It’s a doggone shame, Gray’s Papaya of Greenwich Village is closed.
The discount hot dog joint dished its last weiner on Tuesday before customers were greeted by locked doors and paper-covered windows on Wednesday.
Gray’s had been at 402 Sixth Ave., at Eighth Street, for 28 years before its lease ended and the hot dog kings couldn’t come up with enough bread to cover a proposed rent hike.
The store had been paying $30,000 a month in rent but couldn’t afford the $40,000 landlords demanded, according Gray’s GM Romy Villanueva.
“They were saying someone wants to give them $50,000 [a month] so there was no way we could beat that,” Villanueva told The Post on Thursday.
Hot dog lovers who showed up Thursday looking for their favorite low-budget meal were shocked to see closed doors.
“I can’t believe it. I’ve been coming here since I was a kid. This is a New York City classic,” said Harry Schwartzman, a 37-year-old bike salesman who lives in the neighborhood.
“I’m sorry to see it go. There are fewer and fewer cheap food places in Manhattan.”
The other Gray’s location, on Broadway and 72nd Street, is safe with five more years left on its lease there, according to Villanueva.
A rep for landlords Solil Management could not be immediately reached for comment on Thursday.
Villanueva said Gray’s relished the chance to open a new store, somewhere in the lower half of Manhattan, to replace the now-dead Sixth Avenue spot.
“We are really sorry to our customers that it worked out like this,” Villanueva said. “We tried to negotiate a new lease, but we couldn’t [agree to a new rent].”
Gray’s is best known for its “Recession Special,” two dogs and a medium drink for $4.95.