Monday, January 28, 2019

Ravi DeRossi plans vegan diner in former Bar Virage space

Ravi DeRossi is looking to expand his vegan empire with a new concept — the Dollface Diner.

The East Village-based restaurateur is on the February CB3-SLA committee docket (the meeting is Feb. 11) for a new liquor license for the former Bar Virage space on the northeast corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street.

To date, just the preliminary application is on file at the CB3 website, so there aren't many details yet on what to expect.

We reached out to DeRossi for more details on the concept, which was first mentioned during a #EatForThePlanet with Nil Zacharias podcast in the fall of 2017.

At that time, DeRossi described Dollface as a 24/7 vegan diner, a "family-friendly space" with pastries, ice cream, milk shakes and egg creams. (In the same podcast, he discussed plans to take this concept, along with Avant Garden Sandwich Co., a plant-based sub-sandwich shop, national.)

If the Dollface application gets approval, then this will make DeRossi's fourth establishment along Seventh Street, joining Ladybird, Fire & Water and Avant Garden.

Meanwhile, he's currently changing concepts at Cienfuegos, which is undergoing a revamp to a plant-based Texas BBQ joint called called Honeybee's at 95 Avenue A and Sixth Street.

Bar Virage closed in late December after 20-plus years in business. No reason was cited for the closure.

Photo by Steven
at

10 comments:

  1. UnknownJanuary 28, 2019 at 8:29 AM

    Wait...more ice cream?
    I’d sell my soul to get Virage’s truffle oil shrimp back.

    ReplyDelete
  2. noble neolaniJanuary 28, 2019 at 9:00 AM

    Does a vegan diet include alcohol?

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJanuary 28, 2019 at 10:11 AM

    More vegan... sigh.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJanuary 28, 2019 at 10:27 AM

    24/7 on that corner? Ugh - Crusties will love that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousJanuary 29, 2019 at 2:07 AM

      You're in delay, they all moved 4 blocks down the road, and so did the NYPD floodlights.

      Delete
  5. AnonymousJanuary 28, 2019 at 5:36 PM

    Veganism is overrated. Sorry. It just is. I would love if another 24/7 diner existed where all food was served.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousJanuary 28, 2019 at 10:07 PM

    If you don't like vegan food, don't go to a vegan restaurant. So many people hating on shit that has nothing to do with them. Not everybody likes eating things with faces.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousJanuary 29, 2019 at 9:10 AM

    You know who else is vegan? All the animals you enjoy eating while crowing about how veganism is “overrated” (whatever that means.)

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousJanuary 29, 2019 at 10:29 AM

    There's now a huge number of vegan places in the neighborhood. This location was a decent place to sit outside and eat, and while I'm all for a largely plant-based diet I'not looking forward to it becoming only vegan.

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousJanuary 29, 2019 at 6:35 PM

    No faces on cheese or eggs, broskis

    ReplyDelete

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