View source for Sardi's

{{Short description|Restaurant in Manhattan, New York}}
{{Distinguish|Sardi (disambiguation){{!}}Sardi|Sardis}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Coord|40|45|28.48|N|73|59|15.12|W|region:US|display=title}}
{{Infobox Restaurant
| name              = Sardi's
| image             = Sardis.jpg
| image_width       = 
| image_caption     = Sardi's entrance: rows of caricatures are visible through the upstairs windows
| established       = {{Start date|1927|03|05}}
| current-owner     =Max Klimavicius
| head-chef         =
| food-type         = Continental
| dress-code        =
| rating            =  
| street-address    = 234 West 44th Street (between Broadway and Eighth Avenue)
| city              = [[New York City]]
| state             = [[New York (state)|New York]]
| zip               = 10036
| country           = United States
| seating-capacity  =
| reservations      =
| other-locations   =
| other-information =
| website           = [http://www.sardis.com/ Official website]
|previous-owner=[[Vincent Sardi Sr.]] <br> [[Vincent Sardi Jr.]]}}
'''Sardi's''' is a [[Continental food|continental]] restaurant located at 234 West 44th Street, between [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]] and [[Eighth Avenue (Manhattan)|Eighth Avenue]], in the [[Theater District, Manhattan|Theater District]] of [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]].<ref name="Zagat2019">{{Cite web |url=https://www.zagat.com/r/sardis-new-york |title=Sardi's |date=2019 |website=[[Zagat.com]] |access-date=October 17, 2019 }}</ref> Sardi's opened at its current location on March 5, 1927.  It is known for the [[caricature]]s of [[celebrity wall|Broadway celebrities on its walls]], of which there are over a thousand.

Sardi's was founded by [[Vincent Sardi Sr.]] and his wife Jenny Pallera, who had previously operated a restaurant nearby between 1921 and 1926. To attract customers, Sardi Sr. hired Russian refugee [[Alex Gard]] to draw caricatures in exchange for free food. Even after Gard's death, Sardi's continued to commission caricatures. Following the death of Vincent Sardi Sr. in 1969, Sardi's started to decline in the 1980s, eventually being sold off in 1986. After closing temporarily in 1990, it reopened with new staff.

The restaurant is today considered an institution in [[Broadway theatre]]. Over the years, the restaurant became known as a pre- and post-theater hangout, as well as a location for opening night parties, and was where the idea of the [[Tony Award]] was devised.

==History==

=== Creation and early years ===
Melchiorre Pio Vincenzo "Vincent" Sardi Sr. (born in [[San Marzano Oliveto]], Italy, on December 23, 1885; died November 19, 1969<ref name=":3" />) and his wife Eugenia ("Jenny") Pallera (born in [[Castell'Alfero]], Italy, on July 14, 1889; died November 17, 1978<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/11/19/archives/eugenia-pallera-sardi-dies-at-89-cofounder-of-noted-restaurant-dark.html|title=Eugenia Pallera Sardi Dies at 89; Co-founder of Noted Restaurant|last=Goodman|first=George C. Jr.|date=1978-11-19|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-12-07|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>) opened their first eatery, The Little Restaurant, in the basement of 246 West 44th Street in 1921.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Grimes |first=William |date=2007-01-04 |title=Owner of Sardi's Restaurant Dies at 91 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/04/nyregion/04cnd-sardi.html |access-date=2019-12-07 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> When that building was slated for demolition in 1926 to make way for the [[St. James Theatre]],<ref name=":4" /> Sardi and Pallera accepted an offer from the [[Shubert family|Shubert brothers]] theatrical family to relocate to a new building the brothers were erecting down the block. The new restaurant, Sardi's, opened March 5, 1927.<ref name="Sardi West p. 100">{{cite book |last=Sardi |first=Vincent |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Off_the_Wall_at_Sardi_s/DdmOOIVFyNMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Luncheon+at+Sardi%2527s+broadcast+march+8+1947&dq=Luncheon+at+Sardi%2527s+broadcast+march+8+1947&printsec=frontcover |title=Off the Wall at Sardi's |last2=West |first2=Thomas Edward |date=1991 |publisher=Applause Books |isbn=978-1-55783-051-7 |page= |access-date=}}</ref>{{Rp|page=15}}

