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Just weeks after Maz Mezcal announced it would be leaving its longtime East 86th Street location, the Upper East Side has rallied behind the beloved restaurant — this time with a GoFundMe campaign aimed at helping the Silva family fund their move and continue serving customers.
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The fundraiser, created earlier this month, is nearing its initial goal of $35,000. It was organized by two lifelong supporters of the restaurant, Kaena Clark and Marc Berman, who describe Maz Mezcal as a place that has shaped not just meals, but milestones.In their campaign message, they write that “Over decades, the Silva family have built Maz Mezcal into an Upper East Side institution – welcoming diners, donating to local schools, providing food during the Covid crisis, and supporting their community in every way.” They go on to call the restaurant a pillar of Yorkville life where “traditions are established and continued year over year with warmth and love.”
The fundraiser includes personal anecdotes that underscore just how deeply embedded Maz Mezcal is in neighborhood life. One example: the organizers share that their son’s first birthday was held in the restaurant’s back room — and that on his recent return home from college, he went directly from the train station to Maz Mezcal, where owner Maria Silva greeted him “with open arms, a hug, and a fresh plate of Nachos Combinados.”
Maz Mezcal announced on November 3 that it would serve its final meal at 316 East 86th Street on November 8. The family cited a dramatic rent increase and new demands from the building’s recently changed management as the reason they could not renew their lease. According to Conor, the restaurant’s manager and the son-in-law of owner Mary Silva, the landlord sought roughly $10,000 more per month than the restaurant had been paying, along with a personal guarantee and an interest in finding a national corporate tenant for the space.
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Despite the move, the Silvas made it clear they were not closing — only relocating. “Our next chapter is beginning — we’re moving (new address coming soon),” they wrote at the time. “Still here, still home, always family.”The GoFundMe organizers say the goal is to help the restaurant secure and build out that new space and support the employees who have been with the family for generations. “Let’s show the Maz Mezcal family just how big their village is – every little bit helps!,” the fundraiser reads. “Every little bit helps.”
Here’s the GoFundMe campaign.
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