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RESTAURANT OPENINGS, CLOSURES & UPDATES:
MANHATTAN
This will be the second location of Pita Grill to go kosher, the first being in Midtown on 2nd Avenue and 57th Street. Last week, Pita Grill on Amsterdam Avenue and 110th brought in a team to kasher the entire restaurant. Click here to view live video of the kashering process. This Pita Grill location is now fully glatt kosher under the supervision of the OU. There are approximately 40 seats available in the spacious Upper West Side restaurant. Pita Grill has been around since 1993 and now that they have started kashering their restaurants one by one, we hope that more of their locations will follow suit. Pita Grill UWS is located at 1028 Amsterdam Avenue in NYC.
It's been over a year since Milk n' Honey Downtown announced that they will be open. Here at GKR we recently got an update that things are moving in the right direction and that they should be opening in another few months. Milk 'N Honey Downtown will be located at 160 Broadway. In addition, the Milk n Honey Midtown location on 45th Street, off 5th Avenue has now been undergoing some renovations and they will be closed for the next few weeks. They will, however, be available for catering with a 24 hour notice, so offices can still order from their company by calling (212) 764-4400.
BROOKLYN
The two highly anticipated ventures by Basil Pizza & Wine Bar owner, David Branover, are finally taking shape. Great Kosher Restaurants got the inside scoop from Branover that his bakery/marketplace aptly named Bakerie will be on track for an October opening. After some city permit issues and red tape, "Meat" is going ahead with construction and is set to open in the beginning of 2017. Stay tuned for more updates and information on these exciting openings. Bakerie is located at 252 Albany Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
Just in time for Fall, Brooklyn Delight, the American-Chinese fusion restaurant on Coney Island Avenue has reopened. After months of working on a gas leak issue, Brooklyn Delight finally passed their inspection and officially re-opened yesterday. Many people gave up hope, but the restaurant made sure to pull their way through! Look out for new lunch and dinner specials coming your way soon. Brooklyn Delight is located at 1636 Coney Island Avenue in, where else?, Brooklyn, NY.
The small stand alone vegetarian/pareve falafel restaurant Kingston Falafel has opened last week making Kingston Avenue in Crown Heights the ultimate foodie destination. Although the restaurant is quite small with just 15 seats, they are offering a great lunch special including salad bar options with all of their sandwiches plus takeout and delivery. Owner Meir Adika, who has had previous experience in the restaurant business, is now focusing on making homemade falafel, salads, and more Israeli specialties using the freshest of ingredients. The restaurant is also serving fresh juices, salads and fish and chips. Kingston Falafel is located at 250 Kingston Avenue in Brooklyn and is under CHK supervision. h/t ColLive
We first told you about the restaurant over a month ago, but they are now open and ready for customers. The restaurant has as larger than life menu featuring raw fish options like Tartare and Sashimi, a ton of different special rolls, classic sushi options as well as Steaks and Skewers. Mention that you are a part of the GKR Foodies Group and receive a free Vegetable Roll with your order. Kyoto is located at 547 Kings Highway in Brooklyn, NY.
On Wednesday, September 7th, Lait Café in Downtown Brooklyn, auctioned off all of their equipment such as Mixers, Pizza Ovens, Deep Fryers, and Furniture. The cafe was only open a few months before being sold off. The location of the cafe in Downtown Brooklyn was good for kosher diners going to jury duty and touring around the DUMBO area of Brooklyn but it's possible that there were not enough regulars to sustain the business. No word yet on whether the place has been taken over by someone looking to reopen as kosher.
MONSEY
A new sign for Spice and Slice has come up in the former Mitbach restaurant space. The Mitbach was a short lived chef table concept restaurant, perhaps too early for their time in Monsey. Slice & Spice is describing themselves as "Out of the Box" which hopefully means that they will have a unique selection of pizzas, among other dishes. There is no opening date as of yet but stay tuned to the Great Kosher Restaurant Foodies Group for more information. Slice & Spice will be located at 306 East Saddle River Road in Airmont, NY. h/t Rivka Tuttle
NEW JERSEY
The Juice Theory on the Jersey Shore has been open for a few years now selling their cold pressed juices and small vegan items. Recently they expanded to a larger store on Brighton Avenue in the West End area of Long Branch. The store sells juices, smoothies, sandwiches, salads, vegan desserts, snacks and more. Popular items include their Acai Bowls and Make Your Own Salads with choice of proteins. They are mainly focused on breakfast and lunch but on Mondays nights they offer a prix fixe dinner option. The Juice Theory is located at 87 Brighton Avenue and is now under supervision of the JSOR.