When business slowed after the move, Vincent Sardi sought a gimmick to attract customers. Recalling the movie star caricatures that decorated the walls of [[Joe Zelli's]], a Parisian restaurant and jazz club, Sardi decided to recreate that effect in his establishment. He hired a Russian refugee named [[Alex Gard]] to draw Broadway celebrities. Sardi and Gard drew up a contract that stated Gard would make the caricatures in exchange for one meal per day at the restaurant. The first official caricature by Gard was of [[Ted Healy]], the [[Vaudeville|vaudevillian]] of [[Three Stooges]] fame. Sardi's son, [[Vincent Sardi Jr.]], took over restaurant operations in 1947.<ref name=":4" />

=== Height of popularity ===
[[File:Sardisneon.jpg|thumb|150px|Sardi's neon sign|alt=|left]]
Frequent mentions of the restaurant in newspaper columns by [[Walter Winchell]] and [[Ward Morehouse]] added to Sardi's growing popularity. Winchell and Morehouse belonged to a group of newspapermen, press agents, and drama critics who met for lunch regularly at Sardi's and referred to themselves as the Cheese Club.  [[Heywood Broun]], [[Mark Hellinger]], press agent Irving Hoffman, actor [[George Jessel (actor)|George Jessel]], and [[Ring Lardner]]  were also Cheese Club members. In fact, it was Hoffman who first brought Alex Gard to Sardi's for lunch at the Cheese Club table. Gard drew caricatures of the Cheese Club members, and Vincent Sardi hung them above their table. It was then that Sardi recalled the drawings at Zelli's and made his deal with Gard.

The restaurant became known as a pre- and post-theater hangout, as well as a location for opening night parties.<ref name="Beckerman t228">{{cite web |last=Beckerman |first=Jim |date=March 25, 2025 |title=Meet Sardi's maître d' of 26 years: Johnny Felidi from Cliffside Park |url=https://www.northjersey.com/story/entertainment/theater/2025/03/25/sardis-matre-d-giovanni-felidi-cliffside-park-nj/78391264007/ |access-date=June 26, 2025 |website=Bergen Record}}</ref><ref name="Barnardo s609">{{cite book |last=Bernardo |first=Mark |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mad_Men_s_Manhattan/atQ5xqcsYLMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sardi%2527s+Tony+Award+1946&pg=PA20&printsec=frontcover |title=Mad Men's Manhattan: The Insider's Guide |date=July 1, 2010 |publisher=Roaring Forties Press |isbn=978-0-9843165-7-1 |page= |access-date=June 26, 2025}}</ref> Sardi's grossed about $1 million in annual revenue by the late 1950s.<ref name=":4" /> Vincent Sardi died in 1969, aged 83, and control of Sardi's passed to his son Vincent Jr.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/11/20/archives/vincent-sardi-sr-83-founder-of-sardis-restaurant-is-dead.html|title=Vincent Sardi Sr., 83, Founder Of Sardi's Restaurant, Is Dead|date=1969-11-20|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-12-07|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> 

