Exterior of the former restaurant Florent in the Meatpacking District of Manhattan.

Florent Morellet opened his own restaurant in an old #diner called R&L on Gansevoort Street and kept its original #signage as well as the Formica lunch counter. Florent was open 24/7 for almost 23 years before it closed in 2008 after its rent was raised to more about $30,000 a month. When it first opened in 1985 rent was $1,350 a month. The space still sits empty today. Gentrification and escalating real estate prices have definitely caused many small shops and #restaurant to close in #NYC.