Despite Recent Renovations, Century-Old Caffe Dante Will Close, Change Owners

Caffe Dante, the Greenwich Village staple that, this past summer, gamely faced the challenge of a doubled rent by renovating and expanding its menu, is scheduled to close within the next several days, according to the Vanishing New York blog.

The café, which first opened in 1915, belonged in the Flotta family for the last 40 years. Its authentic Italian pastries, gelato, and espresso have remained constant even as the neighborhood's landscape changed drastically.

Caffe Dante's cannoli was named by celebrity chef and Food Network personality Alex Guarnaschelli as one of the best things she ever ate.

However, the café struggled to face a rent increase of 100 percent in 2013, and it is speculated that the current iteration of Caffe Dante could be gone within the next ten days.

An anonymous tipster told Vanishing New York that the buyers are likely "a group of Australians" who plan to keep the Caffe Dante name, "not out of respect to this great business, but so they can keep the existing licenses."