The Mermaid Inn on the Upper West Side is reopening this year

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by Steve Cuozzo

April 3, 2023 | 7:13 p.m

They’re breaking out chardonnay and cocktail sauce on the Upper West Side.

The Mermaid Inn, which was a huge hit on Amsterdam Street for 15 years before closing last year, is once again taking the plunge nearby.

The new Mermaid will reopen later this year at 335 Columbus Avenue on West 76th Street, a former Chase Bank branch. It will have an impressive 6,500 square feet, said Danny Abrams, who owns the famous seafood-based Little Mermaid empire with Cindy Smith.

“The lease took longer than we expected, but we got a really good deal,” said Abrams from landlord Olshan Properties. Talks for the vacant spot began last June, but Abrams refused to discuss terms.

The Amsterdam Avenue Mermaid has long been one of my favorite restaurants in the area. The owners made what Smith called the “very sad” decision to close it last fall due to uncertainty about the owner’s plans for the building.

She said they were already looking for a new location – which sometimes proves to be empty words after a popular venue closes.

The reopening represents a boost to the retail landscape of Columbus Avenue and the winding Upper West Side with many storefronts left vacant.

Neighborhood resident Linda Alexander, a member of Community Board 7, described the mermaid’s return as “fantastic. They have always been one of our best restaurant operators.”

Meanwhile, the first leg of Adams and Smith’s jumbo Mermaid Oyster Bar at 127 W. 43rd St. is underway. , along with Alicart Restaurant Group CEO Jeffrey Bank, is on “takeoff” as more people flock to Broadway and Times Square theaters, Abrams said.

He said the second half of the stadium would open in a few months.