The Huffington Post
January 6, 2012
A local New York restaurant that saw business drop off as Occupy Wall Street protests erupted nearby has finally shut its doors — and will be taken over by the ultimate 1 Percenter, Donald Trump.
The real-estate magnate, who owns the building at 40 Wall Street, where Milk Street Cafe was located, has retained the restaurant hall for “penny’s on the dollar,” according to a source close to the deal, and will turn the all-kosher cafe into a Trump Street Bar & Grille.
In early November, Marc Epstein, owner of Milk Street, which had moved into the space in June, claimed that metal barricades police had erected in response to the nearby Occupy Wall Street protests were impeding access to his cafe’s front door. Amid slumping sales, Epstein was forced to lay off 21 of the restaurant’s 120 workers. Though police ultimately removed the barricades in front of the cafe, the barricades on the street remained, creating a “siege mentality” that continued to hurt foot traffic, Epstein said.
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