What's Up With El Sitio Borinquen?

El Sitio Borinquen seems to be stuck in time. Every time I walk by the Puerto Rican restaurant, on Fifth Avenue near Third Street, it looks quite inviting, with its offbeat charm and tables all set and ready to go, but I've simply never seen the place open.

Unlike other closed restaurants, though, they make no effort to let people know that it's no longer in business. It looks like it could re-open at any time. They were open once upon a time, long enough to rack up a handful of scathing Yelp reviews (and a few suspiciously complimentary ones), but that doesn't seem to be the case any more, especially now that the phone line's been disconnected.

I'm going to go ahead and declare this place closed for good.

Comments

[Pilar]

It's something with that spot. Before Borinquen opened there was a nice looking cafe there for years and IT was never open, I only saw it open a handful of times before it quietly faded away. Its just an odd spot

[Felton]

I don't know. I live right around the corner and I would say that they're still open. They just sure don't EVER have any customers. On the weekends I've seen what looks like the owner and a few friends just hanging around at the bar. They used to advertise specials on a chalkboard out front (some pretty comical ones, too), not that long ago. I just have no idea how they could keep the doors open. My assumption was that they owned the building, because they must have been hemorrhaging money.

[ParkPlace]

I thought it looked inviting as well when it first opened, but then there was NEVER anyone there and I just became more wary of ever going in there.

Surprised the place has even been open that long.

[Dave]

The only reason this place is open is because the owner also owns the building. She is your typical slumlord, running various scams on renters that fall into her crazy crazy world.

The Yelp reviews are amazing. I live around the corner and have never seen any food being delivered....never. I have seen the owner bringing in ingredients from the grocery store on 5th and 7th street.

Another fact that is surely a health hazard is that she is letting one of the neighborhood homeless dudes (He hangs outside 5th and 5th bodega and usually can be seen staring into Bagel World watching TV) sleep in the basement underneath the restaurant. I've seen the poor guy emerging from the grates on a few winter mornings.

HPS should try and interview her --- she's usually sitting in the restaurant with a foul look on her face.