When Alleva Dairy, the oldest cheese shop in the U.S., was forced to close its Little Italy location after 130 years, New Yorkers were outraged. The legendary shop had all but defined its corner of Mulberry and Grand Streets, and its loss was mourned both in person and online, with many frustrated by the financial struggles and court battles the business had faced.
This winter, things are about to get hot in Williamsburg. The team behind the beloved and famously spicy Ugly Baby has signed a lease at 364 Grand Street, as initially reported by the Instagram account Yes Williamsburg, before chef Sirichai Sreparplarn's business partner, Som Kharazmi, confirmed the news to Grub Street. The Ugly Baby team will move into the former Emmy Squared space between Havemeyer Street and Marcy Avenue, with Kharazmi saying that while there is no official opening date set, "February seems likely."
A 41-year-old Cambridge sushi icon has lived several lives, tucked into a strip mall between Harvard and Central Squares, and a new one is about to begin. Cafe Sushi's dining room, closed since the early days of COVID, reopens December 3, marking another evolution for a business whose second-generation ownership transformed it from a dollar-sushi staple to a neighborhood omakase favorite, always behind the familiar glow of its neon signage.
Danny Meyer's shuttered Maialino is finally coming back. After closing back at the beginning of the pandemic and a 10-month wine bar pop-up stint, the Roman restaurant is reopening in Gramercy Park at 67 Irving Place, near East 18th Street, in 2027. Maialino opened under Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group in 2009 inside the Gramercy Park Hotel, becoming known for its ricotta pancakes and cacio e pepe.
The wait is over. Gold Mirror, the 56-year-old family-owned Italian restaurant out in the Sunset that has been closed since early 2024, is reopening at the corner of Taraval Street and 18th Avenue. The DiGrande family, which has owned the restaurant since 1969, is celebrating with two days of invitation-only parties for city politicos including the mayor, family, friends and neighbors, starting Saturday at 5 p.m. It will be open to the public next Wednesday.
The stromboli at Tony DiMaggio's Pizza on Monterey Road is a real San Jose gem. So it was heartbreaking - and hunger-inducing - when the restaurant was shut down for nearly a year for repairs following a devastating roof fire in July 2024. Fans checked in on the progress regularly on social media, noticing when the new sign when up last May and hoping for good news.
The stromboli at Tony DiMaggio's Pizza on Monterey Road is a real San Jose gem. So it was heartbreaking and hunger-inducing when the restaurant was shut down for nearly a year for repairs following a devastating roof fire in July 2024. Fans checked in on the progress regularly on social media, noticing when the new sign when up last May and hoping for good news. That came in June of this year when Tony DiMaggio's reopened its doors exactly 11 months after the fire.
The long-awaited reopening of what's now Stephen Starr's Babbo is one of the hottest reservations in town, a caldron of buzz for more reasons than one. Starr hired Mark Ladner, Mario Batali's former right hand, who started at sibling spot Lupa (that Starr also purchased) and rose the ranks to lead the kitchen at what became the Michelin-starred Del Posto. But Babbo also has ghosts to contend with: Batali exited the company in 2017 after a sexual harassment scandal. Now, outside its soon-to-open doors, Scabby the Union Rat and protestors hold "BOYCOTT BABBO" signs.
She says one of her goals in restoring the space at 15.5 N. Santa Cruz Ave. was to give the community a cozy, relaxed place to meet friends and bond with neighbors. From the convivial bar to the cozy dining room and the even cozier high-end private whiskey and tequila lounge with its own speakeasy to the lively game lounge, plus TVs for sports fans, this place has it all, including an outdoor patio and a private dining room for celebrations.
Original Joe's is set to reopen again in Walnut Creek on Wednesday, nearly seven weeks after its big, splashy arrival on this city's dining scene was cut short by a late-night kitchen fire. A spokesperson for the legendary Italian American restaurant confirmed that it would re-open its Broadway Plaza location on Wednesday, though more details were not available Monday afternoon. A staff person at the restaurant said it had begun taking reservations on a limited basis and would have a soft opening on Wednesday.
The reopening of Cap't Cass Rock Harbor Seafood in Orleans has brought joy to the community, as patrons share their cherished summer memories in a guest book filled with stories.
