Saturday, a spokesman informed that as of January 12, the Italian-themed Rainbow Grill restaurant would be closing its doors, citing economic reasons.

New York’s Rainbow Room, the upscale restaurant and nightclub on the sixty-fifth floor of the GE Building in Rockefeller Center, Midtown Manhattan, having hosted numerous special events throughout time, has become iconic to the city, which renders the decision to close it a hard one to make, stated Ben Branham, a spokesman for the Cipriani company that operates the restaurant.

Branham also said that it was unclear for how long the Rainbow Grill would remain shut down, adding that pulling the plug on the restaurant would result in 30 to 40 of the Rainbow Room’s 120 workers losing their jobs.

The Rainbow Room opened on October 3, 1934, during the Great Depression, and it has stood as a symbol of elegance ever since, also calling forth New York City’s charm and coming to be considered the main destination for special events.

Beginning 1998, the Cipriani family, which runs several other restaurants in the city, along with Harry’s Bar in Venice, has managed the Rainbow Room, after the Rockefeller family passed the operations to them.

Back in August, the Ciprianis asked the city Landmarks Preservation Commission to grant the  Rainbow Room landmark status, while they were negotiating the lease terms with the landlord. According the family, the latter, Tishman Speyer, has had the venue appraised as office space worth an annual  $8.7 million in rent, which translates as a double amount as the present rate.