PENNSYLVANIA
David Magerman, the owner of C&R Kitchen, Six Points Catering and The Dairy has come out with a major update regarding all three, plus a few new ventures.
-C&R Kitchen will be closing as of September 12th for 4-6 months to make way for The Dairy Cafe & The Dairy Express.
-The Dairy Cafe will be going under new management. Both 'Dairy' restaurants will be located in the former C&R space. The Dairy Express will be a place for a quick slice of pizza and baked goods, while The Dairy Cafe will have more ambiance and selection.
-Six Points Kosher Events and Catering will no longer be in operation.
-C&R Tavern and Market will be opening soon in the completely updated New Tavern Restaurant space. It will be a place for casual meals, lounging and will even have an additional private party room for 50-75 people. The Market part of C&R Tavern and Market is set to have it's own entrance with curated kosher products.
Eighteen Restaurant Soft Opening in Squirrel Hill (Pittsburgh)
In the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, a new restaurant called Eighteen has opened up. They are currently in a soft opening phase. The restaurant is the brainchild of Brad Perelman who decided he would rather open a new kosher restaurant than retire. Eighteen Restaurant, which is an extension of Pinsker's Judaica, will be serving a large selection of foods from sushi to ice cream and everything in between. However, their specialty items like hummus and shakshuka have been inspired by Chef Michael Solomonov, who gave Perelman his blessing to use the recipes. h/t Pittsburgh Post Gazette
CHICAGO
We have all been waiting patiently for this new Chicago Argentinian Steakhouse to open and it finally has. I flew up to Chicago to launch the grand opening on Thursday, September 1st and the restaurant is serving up big portions with even bigger flavor and great service. Great Kosher Restaurant Foodies got a sneak peak at the menu and even got to taste it a day before the public. Evita Grill is located at 6112 North Lincoln Avenue in Chicago., IL. So far we've seen and heard only great things about Evita but don't take our word for it, click here to make your reservations today.
FLORIDA
Located in the new Braman Miller Center, home of the University of Miami Hillel, U Krave Cafe is now open. The cafe features a distinctly unique, healthy menu with some guilty pleasures thrown in for good measure. After all it wouldn't be called 'U Krave' if they didn't serve some of the foods we all crave! On the menu you will find healthy grain bowls, smoothies and fresh salads alongside Smoked Pulled Brisket and Philly "Cheese" Steak Sandwiches plus a variety of Poutine options. U Krave Cafe is located at 1100 Stanford Drive in Coral Gables.
MASSACHUSETS
In the Kosher world when one restaurant closes, another opens and so the cycle continues. The famous Rubin's Deli closed down in Brookline a few weeks ago after almost 90 years in operation but Brookline residents shouldn't stay sad for too long as Vittorio's will be reopening. The original Vittorio's Kosher Pizzeria shut down about 13 years ago. Owner, Vittorio Hassan, will be reopening the restaurant in the same location. It is still unclear how there will be a kosher grill and pizzeria in the same location but stay tuned for more updates. Vittorio's is located at 1398 Beacon Street in Brookline, MA. h/t Boston Eater
ISRAEL
If you've ever been to Israel, you've seen a Cofix. They are set up to resemble a subway cart of sorts and sell very cheap but delicious coffee and small breakfast items, drinks and pastries. All items in the store cost just 5 Shekels. The owner of Cofix realized that the chain was not serving to the Haredi community and thus some stores in ultra-religious neighborhoods were struggling and one recently closed down. The new strictly kosher Mehadrin Cofix locations will be re-branded as 'Cofix in the City'. There will be about 20 locations coming up in Jerusalem and it's surrounding neighborhoods. h/t JPost.com
FILED UNDER: NEWS
