Candela Candela officially closed in January, but owners Shai Zvibak and Marchello Assante aren’t giving up the valuable spot on Second Avenue. Instead, they’re opening up an organic pizza spot in its place called Organika, said EV Local. Reportedly it will open in the next few weeks.
Bonchon on John Street, known for its fried chicken, suffered a fire in December and has since been closed. Its website, Facebook, and Twitter accounts haven’t been updated since the original announcement, which said, “Bonchon on John will be temporarily closed due to a fire incident on 12/8/12.” Almost two months later, no one answers the phone or has responded to email or worried Facebook commenters.
Earlier this week, the owners of Dumbo’s Governor announced they would not reopen after months of being closed due to Hurricane Sandy destruction. Eater reported that all the money raised through crowdfunding and private fundraisers would be returned.
Kasadela, the Japanese spot on 11th Street, will also not be returning to Alphabet City following Hurricane Sandy’s wrath, though they raised $16,000 through crowdsourcing on GoFundMe. This morning we caught up with owner Azuki Yamashita, who said, “Insurance couldn’t help us. No one could help us. The landlord kicked us out.” The $16,000 was not enough, and Yamashita said she was working on a way to make refunds and is going to look into selling her dishes online. It its place EV Grieve found a clothing boutique, which will allegedly stay put just for New York Fashion Week.