Life Cafe, New York Eatery Made Famous in Rent, Closes

Life Cafe, the restaurant in Manhattan's East Village neighborhood and a locale featured in the Tony-winning musical Rent, has closed indefinitely.

"After 30 years in business, I am closing Life Cafe East Village this evening 'until further notice,'" the restuarant's owner Kathy Life posted on the cafe's website on September 11. "I’m doing this due to issues around building repairs the landlords were supposedly going to complete one year ago. Until the landlords complete the repairs, I will remain closed. We anticipate a rebirth of Life Cafe sometime in the near future. Thank you for your loyal patronage over the years."

Jonathan Larson, the late composer of Rent, frequented the eatery during his days writing Rent and set much of the musical in the area surrounding the restaurant and neighboring Tompkins Square Park. The musical's rousing Act One finale "La Vie Boheme" takes place in the restaurant, which was located at 343 East 10th Street.

Take a look below at the final performance of "La Vie Boheme" from the original Broadway production's run. Life Cafe will live on at off-Broadway's New World Stages, where the first revival of Rent currently runs.