The owner of Max restaurant is returning to Avenue B with a new pizzeria

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Luigi Iasilli, owner of the well-liked Max restaurant, which closed 10 years ago at 51 Avenue B, is back on the block with a new venture — Potenza Centrale. 

The pizza shop, coming soon to 38 Avenue B (site of the former KC Gourmet Empanadas) between Third Street and Fourth Street, is named in honor of the town in Italy where he was born and raised.

The pizzeria will feature square slices from a rectangular pie, as well as round pizzas, notably different from the Roman style due to the extra fermentation process. Iasilli said it takes up to five days to ferment the highly hydrated dough, and it's folded and worked to be airier and lighter than traditional dough. 

Iasilli, who's no longer involved with Max, which had several locations, also wants to add baked gnocchi, pastas like lasagna or rigatoni, and eggplant parm topped with housemade mozzarella. Each day will feature specials — one meat and one vegetarian, listed Italian-style on the chalkboard walls. 

In addition, Iasilli plans to sell his homemade sauce to go (he welcomes folks to bring their own jars that he can fill) and balls of fresh mozzarella. He's currently working on focaccia and other styles of bread. When I asked him about the possibility of dessert, he mentioned reprising the famed tiramisu from Max. 

As for an opening, he has yet to set a date; the space is waiting on ConEd approval and the meter installation. 

Here's Iasilli with Chef Alex Chavarria ...

As for returning to this block of Avenue B, he says: "I am coming full circle."

Former Le Souk space 'needs a real restaurant operator'

Save for a few mysterious parties, Le Souk has been dead and gone now five years this October. (The State Liquor Authority terminated Le Souk's liquor license in October 2009.)

Since then, the space has been empty (much to the delight of neighbors) ... and on and off the market several times. We spotted a listing for the space at 47 Avenue B between East Fourth Street and East Third Street back in July 2011. The asking price then was $25K.

For rent signs arrived along this Avenue B corridor earlier in the summer. And now the listing has arrived on Craigslist. Let's check it out (Bolding via EVG):

This is a restaurant space that has an atrium in the back, the ansil/flute are in place. there is 6,627 square feet on two floors that could be divided for the right tenant. The asking rent is $331,350 per annum and $27,612.50 per month. This place needs a real restaurant operator. there was a liquor license at one time the new tenant would have to apply for a new one. Tenant will pay their proportionate share of real estate taxes as well as their own utilities which will include water, gas and electric. ownership would be willing to split up this site.

The photos at Craigslist are worth flipping through to admire the ancient ruins of Le Souk. Let's carbon date that disco ball.

Meanwhile, the former Max space at 51 Avenue B also remains on the market. Asking rent is $10,000 a month. This space has been vacant for 20 months.

Previously

Former Max space now for rent on Avenue B

Max, the reliable Italian restaurant on Avenue B near East Fourth Street, served its last meal here this past New Year's Eve after 12 years. Not much activity here these past 11 months … until "for rent" signs finally arrived late last week.



The listing doesn't appear to be online just yet at Jalca & Associates. The Max outpost in Tribeca remains open.

Why it's very possible that you own a Yorkie named Max in the East Village

From the EV Grieve inbox...

People love their dogs and consider them members of their family, and in New York City, a city with such a high number of singles, dogs may be their only family. Recognizing the enthusiasm people have for their pets, WNYC’s Data News team has created DOGS OF NYC, an interactive map that illustrates the popularity of names and breeds depending on neighborhood.

DOGS OF NYC includes:
• Doggy Census: Who lives where? Who knew Yorkies were so popular in Chelsea?
• Most popular boy and girl names (and other top 10 lists) Max and Bella reign supreme in 2012.
• Match the Breed with the Name” game, and more!
• Make your own t-shirt: a unique gift for the dog lover this upcoming Valentine’s Day!

Some more interesting tidbits:
• Princess is big in the Bronx, but Bronx — the name — is not nearly as popular as Brooklyn.
• The most popular female dog name is Bella, and Max is the most popular male dog name.
• There are 26 dogs in NYC named Pepsi, but none named Coke or Coca-Cola.
• There are 14 dogs named Kitty and 31 named Tigger.

