Jeepney gastropub, home of ‘Kamayan Night’ in NYC, is set to close this month
After its nine-year run, the journey of Jeepney is about to come to an end as this emblem of Pinoy food scene in New York City is set to cease operations on Sept. 25.
Speaking with Eater, owner Nicole Ponseca said that with the closure of the restaurant’s physical location, she prepares to expand Jeepney in a big way.
“I want to graduate from being an independent operator into something more formidable with more support,” Ponseca told Eater. “I don’t want this to be the end of Jeepney.”
Restaurateur and James Beard-nominated author Ponseca has been widely credited for paving the way for New York City’s Pinoy restaurant scene by popularizing Filipino food through the restaurants she founded with her husband, executive chef Miguel Trinidad: the trailblazing Maharlika, which closed down in 2019; and Jeepney, the gastropub famous for its Tiki cocktails, Pinoy-inspired bar chow, and as the “home of the original Kamayan Night,” which has been featured in countless TV and online food shows.
Both restaurants have made their mark in the Filipino food scene in New York City, that to this day, when you Google "Best Filipino restaurant in NYC," Jeepney will come up among those on the top of the list.
Some Filipino foodies, who have only heard of or seen Jeepney in online shows, make the pilgrimage to the gastropub whenever they are in the city to experience its vibrant energy and its take on Filipino food.
“One of the reasons I’m closing is that I want a better life for myself,” Ponseca, who is an independent restaurant owner, told Eater. “If I could see my vision through, it would have a support team. I don’t want to be the only one in the room anymore.”
An active member of the Filipino community, Ponseca hopes to partner with a restaurant group to open a more casual version of the restaurant in multiple cities.
In January 2021, on the day she first opened Maharlika in East Village a decade ago, Ponseca launched curated versions of her New York restaurants—Jeepney and Tita Baby’s Panciteria—inside the 1-800-Lucky food hall in the Wynwood Arts District in Miami, Florida.
Jeepney, housed in a two-story red brick building on First Avenue in New York’s East Village, will remain open for the last two weeks of its service. Ponseca told Eater that she could have closed a month ago “but I wanted to stay open so people could get their last meals and so our staff could take their final bow.”
Banner and thumbnail photo from @jeepneync on Instagram