In this series for T, the author Reggie Nadelson revisits New York institutions that have defined cool for decades, from time-honored restaurants to unsung dives.

Seven years ago this fall, when Superstorm Sandy hit New York and there was no power downtown, SoHo was deserted, dark and cold. At Fanelli’s, the neighborhood cafe, though, there were candles on the bar, plenty of booze and, for as long as it lasted, food. Most important, there was company and conversation. “I was here the whole time,” says Sasha Noe, Fanelli’s owner. “Where else could I be?”

At 52, Noe, who can often be found at 6 in the morning making repairs, is hanging on to the place with determination. Born a couple of blocks away, he lives with his wife and three children in the loft on LaGuardia Place where he grew up. His father, Hans Noe, an architect, bought the building where Fanelli’s occupies the ground floor in 1982. An artist and sculptor, Sasha bussed tables and tended bar during high school. After he graduated from Bard, he came home.