Longtime NYC staple Barzini’s to be evicted after falling over $1M behind on rent: ‘I’m in tears’

They’re nearing their expiration date.

An Upper West Side grocery store that defied orders to shut down over stomach-turning health violations last year is being evicted after falling more than $1 million behind on rent, records show.

Barzini’s — plastered with liquidation signs for weeks — will be booted from its Broadway space next week after owners ignored an initial June deadline to vacate the premises, Joseph Cervini, an attorney representing the landlord, told The Post.

Barzini’s has been an Upper West Side staple since 1983. Michael Nigro for NY Post

“This is not a situation where the landlord wanted this tenant to leave,” Cervini said.

“As a matter of fact, the landlord waived a million dollars in back rent for this tenant and did everything in its power to try to work through this. It’s just the tenant wasn’t able to pay. And that’s a significant amount of money.”

The shop is already listed as “available immediately” with the option to split the 3,600-square-foot “prime” space between up to three tenants.

The closure comes after a year of legal back-and-forth between the tenant and landlord — but it came as a shock to customers who had been patronizing the market since it opened in 1983.

“My mother sent me here for olive oil and imported pasta and the San Marzano tomatoes when I was a kid. I still come here for mozzarella, the pecorino,” said Anthony Carbone, 54.

“Just like that, a neighborhood institution down the drain,” said Miriam Rosen. Michael Nigro for NY Post

“I’m really going to miss this place. You can’t replace this kind of history with any supermarket. It just disappears, and a part of your life is gone.”

Miriam Rosen, 68, said the shutdown was “heartbreaking.”

“I only just heard today and I’m in tears,” Rosen added. “Just like that, a neighborhood institution down the drain. I know it happens all the time, but this one really hurts. It’s part of the character of the city, the soul of the city, know what I mean?”

The grocery has not paid its rent in months, according to court documents. Michael Nigro for NY Post

But the market has struggled through financial woes for more than a year, according to court documents.

The owners behind Barzini’s started defaulting on their $56,000 monthly rent in February 2025 — just weeks after the market defiantly continued operating despite state inspectors shuttin it down over nauseating health code violations.

Inspections found rats — both dead and alive — crawling throughout the shop and beetles living in grain — and noted that Barzini’s was hawking 7-year-old expired cheese.

Shop manager Parviz Abde told The Post at the time that Barzini’s had never once scaled back on its 24/7 service and wouldn’t start because of a court order.

“It’s been open for so long and maybe we’ve neglected it a bit, but we are hoping to fix it up,” he assured.

Abde did not respond to requests for comment about the eviction.

A lawyer listed for the grocer also did not immediately return The Post’s request for comment.

Barzini’s was nearly evacuated last summer for failure to pay rent, but claims by the market that the landlords failed to correct undisclosed “hazardous conditions” at the property extended the court battle.

The owners altogether stopped paying rent in March.

Owners of the market can be evicted starting Aug. 31. Michael Nigro for NY Post

They finally agreed to vacate the property on June 29 — but instead filed for bankruptcy, that day, in a last-ditch effort at a stay of execution.

A judge ultimately permitted the eviction, however, which was handed to Barzini’s on Aug. 14. The eviction notice states that the first day they can legally be tossed from the premises is Aug. 31.

“Everything must go!” signs suddenly popped up throughout the shop earlier this month, but employees adamantly told the West Side Rag that it was not an indication that Barzini’s was closing, claiming it was because the market had “too much inventory.”

Employees are still refusing to confirm when their final day will be.

Barzini’s has been a staple on Broadway between West 90th and 91st streets since it opened in 1983.

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