Thursday, April 1, 2010

Plans for a fishmonger and seafood restaurant in the works for Avenue A

In recent years, 171 Avenue A near 11th Street has been home to a series of restaurants, none of which seemed all that remarkable... the space has been dormant the last few years...



However, 171 Avenue A appears on the April 19 CB3/SLA docket. A Keith Masco is listed on the docket for 171 Avenue A. I contacted the only Keith Masco who I could think of -- the one who is president of Radical Records. Same person, it turns out. So I asked him what his plans are.

"I am planning on opening a seafood market/restaurant/high-end cocktail bar in that space... We certainly need a place to buy fish around here."

Seafood market? As in a fishmonger?

"Yeah, yeah -- fishmonger. There will be a display case when you first walk in about 6 feet by 3 feet with approximately 20-25 different types of fresh seafood. Most of it will be kept in the basement and brought up as we run out of things in the case. This way we can do the volume of a bigger store with a fraction of dedicated space."

Meanwhile, Jill recently posted a comprehensive history of 171 Avenue A...

9 comments:

Barbara L. Hanson said...

I couldn't be more excited about this. Key Foods' fish is not worth mentioning, WF's not nearly as good as their meat. Been without a fishmonger since the combo fishmonger/butcher place on 13 and 1st sold to people who ran it into the ground. This can't happen soon enough. (If it's an April Fool's joke, EVG, I will leave a haddock head on your doorstep!

EV Grieve said...

Ha! I thought about the date when I posted this! No, it's real! We'll hear more about his plans on April 19 at the CB3/SLA meeting...

Anonymous said...

Praise the Lord & pass the Plaice!!! Couldn't agree with you more Barbara... We really do need a fishmonger in the hood!

Maggie said...

Excellent!!! We really, really need a source for good fish in the neighborhood. I rely on the farmer's market but this would be fabulous.

HippieChick said...

Oh wow, fisssh, my preciousss! Whole Foods' fish has made me sick several times (as has their much-vaunted Niman Ranch ground beef, but that's another rant). So I trek to Lobster Place or Citarella.

I used to buy from the shop on 1st and 9th where Ramen Setagaya is now. They had great fresh fish, as did the 13th St place, Victor's, and also did fish and chips, clam chowder, etc.

This would be GREAT.

Anonymous said...

hooray! I agree about WF (their beer buyer even told me never to buy fish there) and really miss the place on 1st & 9th. Essex isn't bad but not fantastic and the better of the 2 stands sells out of things early.

Anonymous said...

I just hope the quality is REALLY REALLY good. If not; adios.
Agree with other comments about WF. I have just looked at their fish, and it really kind of looks scary to me. So I do frozen from TJs. But would love some good fresh stuff.

Anonymous said...

It's a little late to say this but...I miss Victor's, the fish/butcher that was on 13th and A. Those guys knew what they were doing. I even liked their homebrew crabcakes. And, ya know, they were all about local and health before it was kewl.

samir said...

are the plans for the fish market still on? i would love to see it open.