Unapologetic Foods has moved on from 82 2nd Ave. for its kebab house concept

A for lease sign arrived at 82 Second Ave. on Monday. 

This is newsy for what isn't going to be opening here: The space was to be the home of Kebabwala, an Indian kebab house from the Unapologetic Foods team. 

Apparently after all these years (news of this dates to 2021), founders Roni Mazumdar and Chintan Pandya decided to move on. 

An Unapologetic rep told us: "It was going to take us another two years to get a gas line there since the building does not have a commercial gas line installed."

The rep said they currently don't have any other EV storefronts in mind for the kebab concept.

No. 82, located between Fourth Street and Fifth Street, has been vacant for at least 10 years and previously housed restaurants, including 7 Spices and Reyna Exotic Turkish Cuisine. (Now we know why the space has sat empty.)

Meanwhile, work continues at 107 First Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street where Unapologetic Foods is opening an outpost of its popular Adda Indian Canteen. (They were up for a liquor license last July.)

The great Huertas closed here in August 2023 after 10 years in service. The building had a new landlord, and chef Jonah Miller said he could not agree to "suitable terms" for a new lease. 

Reps for Paulie Gee's Slice Shop looked at this space in late 2023, although those plans did not move forward. 

Unapologetic Foods also operates the fried-chicken outpost, Rowdy Rooster, at 149 First Ave. at Ninth Street, and the Filipino restaurant Naks, 201 First Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street. 

Unapologetic Foods looking at the former Huertas spot on 1st Avenue

The team at Unapologetic Foods — owner Roni Mazumdar and Chef Chintan Pandya — has an application in for a liquor license at 107 First Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street ... the former Huertas space. 

According to public records and posted notices, reps for the hospitality group (they're behind Dhamaka in the Essex Market and Adda Indian Canteen in Long Island City) will appear before Community Board 3's SLA committee next Monday, July 15. (Questionnaire PDF here.)

The application for the unnamed Indian concept shows proposed daily hours of noon to 2 a.m., with plans for a small sidewalk cafe and several tables on a back patio within the property line. 

Unapologetic also operates the fried-chicken outpost, Rowdy Rooster, at 149 First Ave. at Ninth Street, and the Filipino restaurant Naks, 201 First Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street. 

Huertas closed last August after 10 years in service. The building had a new landlord, and chef Jonah Miller said he could not agree to "suitable terms" for a new lease. 

Reps for Paulie Gee's Slice Shop looked at this space late last year, though those plans didn't move forward.

The July 15 SLA meeting starts at 6:30. Find the Zoom link at this link.

This is a hybrid meeting, and there is limited seating available for the public — the first 15 people who show up at the Community Board 3 Office, 59 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

Huertas, opening this spring on First Avenue

[Photo by Bill the Libertarian Anarchist]

Just taking a quick look at 107 First Ave. between East Sixth Street and East Seventh Street… where renovations continue for Huertas, a restaurant featuring "the cuisine of Northern Spain."

Here's more about chef-owner Jonah Miller's first restaurant via the Huertas website:

Born and raised in New York, Jonah Miller ... began spending his summers working in some of New York’s greatest kitchens when he was 14, beginning with two seasons at Chanterelle and then moving on to Gramercy Tavern and Savoy, among others. Most recently, Jonah was part of the opening team at Danny Meyer’s Maialino, where he spent three years.

After leaving Maialino, Jonah returned to Spain, where he had spent a semester during his Food Studies and Restaurant Management B.S. program at NYU. A month spent eating his way around northern Spain provided the finishing touches to the vision behind Huertas.

The restaurant is expected to open this spring. You can find a sample menu here.

This address was previously home to L'asso EV, the pizzeria that closed in July 2013.