Sunburnt Cow’s Goodbye: ‘We Have Eaten, Drunk, Danced and Partied Together For Nearly 11 Years’

Last week, East Village brunch fixture The Sunburnt Cow announced that it was throwing in the towel. “Following the devastation of Hurricane Sandy we are sadly calling it a night,” it wrote on Facebook, announcing that April 27 would be its last bottomless brunch. Last August, when the Cow celebrated its 10th year on Avenue C, owner Heathe St. Clair told us the restaurant had suffered a quarter of a million in damages when it was flooded by Hurricane Sandy. The Aussie outpost was then operating only on weekends, and St. Clair admitted it might never return to normal. Now he’s posted a heartfelt goodbye letter on Facebook.

G’day Everyone,
It is very sad for me to say The Cow is closing!
It took 2 years and 5 attempts in different locations around NYC to open. The weekend after we did finally open was the blackout of 2003. We made the best of it with candles an outside BBQ, local musicians played and of course we had ice cold beer. Looking back we really couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to the neighborhood.
The Cow has been a gigantic part of my life and a dream come true. She has taught me so may things, introduced me to more people than I can remember. She’s been integral in so many coming together and finding love, some lasting, some fleeting but love none the less.
She played music that made you dance in a time the law said “NO” Somehow we got away with it when so many got caught. We brunched better than any and probably still do! I remember back then so many of my restaurant friends asking me how I thought I was going to make money from the “Endless Brunch”. Now it seems every restaurant in NYC is offering bottomless brunch. I have to shout out Stingy Lulu’s who I stole the idea from.
We have eaten, drunk , danced and partied together for nearly 11 years. To this I owe my amazing staff, who always brought an A game, some Aussie swagger and a smile. And to you the people who have come to gather week after week in what was never really more than a beat up old room with a bar. No matter how hard I tried to polish her up, and try I did. After a weekend with you lot traipsing through her she looked exactly the same come Monday morning.
As they say “All Good Things Must Come To An End” so be it!
I am going to be posting some funny photos of parties from the years and would love to see yours. Feel free to contribute stories, photos etc.
We are brining back as many of the old DJ’s over the next few weeks and extending brunch for another seating on Saturdays and Sundays. So hopefully as many of you who want to kiss Bessie The Sunburnt Cow goodbye can.
My biggest thanks to you all for helping this ride to be one of the best of my life!
Cheers
Heathe St Clair