He had to wait more than three hours while other applications were heard, but when chef Danny Bowien finally got his turn last night, Community Board 3’s SLA Committee quickly signed off on his plans to reopen Mission Chinese at 171 East Broadway. The full board will make it official later this month.
Bowien is moving his celebrated creative Chinese restaurant to the space occupied by Rosette until it closed this past weekend. He was driven from the original Orchard Street outpost by rodents and a landlord dispute. In accordance with an agreement with SPaCE, the local block association, Mission Chinese will be open from noon to midnight during the first par of the week and noon to 1 a.m. Thursday-Saturday. The restaurant will have a full bar. After six months, Bowien and partner Andrew Yang will be able to request a 2 a.m. closing from the community board. They agreed to close their windows each night at 10 p.m.
Bowien says he does not expect crowds to be waiting on the street – as was the case at the smaller Orchard Street location – because the new spot is so much larger. He also noted that 169 Bar is right next door, so people waiting for a table have a place to go. Mission Chinese is not expected to change the interior of Rosette dramatically. Bowien appears to be aiming for a fast opening.
The chef also operates Mission Cantina at 172 Orchard. The board rejected his appeal for a full liquor license there, so he only has a beer and wine permit.
Bowien’s a good dude, but I’m kind of worried that this “celebrity chef”bullshit is going to ruin the crowd at 169… that spot is dope.