=== Resales ===
The Sardi family owned the restaurant for six decades, until 1984, when Sardi's was sold to Show Biz Restaurant Inc. At the time, George Lang Corporation was planning a renovation of the restaurant in the near future.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/24/arts/sardi-s-restaurant-sold.html |title=Sardi's Restaurant Sold |last=Prial |first=Frank J. |date=1984-05-24 |work=The New York Times |access-date=2019-12-07 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> However, in June 1985, [[Vincent Sardi Jr.]] indicated that the deal had not been approved and that he still owned the restaurant; according to industry experts, he was asking for at least $7 million from a potential buyer.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/04/nyregion/new-york-day-by-day-sardi-s-is-still-sardi-s.html |title=NEW YORK DAY BY DAY; Sardi's Is Still Sardi's |last1=Anderson |first1=Susan Heller |date=1985-07-04 |work=The New York Times |access-date=2019-12-07 |last2=Dunlap |first2=David W. |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Vincent Jr. sold Sardi's to Ivan Bloch, who headed Sardi's Inc., in September 1986,<ref name=":2" /> after which Vincent Jr. moved to Vermont.<ref name="p282976371">{{cite news |date=4 Nov 1990 |title=Sardi's of N.Y. is back, and so is Sardi the owner |work=Chicago Tribune |page=12 |issn=1085-6706 |id={{ProQuest|282976371}}}}</ref> Bloch then began raising $10 million to renovate Sardi's,<ref name="p212275132">{{cite magazine |last=Wilson |first=Melinda |date=Dec 5, 1988 |title=Bloch Group Seeks Partners in Sardi's |magazine=Crain's New York Business |page=1 |volume=4 |issue=49 |id={{ProQuest|212275132}}}}</ref> and [[Sam Lopata]] was hired to redesign the restaurant, a project that was supposed to have taken two months.<ref name="p285427045">{{cite news |last=Fleming |first=Michael |last2=Kubasik |first2=Ben |last3=Mulcahy |first3=Susan |date=10 Oct 1986 |title=Inside New York |work=Newsday |page=6 |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|285427045}}}}</ref> After Bloch failed to make payments and [[Default (finance)|defaulted]] in April 1989, his [[debt]] was [[Restructuring|restructured]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/25/nyregion/sardi-can-recover-restaurant.html|title=Sardi Can Recover Restaurant|last=Wolff|first=Craig|date=1989-11-25|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-12-07|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="p435925851">{{Cite news |date=9 Apr 1989 |title=Small investors can buy into famous Sardi's restaurant |work=Toronto Star |page=F2 |id={{Pq|435925851}}}}</ref> Ownership was transferred to Broadway Holdings Inc., which acquired Sardi's Inc.<ref name="p435925851" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/05/business/sale-is-set-for-sardi-s.html|title=Sale Is Set For Sardi's|date=1989-04-05|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-12-07|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Paul Lapides of Broadway Holdings Inc. announced plans to sell $7.8 million of stock to small investors.<ref name="p435925851" /> 

When the owners defaulted again in June 1989, Sardi's filed for bankruptcy, and Vincent Sardi Jr. filed to take back ownership of the restaurant.<ref name=":2" /><ref name="p280836130">{{cite news |date=27 Nov 1989 |title=Short Takes Sardi's Foreclosure Right Upheld |work=Los Angeles Times |page=8 |issn=0458-3035 |id={{ProQuest|280836130}}}}</ref>  The restaurant temporarily closed in June 1990<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Martin |first=Douglas |date=1993-04-11 |title=Sardi Gradually Restores Restaurant's Luster |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/11/nyregion/sardi-gradually-restores-restaurant-s-luster.html |access-date=2019-12-07 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and reopened in November 1990 with new staff.<ref name="p282976371" /><ref name="ONeill 1990">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/02/arts/the-curtain-goes-up-again-at-sardi-s.html|title=The Curtain Goes Up Again at Sardi's|last=O'Neill|first=Molly|date=1990-11-02|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-12-07|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Vincent Jr. recalled that the restaurant was in poor condition; the ceiling was leaking, and patrons had to use styrofoam cups.<ref name="p219152977">{{cite magazine |last=Gault |first=Ylonda |date=Dec 7, 1992 |title=Curtain Going Up on Sardi's Revival |magazine=Crain's New York Business |page=1 |volume=8 |issue=49 |id={{ProQuest|219152977}}}}</ref> The restaurant's revenue declined because many of its longtime customers had relocated elsewhere, as well as increased Broadway ticket prices and decreases in the number of active Broadway shows.<ref name="p251850086">{{Cite news |last=Curry |first=George E. |date=7 Mar 1992 |title=Aging Sardi's hoping to become the toast of Broadway once more |work=Chicago Tribune |page=H3 |via=Edmonton Journal |id={{Pq|251850086}}}}</ref> Over the next two years, he spent $500,000 on renovations to entice customers to eat there.<ref name="p219152977" /><ref name="p251850086" /> He restored the restaurant's original design and added a banquet hall on the third floor and a dining space on the fourth floor. These renovations increased the restaurant's capacity to 800, including 300 within the first-floor dining room.<ref name="p251850086" />

