Baci e Vendetta has closed at 131 Avenue A after nearly 16 months in service.
Veteran restaurateur Paolo Secondo was set to take over the Italian cafe for a new concept. Secondo received the OK from CB3 last month for a new beer-wine license for the space here between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street.
However, Nic Ratner, a partner in Baci e Vendetta, told me that the deal with Secondo fell through ... "and as a result we shuttered Baci e Vendetta and returned the space to the landlord."
"We gave the beer and wine thing a go with a heavier emphasis on food and it simply wasn't sustainable," Ratner told me via email.
Ratner said that he and his business partner Robert Morgan, whose bars include Kingston Hall on Second Avenue, will focus on the return of the Ninth Ward at 180 Second Ave.
Baci e Vendetta opened after an extensive gut renovation in December 2016. This space was the 10 Degrees Bistro until the fall of 2015 ... and the Flea Market Cafe before that.
Expect a for lease sign here before too long.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Team behind Shoolbred's and Ninth Ward vying for 10 Degrees Bistro space on Avenue A
