By Carol Tannenhauser
The mood seemed slightly lighter among local restaurant owners and employees, though several said the next two weeks will tell how they’ll do. Here are five long-standing places that could use our support. Lots more to follow.
Manhattan Diner, fresh and healthy (except for the bacon) American food, 2532 Broadway (95th Street), reopened on Wednesday, May 7th. “We initially closed out of fear for our families and friends and to help flatten the curve,” recalled owner John Tsiamtsiouris. “Now, we’re in a different place and have a much better understanding of the virus and how it spreads. We miss our customers of 30 years, locals, we miss their faces and conversation, we wonder if they’re okay.” Open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day for pickup and delivery. (212) 932-0068
Freddie & Pepper’s, pizza, including whole-wheat & vegan options, 303 Amsterdam Avenue (74th), open as of Monday, May 4th. “We initially closed because we couldn’t find supplies, but restaurant suppliers are working again,” Sebastian, a manager, told us. “Things are running good, people are coming back. It will take a couple of weeks.” They are open for pickup and delivery, every day from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. (212) 799-2378
The Muffins Shop Cafe, breakfast and lunch, baked goods, 222 Columbus Avenue (70th-71st), never closed. Namy, the counter person said, “At first I was scared to be here, but my employers provided us with all the PPE and hand sanitizer we needed. It does make me feel better when customers wear masks. We all wear masks.” PICKUP ONLY, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. M- F; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends. (212) 875-1173.
V & T Pizzeria, thin crust, classic red sauce, comfort, 1024 Amsterdam Avenue (110th-111th) will fully reopen on Friday, May 8th. “We decided a month closed is enough!” said Anthony, whose family has owned the place since 1979. “We closed for precautionary reasons, but now we’ve reordered all our food and we’re ready to go. We expect to be very busy!” Open for pickup and delivery, seven days a week. (212) 663-1708.
El Mitote, classic, casual Mexican, 208 Columbus Avenue (69th), reopened on May 2nd. When we asked Eliceo, the manager why now, he said, “We were closed for 40 days,” as if that explained it. “We’re doing good!” Open Wednesday to Sunday, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. for pickup and delivery. For now, they are only taking orders online: ElMitoteNY.com
El Mitote did quite well on cinco de mayo. There was a crowd of people outside the restaurant awaiting their pickup orders. El Mitote was probably overwhelmed with orders. During my walk I saw other Mexican restaurants with crowds outside on that day (like at nearby Santa Fe).
The employee at the Muffins Shop mentioned that they feel better when customers wear masks. I feel for them because there are a lot of selfish maskless people out there. They should at least don a mask when entering a retail establishment!
Welcome Back V&T. We have been your dedicated customers for over 20 years. Your pizza and eggplant parm are the best! We will be ordering tomorrow eve. XXX
YIPPEE!
FREDDIE & PEPPER’S . . . THE BEST PIZZA IN NY!
Meat Lover’s Pizza; Bacon, Spinach & Tomato; Chicken Ranch . . . the List of Dream Pizza just rolls along!
God Bless!
I recently had the kale and cheese pizza from Fumo. I was stunned by how good it was, and the quality of the ingredients. Priced fairly as well.
Earth Cafe on Broadway and 97th is open. (Not sure if this was already mentioned in the comments of other posts.) Their website (https://earthcafeny.com/) says, “We are open from 9AM – 4PM, Monday- Sunday….We will have limited menu and also wine and beer available for take out and delivery.
Our location will be contact-free and cash-free. Cleanliness and safety will remain our top priority.”
Starbucks on 93rd and Broadway reopened yesterday.
I am a huge Freddie and Pepper’s fan and look forward to going there ASAP but it is impossible to get in and out of there without being on top of several people – I will stick with delivery. Best of luck and welcome back!
Actually it does explain reopening after 40 days. It’s called “cash flow”! Pretty simple to figure that out…
Whoo hoo! So happy about V&T! We have called them so many times to see if they were open again that I was feeling like a stalker:).
I hope that Manhattan Diner does better now than their sister restaurant City Diner(same owners) did even up until the last moment when government forced them to close Even with the pandemic raging City Diner used sick waiters coughing while serving, no masks or gloves not even for the Food preparers in the kitchen!
Who knows how many people got sick from them especially their customer base of the elderly !
Kefi, nice matin, Irving farm, Tessa all opening within this weekend and next week!
Pisticci on LaSalle St has re-opened!!
Now THAT’S some good news!
I got brave and went to order pick up from McDonald’s, after going to get my antibody test. I ordered, the guy putting my bag together was wearing his mask below his nose, leaning over and looking into the bag, exhaling, as he put in the French fries. Grossed me out, I said can I get a new bag, by someone wearing a mask over their nose too. They said no, and I noticed most of the people there were wearing it that way. And no, they won’t give a refund. Jeese. So I just left, no way I’d eat that.
Harvest kitchen has a all day happy hour with margaritas. Had a wonderful salmon dinner delivered in about 20 minutes. Cool!
Cilantro is open again and delivering beers and margaritas.
Is Theo still allowed to sit on the bench in front of Muffin Cafe?
Freddie & Peppers! Yay! Love the whole wheat with spinach and feta cheese.
Isn’t Magnolia cupcakes open also?
Absolutely loved our take out from Arco Cafe the other night. They were using the extra space in the dining room to make fresh pasta that was amazing.
Muffins Cafe is the ROCK!
Lovely owners, amazing coffee, sandwiches and pastries! It’s part of our life here in NYC.