"Longstanding Italian seafood restaurant Esca is closing its doors permanently, according to an announcement from ownership. “We have been put in an almost impossible situation,” owners Victor Rallo and Dave Pasternack wrote in a post on Instagram. “With the future still uncertain, we have no choice but to end Esca’s illustrious run on 43rd Street.” Midtown restaurants like Esca have been hit particularly hard during the pandemic due to loss of tourism and the shutdown of Broadway theaters. Rallo and Pasternack noted that they hope to reopen in the future “elsewhere in New York City.”" - Luke Fortney