After 99 years as an anchor in Manhattan’s theater district, Sardi’s, the restaurant and watering hole famed for its walls of caricatures of celebrities past and present, from Laurence Olivier to Barbra Streisand to Nicole Scherzinger, is going dark for an extended intermission.
Max Klimavicius, who rose from kitchen expediter to become the sole owner after 33 years, is exiting the stage, selling the Sardi’s name (as well as all kitchen fixtures and more than 1,000 caricatures) to the Shubert Organization, the theater company giant that is also his landlord. Mr. Klimavicius declined to disclose the financial details, though he said the restaurant’s art was appraised in 2020 at $6.9 million.
He will continue to run the business until June 24. Sardi’s will then close for several months for renovations, but not a redesign, Mr. Klimavicius emphasized. He was assured that the walls of celebrity caricatures weren’t going anywhere (other than to temporary storage).
Robert E. Wankel, chairman and C.E.O. of the Shubert Organization, confirmed that the restaurant will keep the name Sardi’s. The dining room will be refurbished and the lighting, ventilation and plumbing upgraded, Mr. Wankel said, adding that the company doesn’t plan to make any major changes to the décor, including to the ubiquitous burgundy banquettes.
“The restaurant has always been important to us,” he said. “I consider it as much a part of the theater district as our theaters, and we want to make sure it stays in business. Obviously, we’re going to have a new restaurateur, so the menu might change a little bit.” He declined to disclose who is taking over the kitchen.
“For me, this wasn’t about the money,” Mr. Klimavicius, 71, said, adding that he had picked the Shuberts over other suitors. “It was about the continuity of this legacy, so important to me. This has been my life. I came here as a young man that didn’t know what Sardi’s was about.”
Though the restaurant was famous for the longevity of its bartenders and waiters (some of whom, like Mr. Klimavicius, stayed for decades), the future for the current staff is uncertain. Any of the current 74 employees who want to return will most likely have to reapply for their jobs, Mr. Klimavicius said.
In 1927, Vincent Sardi Sr. and his wife, Eugenia, founded Sardi’s at 234 West 44th St., in a new 11-story building owned by the Shubert family, which began acquiring New York City theaters and producing shows in the early 1900s. The dining room soon became a Broadway mecca, and it was there that the Tony Awards were dreamed up. When the awards for excellence in theater were first presented in 1947, a special award went to Vincent Sardi Sr. for his service to the theater community.
Vincent Sardi Jr. took over running the restaurant from his father that year. In his biography, “Off the Wall at Sardi’s,” he described it as “a message center, a lovers’ rendezvous, a production office, a casting center and even a psychiatrist’s couch. We serve food, too.”
Mr. Klimavicius came to New York from Colombia and, despite knowing little English, was hired as a kitchen assistant in 1974. He worked his way up over the years, from table captain to maître d’ to management. He became partners with Vincent Sardi Jr. in 1991, calling him his “unofficial adopted father.” When Mr. Sardi Jr. died in 2007, Mr. Klimavicius bought the remaining shares of the business from his widow. Mr. Klimavicius and his wife, Francine, have two adult children, neither of them interested in taking on the mantle.
Cue the Shubert Organization, which owns 17 Broadway theaters, six Off Broadway theaters and Telecharge, a ticketing company and, significantly, the building that Sardi’s is in. “As the landlord, we had been aware that Max has been looking to retire, and therefore we have been involved,” said Mr. Wankel. Sardi’s occupies the first four floors of his company’s building, and they have floors five through 11, meaning he and other Shubert executives frequently take the elevator down for lunch, dinner, drinks or parties.
“I love to sit by the window on the second floor and look at our theaters across the street and the lines down the block,” said Jeff T. Daniel, the president of the Shubert Organization. Right now, that means “Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” at the Broadhurst. The Shubert, opposite the restaurant, is dark, awaiting a new musical, “Galileo,” starring Raúl Esparza and starting previews on Nov. 10.
By that time, a freshened-up Sardi’s should be ready to reopen.
Sardi’s has had its struggles, soldiering through the Great Depression, the city’s fiscal crisis in the 1970s, a bankruptcy and an almost two-year closure during the pandemic. One of the reasons Mr. Klimavicius decided it was time to leave was the restaurant’s rebound. It recently gained luster from Ethan Hawke’s Oscar-nominated turn in “Blue Moon,” a period drama that takes place over an evening at Sardi’s (albeit a replica built in Ireland). Jimmy Fallon further promoted the venue and the movie on his late-night talk show, conducting an interview with Mr. Hawke on a fake Sardi’s set.
“We have never had so much media coverage,” Mr. Klimavicius said. “I’m so happy to leave while I’m on top, feeling like Sardi’s is back.”
On Wednesday, Mr. Klimavicius gathered the nonunion staff to make the announcement. “There was a bit of shock,” said Jeremy Wagner, 51, a Sardi’s bartender. He began in 2000 as a waiter and saw stars there like Kirk Douglas and Patricia Neal. More recently he’s spotted Bobby Cannavale, Rose Byrne, Laurie Metcalf and Kenny Leon.
“There’s some nervousness about what’s going to happen, but it’s probably the best-case scenario,” he said. “I’m seeing it as an opportunity; a hundred-year-old building needs a little touch-up.” He plans to enjoy his summer off and come back in the fall. “I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else,” he added.
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