Former Lennon hangout closing its doors.

February 22, 2008

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A coffee shop once frequented by John Lennon and Yoko Ono is closing its doors Sunday, more than 30 years after it began attracting customers in the heart of New York's Upper West Side.

Cafe La Fortuna was opened in 1976 by Vincent Urwand, his wife, Alice, and her sister.

The city was in the midst of its bicentennial, and the cafe, on 71st Street between Columbus and Central Park West, quickly became a hangout for dancers, actors and musicians from nearby Lincoln Center.

"The first years of the cafe were the most exciting," said Urwand, now 80. "Those first years were lots of good times. It was a very hot neighborhood to be in."

Lennon and Ono frequented the cafe in its first years.

"John used to sit with me until Yoko came in," Urwand said. "He liked the place because no one bothered him. It was a very homey kind of place, and that was what he was looking for."

Lennon favored a table at the front as well as the back garden. When Sean was born, Lennon brought him into the cafe as well.

Urwand and his wife retired when they reached 75, passing the cafe on to close family friend Michael Trapani.

Alice Urwand died in January. Urwand said the cafe was really his wife's passion: "I've been in the place 35 years, and I still don't know how to make a cup of cappuccino."

A rent increase also factored into the decision to close, Urwand said.

"A lot of customers are devastated," said Trapani, "and we feel very sad. But we are looking to go through the process and clear our thoughts."

Customer David Wells said he has been coming to La Fortuna since 1981.

"It's not like any place else," said Wells. "There's a lot more room, both physically and emotionally. This can't be replaced."