And just like that ... Later yesterday, workers cleaned out the space...
...and a For Rent sign went up.
I miss the old Nino's. I liked their pizza and corny year-round Christmas decorations and fountain drinks. And it was one of my favorite spots for sitting and staring out the window, watching the East Village go by...
We didn't spot the listing online just yet...
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Also. After a really, really long time, workers finally removed the sidewalk bridge here...
Photos by Bobby Williams.
Last time I went in to 2.0 some really nice lady was telling me and my gf what they were going to do, how excited they were and what was going to be on the menu.
ReplyDeleteWe got take out and even before making it 10 ft from the shop, I said that it is so sad when you see people putting so much effort into a store and they are the only people that can't see it ain't going to work...
I just hope they didn't lose $$ they couldn't afford to lose.
A few thoughts on Nino's:
ReplyDeleteI liked this place. It was a great place to take kids for lunch, when at the playground across the street.
Their prices became to high. I thought it was funny that they put up a sign telling people not to complain about the high prices! A lot of parents stopped going during this time.
They lowered their prices, but my kid was in school by this time.
We were going to go eat there last night, but were surprised and saddened to see they were closed.
That is all.
Say how much is the rent? What about trying to recruit Joe's Pizza.
ReplyDeleteThey will be coming to 14th Street soon.
What about here at this location too? Joe's Pizza!
Joe's Pizza!
No need to decorate. Residents will bring back the life for free.
Needs color.
What do you think? Everyone call!
212-366-1182
Oh sh*t.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me sad too. One of my favorite memories of my first summer in the neighborhood was walking my dog to the window, getting a slice, an Italian ice, (or both!) and they'd always shave off a few pieces from the gyro for Jake. We'd find a spot on a bench in the park and just watch the wonders of Alphabet City unfold.
ReplyDeleteI loved the old Nino's whether late at night or in the afternoon. The previous manager Bruno was wonderful and always remembered me and my friend. We'd stand at the window on warm summer nights chatting it up with him over chocolate gelato. He occasionally would give us table service bringing our pizza to us when it was slow. He had a heart of gold!
ReplyDeleteAfter Bruno left (we asked the workers about it but they could only shake their heads- I think their jobs were on the line to get involved in anything) a few small changes were made to the store, including the big wooden table. One night we went in to inquire about what was happening. The new manager/owner, a young Mediterranean guy and his equally obnoxious friend, proceeded to mock Bruno, saying negative things about him, that he left the country because he hated it here (which is not true- he LOVED it here), and that it wasn't him that "made" the pizza so good. I disagreed and we quickly got into a heated discussion. I told him he can't alienate the locals by insulting a man that we know and love. With a smirk he proclaimed that the LOCALS DON'T MATTER, that it's all about the young people (the drunken woo-kids.) Then he told me to leave. So I told him he'd never make it in this hood with that attitude, that the locals would see right through his bs.
*Karma*
We miss you Bruno!
RIP to the Old Nino's and the wonderful ambiance (yeah I know how silly that sounds but in comparison to what went in there...not so much) and the nice guys behind the counter and the grape and orange soda dispenser and to people watching form the window.
ReplyDeletewhat, pray, is a sidewalk bridge? i feel so out of it.
ReplyDeleteNino's, you were my pizza for 25 years. When I came down the block one day to get a pizza and saw strangers in there gutting the interior, I felt gutted. I've sat at those tables they were tearing out since I was 19 - you can't replace that. Not to mention that the pizza and chicken parmagiana sandwiches were classic NYC perfection. I thought the prices were reasonable - rent is high. Not long before it disappeared, I had gone in and casually gotten a pepperoni pizza to go for the millionth time. The guys always made it great, but that night it was such a perfect perfect pizza I really think I heard angels singing. I didn't know it at the time but that was my last Nino's pizza. Nino's, thank you for all the delicious late-night pizza you made for me from the 1980s on. I loved knowing you were always there.
ReplyDeleteThat place that I knew from 1998 until its shut down by health department was disgusting and had symbolized to me the drunk-ohio-transplants-shoving-garbage-down-their-throats-at-four-in-the-morning culture that I hate so much. Good riddance.
ReplyDelete