==Today==
[[File:9.24.13Sardi'sByLuigiNovi6.jpg|thumb|The ground floor dining room, with celebrity caricatures lining the upper walls|alt=|left]]
In part because of its location in the Theater District, the restaurant is a popular meeting spot among those in the Broadway community.<ref name="Beckerman t228" /><ref name="Barnardo s609" /> Sardi's is the birthplace of the [[Tony Awards]]; after [[Antoinette Perry]]'s death in 1946, her partner, theatrical producer and director [[Brock Pemberton]] came up with the idea of a theater award to be given in Perry's honor while eating there.<ref name="Barnardo s609" /> For many years Sardi's was the location where Tony Award nominations were announced.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bobb |first=Brooke |date=June 12, 2016 |title=A Look Back at the Good Times Had, Pre- and Post-Show, Throughout Sardi’s History |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/parties-sardis-restaurant-tony-awards-theater |access-date=June 26, 2025 |website=Vogue}}</ref> Vincent Sardi Sr. received a special Tony Award in 1947, the first year of the awards,<ref name="Barnardo s609" /> for "providing a transient home and comfort station for theatre folk at Sardi's for 20 years."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/archive/|title=The Story of the Tonys|publisher=The Official Website of the American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards|access-date=January 23, 2007}}</ref> In 2004, Vincent Sardi Jr. received a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre.<ref>{{cite web |last=Pincus-Roth |first=Zachary |date=September 26, 2004 |title=Tony touts new rules and Honors recipients |url=https://variety.com/2004/legit/news/tony-touts-new-rules-and-honors-recipients-1117910956/ |access-date=June 26, 2025 |website=Variety}}</ref> Sardi's is also the venue for the presentation of the [[Outer Critics Circle Award]]s and other Broadway-related events.<ref name="Barnardo s609" />

In a 2000 interview, composer [[Stephen Sondheim]] cited Sardi's while lamenting the changing climate of New York theater.  Asked about the Broadway community, Sondheim replied, "There's none whatsoever. The writers write one show every two or three years. Who congregates at Sardi's?  What is there to congregate about? Shows just sit in theaters and last."<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/home/20000312mag-sondheim.html|date = March 12, 2000 | title = Conversations With Sondheim | first=Frank |last=Rich| newspaper=The New York Times| access-date = April 4, 2008}}</ref> Sardi's closed temporarily in March 2020 due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in New York City]], reopening on December 25, 2021.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Paulson|first=Michael|date=2021-12-25|title=Sardi's Is Back After 648 Days, Its Fortunes Tied to Broadway|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/25/theater/sardis-broadway-reopening.html|access-date=2021-12-25|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Sardi's longtime bartender Joe Petrsoric, who had worked there since 1968, retired in 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Besonen |first=Julie |last2=Apisukh |first2=Lanna |date=2023-08-01 |title=Favorite Drinks of All the Top Stars? He Has Them Memorized. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/01/nyregion/sardis-bartender-joe-petrsoric.html |access-date=2024-06-06 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

{{Clear}}

== Cuisine ==
Although the Sardi family was Italian, their restaurant's cuisine is not; rather it tends toward "English food",<ref name="Sardi">Vincent Sardi Sr. with Richard Gehman. ''Sardi's: The Story of a Famous Restaurant'' (Henry Holt and Co., 1953)</ref> a Continental menu. In 1957, Vincent Sardi Jr. collaborated with Helen Bryson to compile a cookbook of Sardi's recipes. ''Curtain Up at Sardi's'' contains nearly 300 recipes ranging from a [[grilled cheese sandwich]] to a [[Champagne cocktail]].<ref name="ONeill 1990" /> 

