"We're simply growing and adding something new!" That was Caffe Buon Gusto's reply on Instagram in September. A new sign had gone up at 1589 Second Avenue, and people were asking whether the longtime Italian restaurant was leaving its East 77th Street home. It isn't. Owner Nando Ghorchian is turning the space into a second Caffe Buon Gusto. Until the end of August it was his other restaurant, Osteria Nando. The new location will be a bar-and-grill with a sports-bar focus, built around a bar much larger than the one on 77th Street.
On its own, that's a small change. Look at the whole stretch, though. Between East 80th and 83rd Streets, Second Avenue lost four food businesses between early August and the first days of October. Three of those spaces now have announced tenants or plans, and none of them is a traditional sit-down dinner restaurant. Over the same weeks, the neighborhood's new sit-down restaurants opened one avenue east, on First Avenue.
Four Storefronts, Four Blocks
Walking north from East 80th Street, here is what changed and what's planned next.
- 1543 Second Avenue, between 80th and 81st. Chip City closed this shop along with every other location in the chain. East Side Feed reported the stores were set to close at the end of business on Thursday, October 1. No replacement tenant has been reported.
- 1556 Second Avenue, between 80th and 81st. Adria, the coastal Italian restaurant, closed in mid-September after about two years. It had replaced Gray Hawk Grill in 2024. Chef and co-owner Endri Qalliu told East Side Feed that Bluestone Lane is taking over the space.
- 1584 Second Avenue, at 82nd. Sushi Ren closed in early August after about a decade, when it lost its lease. Eater reported it might reopen a few blocks away, but no new address has been reported.
- 1589 Second Avenue, between 82nd and 83rd. Osteria Nando, a six-year-old bistro known for dishes like steak au poivre and French onion soup, closed in late August. The space is becoming the second Caffe Buon Gusto.
Two of these closings were set off by outside events: a lost lease and a chain that closed everywhere at once. The pattern shows up in what's replacing them.
The New Tenants Keep Different Hours
Bluestone Lane is an Australian-inspired coffee chain. On the Upper East Side it already runs a café at 1085 Fifth Avenue, at the Church of the Heavenly Rest. The menu there is built around all-day "brekkie": the Avocado Smash, thick-cut toast with Vegemite, and the flat white. East Side Feed says it isn't yet clear whether the Second Avenue location will have the same menu, and there's no opening date. So a space that served coastal Italian dinners will soon sell flat whites.
Bread Ahead is the biggest arrival on the stretch. The bakery started in London's Borough Market in 2013 selling just sourdough, brownies and amaretti biscuits. Its first U.S. location will fill 1571–1572 Second Avenue at East 82nd Street, almost directly across from Sushi Ren's former space. The flagship will combine a full bakery with the brand's baking school. The expected draw is the crème brûlée doughnut, filled with vanilla crème pâtissière and topped with torched sugar. According to the bakery, its U.K. shops sell up to 6,000 doughnuts a day, as many as 2,000 of them crème brûlée.
You can already book New York classes in doughnuts, sourdough, croissants, bagels, pizza and holiday baking. Most are three-hour workshops priced at $150. Bread Ahead says it will open sometime in November but hasn't named a date. Few storefronts on this block have offered classes alongside the bakery case.
Caffe Buon Gusto is still planning a full kitchen. Ghorchian, who told What Now he has worked in restaurants for 38 years, plans to keep house staples like homemade pasta with truffle sauce. He's adding more grilled dishes, including steaks, burgers, short rib, sea bass and salmon, plus vegetarian and vegan options. He described the idea as more relaxed than the neighborhood's existing sports bars. The restaurant says it will open "very soon."
All three are plans, not open businesses. As of October 4, none of the three has confirmed an opening. Two other storefronts on the stretch are also unresolved. Adria may come back. "We are currently exploring opportunities to relocate Adria within the neighborhood and hope to have more to share in the future," Qalliu said, adding that there was no timeline yet. And Chip City's corner of the 80–81 block is still waiting for a tenant.
The Sit-Down Openings Went One Avenue East
While these spaces turned over, three restaurants opened on First Avenue within about ten blocks of each other.
