Elaine Kaufman, American restaurateur, founder of Elaine's, died from emphysema and pulmonary hypertension.she was 81

Elaine Edna Kaufman was a restaurateur whose Manhattan restaurant Elaine's attracted a following among prominent actors and other celebrities died from emphysema and pulmonary hypertension.she was 81.^[1]

(February 10, 1929 – December 3, 2010)

Life and career

Kaufman was born in Manhattan on February 10, 1929, and raised in Queens and later the Bronx. After a variety of jobs, including night cosmetician, she started in the restaurant business in 1959, joining Alfredo Viazzi—then her boyfriend—in running his recently-opened Greenwich Village restaurant Portofino.^[1][2] Portofino was frequented by people in the downtown publishing business and Off-Broadway theater.
Four years later, after she and Viazzi split up, she bought a restaurant in the Upper East Side and Elaine's was born. Despite the location—not popular at the time—many customers from Portofino followed her to the new spot. Over the years, Kaufman bought the entire building that housed the restaurant, as well as the building next door. The rental income subsidized the restaurant in lean years. Kaufman was designated a living landmark by the New York Landmarks Conservancy in 2003.

Kaufman died from emphysema and hypertension on December 3, 2010 at Lenox Hill Hospital, aged 81.^[1]

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