There’s some big news for Grand Street on the upcoming agenda for Community Board 3’s liquor licensing subcommittee. Among the applications for the August meeting are two new establishments moving into the commercial strip owned by Seward Park Co-op: Comfort Diner, which is now under construction at 399 Grand St., and an as-yet-undisclosed business taking over the Shalom Chai pizzeria space just to the west, at 357-359 Grand St.
As we reported in detail earlier this month, Comfort Diner plans to open by Labor Day on the block between Essex and Clinton streets. Owner Ira Freehof’s plans for the former Noah’s Ark deli space include a bar area in the rear and a sidewalk cafe out front. The homestyle restaurant wants to serve beer, wine and hard liquor.
The second application on the block (PDF), which offers very little detail, comes just six weeks after the co-op succeeded in evicting Shalom Chai pizza from the double storefront at 357-359 Grand St. A lengthy legal battle over unpaid rent and utility arrears ended with the landlord taking possession of the space in mid-June; general manager Frank Durant told The Lo-Down at the time that the space would be marketed immediately. The new applicant, who is not identified, is proposing to offer beer, wine and liquor in a restaurant setting that includes an outdoor garden space, according to paperwork filed by an attorney on June 27.
We’ve reached out to Seward Park officials for details on the new tenant and will let you know when we have more information.
The Community Board 3 committee agenda also includes a few other items of note. 99 Favor Taste, the Korean-style barbecue and Chinese hot-pot joint that opened at 285 Grand St. in March, is seeking a wine and beer license. Via Tribunali, the Neapolitan pizzeria at 122 Ludlow St., is seeking permission to remove its bar, add more tables and extend its hours until 4 a.m. Nuevo, a new Latin restaurant planned for 112 Stanton St., is back on the agenda after being scratched last month. The two new hotels at 163 and 180 Orchard St. are also scheduled to come before the board.
The meeting takes place Aug. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at CB3 headquarters, 59 E. Fourth St.; see the entire agenda here.
UPDATE, Aug. 5: The 357-359 Grand St. applicant, going by the corporate name Bonhomie LLC, has submitted its questionnaire to Community Board 3 (PDF), providing a few more details about the proposed restaurant, which will serve Spanish food. It apparently will have about a dozen tables inside and three to five tables outside, with a total capacity of 74 patrons. Proposed hours are Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to midnight, Friday 8 a.m. to 1 a.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. The individual principals behind the project, as well as a proposed menu and other details, are being kept under close wraps.
Where is this ‘outdoor garden space’?
There is a space in the back. I think the Pizza place once used it. They’d have to evict the rats first I’d think.