Under Vincent Jr.'s leadership, food reviewers started to criticize the eatery as being "sooty".<ref name=":1" /> [[Mimi Sheraton]], a ''New York Times'' food writer, said in 1981 that "food, service and housekeeping at Sardi's leave almost everything to be desired".<ref>{{Cite news |date=1981-03-06 |title=Restaurants; by Mimi Sheraton; Good south Italian, Broadway landmark. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/06/arts/restaurants-by-mimi-sheraton-good-south-italian-broadway-landmark.html |access-date=2019-12-07 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> By 1987, [[Zagat]] was describing the food as "a culinary laughing stock", and one customer who was surveyed called Sardi's "the longest running gag on Broadway."<ref name="ONeill 1990" /> The food critic Bryan Miller likened the restaurant to "a mystery, a tragedy and a comedy wrapped in one",<ref name="p219152977" /><ref name="nyt-1988-12-09">{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Bryan |date=1988-12-09 |title=Restaurants |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/09/arts/restaurants-212288.html |access-date=2025-06-26 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> giving Sardi's one out of four stars.<ref name="nyt-1988-12-09" /> Conversely, ''Chicago Tribune'' reporter Mary George Beggs wrote that "No one really goes there for the food; the menu hasn't changed in years, either."<ref name="p290814461">{{cite news |last=Beggs |first=Mary George |date=17 Feb 1985 |title=When the Theaters Close, New York's Late-night Clubs Continue Revelry |work=Chicago Tribune |page=21 |issn=1085-6706 |id={{ProQuest|290814461}}}}</ref> At the time, the restaurant was cited as serving "steaks, chops and a few Italian dishes, including a very good canneloni".<ref name="p290906807">{{cite news |last=Kalina |first=Mike |date=23 Mar 1986 |title=These Restaurants Came Up With Concepts and Took Them to Broadway |work=Chicago Tribune |page=9 |issn=1085-6706 |id={{ProQuest|290906807}}}}</ref> Following the restaurant's reopening in 1990, reviews of Sardi's tended to be more positive.<ref name=":1" />

== Caricatures ==
{{main|List of caricatures at Sardi's}}
[[File:Sardisbook.jpg|right|thumb]]

During his lifetime, Alex Gard drew over 720 caricatures for Sardi's. Gard died in 1948 after suffering a heart attack in the [[New York City Subway|subway]]. After Gard, John Mackey took over drawing for the restaurant, but was soon replaced by [[Donald Bevan]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=archives.nypl.org -- Sardi's (Restaurant) caricatures |url=http://archives.nypl.org/the/21510 |access-date=2019-12-07 |website=archives.nypl.org}}</ref> Bevan, a [[United States Army Air Forces|U.S. Army Air Forces]] veteran and an illustrator, did the drawings for over 20 years,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/01/arts/donald-bevan-93-sardis-artist-and-stalag-17-writer-dies.html|title=Donald Bevan, 93, Sardi's Artist and 'Stalag 17' Writer, Dies|last=Weber|first=Bruce|date=2013-06-30|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-12-07|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> when he retired. He was replaced by Richard Baratz, a banknote and certificate engraver by profession, who was originally from Brooklyn and had been hired through a contest for a new caricaturist.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/24/nyregion/neighborhood-report-new-york-folklore-for-him-all-theater-district-celebrities.html|title=NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: NEW YORK FOLKLORE; For Him, All Theater District Celebrities Are a Caricature|last=Friedman|first=Andrew|date=2001-06-24|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-12-07|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Baratz, who lives in Pennsylvania, continues to the present day as the Sardi's caricaturist. As of 2010, there are more than 1,300 celebrity caricatures on display.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AJyd7RXxRiYC&q=1300+caricatures+at+Sardi's&pg=PA20|title=Mad Men's Manhattan: The Insider's Guide|last=Bernardo|first=Mark P.|date=2010-07-01|publisher=Roaring Forties Press|isbn=978-0-9777429-6-7|language=en}}</ref>

According to actor [[Robert Cuccioli]]'s spokesperson Judy Katz, in an interview with ''[[Playbill]]'': "On the day [[James Cagney]] died, his caricature was stolen from the Sardi's wall. Since then, when drawings are done, the originals go into a vault, and two copies are made. One goes to the lucky subject of the caricature, the other up on the Sardi's wall. This way, potential thieves won't have their moment."<ref>{{cite web |last=Lefkowitz |first=David |title=Cuccioli Gets His Moment -- On Sardi's Wall, Oct. 28 |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/cuccioli-gets-his-moment-on-sardis-wall-oct-28-com-71892 |website=[[Playbill]] |access-date=July 29, 2022 |date=October 28, 1997}}</ref>