You can read the article and find interactive stuff here. (The top image here is interactive.)

In total, there 5,000 Yorkies are licensed in the city, and more than 4,700 Shih Tzus. As for the East Village... a closer look at the stats shows that — surprise! — Yorkies are the most popular breed ... with Max being the most popular name. Followed by Bailey and, um, Coco. Keep in mind that these are only for licensed dogs, which only number 20 percent of all canines in the city.

From the article: the Health Department estimates that only one in five dogs are licensed. And now a cut-and-paste job from the piece:

It’s against the law to own a dog in the city and not get it licensed. The Health Department says licensing helps reunite lost dogs with their owners, and reminds owners to keep up with vaccinations for their best friend. The proceeds from registration fees support the operation of animal shelters in the city. The penalty for getting caught by a police officer or park official with an unlicensed dog is a summons and $200.

An unscientific survey of dog owners in Tompkins Square Park in Manhattan's East Village on a Thursday afternoon reveals most of them are oblivious to the rule, the reasons for getting a license, and the penalty for going without one.

“Laziness, mainly laziness,” said one owner of an unlicensed dog, explaining why he hadn’t registered his one-and-a-half-year-old Affenpinscher with the city. The owner asked that he remain nameless for fear of incriminating his dog, to which he gave the alias “Bodean.”

You should really go get Max licensed.

Max has apparently closed on Avenue B

As Eater first reported last Jan. 31, Max, the Avenue B stalwart, was expanding to Williamsburg some time in the near future... a few days later The Wall Street Journal reported that they would actually be closing the Avenue B location when the Brooklyn space was ready ... not sure what the status is with the expansion.

A reader noted the following yesterday...

@evgrieve Saw furniture being loaded into a truck this morning from Max on Ave B... any clue what's going on?

— James Feldman (@james_feldman) January 6, 2013

Another tipster reported that Max has, indeed, served its last meal here, as of New Year's Eve ... the place was closed last night...

Per the Journal last Feb. 3:

Luigi Iasilli, an owner, wrote in an email that he plans to close the East Village location as the neighborhood is getting "slow."

"I finally found what I believe I was looking for," he said of his Williamsburg site. "For me, [it is] going back to the roots, small space, $3,000 rent, a small yard, a mixed ethnic neighborhood with only a bodega across the street."

There are rumors that the east side of the Avenue here between Third Street and Fourth Street, the stretch of storefronts that included the LeSouk empire and Max, will receive a few extra floors during an upcoming renovation ...

[EVG file photo]

So Max probably won't be opening that outpost on Second Avenue then, huh?

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Max will close its Avenue B location after the Italian eatery opens a branch in Williamsburg this spring...

Which reminds us... back in January 2010, as Eater first noted, Max was on the CB3/SLA docket to open a location at the rather mysterious northwest corner of Second Avenue and Second Street ...

Those plans never materialized, for whatever reasons... the CB3/SLA sign is even still on the front window...

We dug through the CB3 archives... Max appeared before the CB3/SLA committee in February 2010, and it looks as if they were approved for a license here...

Anyway, anyone know what's going on with this space here at 39 Second Ave. (aka 36 E. Second St.)? The building was owned by Wilbert Tatum, the publisher and editor of The New York Amsterdam News who died at age 76 in February 2009. Tatum's wife, Susan Kohn Tatum, transferred ownership of the building to Zubrinski & Co. LLC last April, according to city records.

Max moving to Williamsburg; closing Avenue B space

[Yun Cee Ng for New York]

On Tuesday, Eater reported that Max, the 12-year-old Italian place on Avenue B near Fourth Street, was opening a new location in Williamsburg this spring. In a follow-up piece today, The Wall Street Journal reported that Max is actually closing its East Village location.

Luigi Iasilli, an owner, wrote in an email that he plans to close the East Village location as the neighborhood is getting "slow."

"I finally found what I believe I was looking for," he said of his Williamsburg site. "For me, [it is] going back to the roots, small space, $3,000 rent, a small yard, a mixed ethnic neighborhood with only a bodega across the street."

Slow?

Anyway, this departure will leave four empty storefronts on the east side of Avenue B between East Fourth and East Third Street. Just think — four new bars.