Elaine Kaufman Of Famous NYC Restaurant Elaine’s Dead At 81

Elaine Kaufman—the popular restauranteur responsible for Elaine’s, a famous haunt of Manhattan’s boldface names—died today at 81. The New York Daily News reports that she passed away at a local hospital; she’d struggled with various ailments for half a decade. Her restaurant was a favorite for notable personalities like Jackie Onassis, Woody Allen, Norman Mailer, and Frank Sinatra. This, in turn, made Elaine and her restaurant New York institutions. “At my place, anything can happen,” she once said. “I love that.”

The NYDN has more on the story, including some of the interesting hijinks that Elaine’s restaurant has seen over the decades.

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