the 24th anniversary of its opening in 1996.

“We made it through the dark days of 9/11, the recession and Superstorm Sandy, but the Covid-19 pandemic was just too much for us to undertake,” the family-owned business posted on its Facebook page this week.

Bennie Boon and her husband, James, started their restaurant careers in the 1970s as owners of two Blimpie franchises in Lower Manhattan, hiring mostly Thai employees. As is tradition in the restaurant industry, they provided a “family meal” for their workers, cooking up Thai specialties including pots of curry noodles.

But then customers learned about the side meals and wanted to sample the dishes. Boon’s Blimpie became the first franchise to run a steam table called Bennie’s Thai Corner out of the back of a fast-food restaurant, according to the New York Times.

The Boons used the proceeds from the sale of their Blimpie eateries to open Bennie’s Thai Cafe.

“We celebrated many birthdays and milestones with so many folks. Thank you for blessing us with your company — those memories will always remain with us,” the Boons wrote on Facebook.