- La Collina, 1431 First Avenue between East 74th and 75th Streets, opened Tuesday, August 18. It's an Italian restaurant, bar and pizzeria from Adrian Kercuku, the chef at da Adriano.
- Ob Uan, 1479 First Avenue at East 77th Street, opened the week of September 23 in the former Spice space. The Thai menu features regional specials, including khao soy gai from the north and gaeng pu, a crab curry from Surat Thani. One of its six owners used to work at Spice.
- Zaxbys, 1267 First Avenue between East 68th and 69th Streets, opened its first Manhattan location on September 30. Franchisee Norman Yu owns and runs it.
More are coming. Caterina Pepe and Wilson Vera are aiming to open Pepe & Vera at 1712 First Avenue, near East 89th Street, during Thanksgiving week, though they told Patch the timing is tentative. Farther south, the Sicilian restaurant Il Moro is planned for 401 East 62nd Street, between First and York. Its chef-owner gave a target window of mid-November through the first two weeks of December.
New dinner restaurants are still coming to Second Avenue, but at different addresses and in smaller formats. Restaurateur Massimo Lusardi plans an omakase counter at 1491 Second Avenue, between East 77th and 78th Streets, with about 19 seats. A community board committee approved it 13–0, and no opening date has been given. At 1716 Second Avenue, the former San Matteo Pizza & Espresso Bar space at East 89th Street, a group whose partners previously worked at Sant Ambroeus and Felice has proposed a Northern Italian restaurant called Doria. The latest coverage, from July, gave no opening date.
Other New Dinner Spots Opened on Side Streets
Several of the season's more ambitious openings landed on side streets or on other avenues entirely.
- Kuriya, a soba restaurant from the team behind Suki Desu, opened September 6 at 219 East 85th Street, between Second and Third.
- La Sardine, a seafood-focused wine bar from the teams behind Bar Vivant and Alison, opened September 9 at 1614 Third Avenue at East 91st.
- Creola, chef Lana Lagomarsini's tasting-menu restaurant focused on the Black culinary diaspora, opened September 9 at 1261 Park Avenue, between East 97th and 98th.
- Bon Ga, a Korean restaurant serving bulgogi and seafood pancakes, took over Bayon's former space at 408 East 64th Street. It has a 10-table dining room and an open-air area out back that seats 26. Bayon closed August 3 after chef Minh Truong decided to retire, following 45 years in the restaurant business.
One more project shows how long a well-loved room can take to come back. Golden Age Hospitality, Jon Neidich's company, signed a lease this summer for 845 Lexington Avenue, near East 64th Street. Donohue's Steak House served there for 76 years. Neidich is planning to open next spring, and the restaurant won't use the Donohue's name. The bar, booths and Formica tables went to Long Island with owner Maureen Donohue-Peters. The checkerboard floor, the wood paneling and the Garland broiler stayed behind, and Neidich plans to restore them.
Dates for the Next Few Weeks
- Thursday, October 8, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Zaxbys holds a public ribbon-cutting at 1267 First Avenue, with CEO Bernard Acoca and Norman Yu. Free samples while supplies last.
- October 15 and 20. Carnegie Hill Neighbors hosts guided Mahjong open play at the House of the Redeemer.
- Saturday, October 31, 4 to 5:30 p.m. The free Annual Spooktacular takes over East 92nd Street between Fifth and Park, with costumes, music, games and trick-or-treating.
- November, date to be announced. Bread Ahead is expected to open at 1571–1572 Second Avenue.
- Saturday, November 14, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Carnegie Hill Neighbors runs a free electronics and textiles recycling collection. Details are still to come.
- Thursday, November 19, 7 p.m. Friendsgiving Mahjong with Carnegie Hill Neighbors.
- Thanksgiving week, tentative. Pepe & Vera's target opening at 1712 First Avenue.
When the Chip City space gets a tenant or Sushi Ren names a new address, the picture of the low 80s on Second Avenue will be complete. For now, coffee, doughnuts and a sports bar are on the way there, and new dinner restaurants are opening on First.
Storefront changes like these are part of how we keep track of East Side blocks and buildings day to day. If you'd like to talk through what the changes on your stretch of Second or First Avenue could mean for your home, Bobby Rehani is glad to share what he's seeing. Let's Connect.