In 1979, Vincent Sardi Jr. donated a collection of 227 caricatures from the restaurant to the Billy Rose Theatre Collection of [[New York Public Library|The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.]]<ref name=":0" /> In addition, about 300 caricatures were published in a 1989 book, ''Off the Wall at Sardi's''.<ref name="p251850086" />

==Radio broadcasts==
On March 8, 1947, Vincent Sardi Jr. began a radio show broadcast live from the Sardi's dining room, called ''Luncheon at Sardi's''.<ref name="Sardi West p. 100" />{{Rp|page=100}} It was hosted originally by [[Bill Slater (broadcaster)|Bill Slater]]. Subsequent hosts were Tom Slater, [[Ray Heatherton]] and [[Arlene Francis]]. Currently, on [[WOR (AM)|WOR Radio]], [[Joan Hamburg]] occasionally does broadcasts from Sardi's.

== Other locations ==
Several alternate locations of Sardi's have been opened over the years, but all were later closed or sold off. In 1932, [[Eddie Brandstatter]] opened a Los Angeles location on [[Hollywood Boulevard]], where it was similarly popular with celebrities. It was destroyed in a fire in 1936.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1936-11-02 |title=Sardi's in Hollywood Burns |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/11/02/archives/sardis-in-hollywood-burns.html |access-date=2019-12-07 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Vincent Sardi Sr. opened Sardi's East, a French-food eatery, at 123 East 54th Street in 1958.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Claiborne |first=Craig |date=1958-05-30 |title=Food: Off-Broadway Hit; Sardi's East Opens -- French Food Is Feature of Small, Intimate Restaurant |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1958/05/30/archives/food-offbroadway-hit-sardis-east-opens-french-food-is-feature-of.html |access-date=2019-12-07 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> It was sold in 1968 and renamed the Jockey Club.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1968-12-27 |title=Sardi's East Is Sold to Owner of Ad Lib |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/12/27/archives/sardis-east-is-sold-to-owner-of-ad-lib.html |access-date=2019-12-07 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In 1974, it was announced that [[Vincent Sardi Jr.]] would open a 700-seat Dinner‐Theater in [[Baldwin, Nassau County, New York]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=1974-05-19 |title=Sardi To Combine Theater And Food |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/05/19/archives/sardi-to-combine-theater-and-food.html |access-date=2019-12-07 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The Dinner-Theater opened in September 1974;<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vecsey |first=George |date=1974-09-30 |title=Sardi's Opens a Full-Course Dinner-Theater on L.I. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/09/30/archives/sardis-opens-a-fullcourse-dinnertheater-on-li.html |access-date=2019-12-07 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> however, it was unprofitable and only operated for two years before closing.<ref name=":4" />

== See also ==
* ''[[Breakfast in Hollywood]]''
* ''[[Bright Lights of 1944]]''

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

===Further reading===
* {{cite book|title=Off the wall at Sardi's|last1=Sardi|first1=Vincent Jr.|last2=West|first2=Thomas Edward|publisher=Applause Books|year=1991|isbn=978-1-55783-051-7|location=New York, NY|oclc=24502492}}
* {{cite book|last1=Sardi|first1=Vincent Jr.|first2=Helen |last2=Bryson|title=Curtain Up at Sardi's|publisher=Random House|year=1957}}
* {{cite book|last1=Sardi|first1=Vincent Sr.|first2=Richard |last2=Gehman|title=Sardi's: The Story of a Famous Restaurant|publisher=Henry Holt and Co.|year=1953}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{Official website|http://www.sardis.com}}
* [http://archives.nypl.org/the/21510 Sardi's (Restaurant) caricatures, 1927-1952?], held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, [[New York Public Library for the Performing Arts]]
* [http://archives.nypl.org/the/21509 Sardi's (Restaurant) papers, 1913-1976], held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, [[New York Public Library for the Performing Arts]]

{{Restaurants in Manhattan}}

{{Midtown North, Manhattan}}
{{Times Square}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1927 establishments in New York City]]
[[Category:Broadway theatre]]
[[Category:Restaurants established in 1927]]
[[Category:Restaurants in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Times Square]]