Report: Danny Meyer is closing Martina on 11th Street

In case you missed this from back on Friday, Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group announced that it is closing Martina, the high-profile pizzeria on 11th Street at Third Avenue, Eater first reported.

March 31 24 is the last day. In a statement, Meyer said that "despite numerous efforts to turn around Martina's financial performance around ... we were not able to succeed at developing a large enough audience to sustain the business."

In December, Meyer and Co. changed up formats for this offshoot of Marta, switching from a quick-serve format to table service. (The pizza reviews had been so-so.)

Martina opened in August 2017 in a newly created space at 55 Third Ave., aka Eleventh and Third, the 12-floor residential building on the corner.

More about Martina, Danny Meyer's 'fine-casual pizzeria' coming to 11th Street

Martina, the Roman-inspired pizzeria from Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group, is opening next month on 11th Street at Third Avenue ... in the former lobby of Eleventh and Third, the 12-floor residential building here.

Esquire profiles the executive chef, Nick Anderer, and provides a few more details on Martina — "a fine-casual pizzeria with a paired-down, cheaper menu, as well as service at a counter instead of table side."

To an excerpt:

With Martina, Anderer will experiment with hospitality — he wants to figure out how to toe the line between serving customers food quickly, but not making them feel like he made their meal before they walked in the door. That means snacks and drinks ready right after you order and take your buzzer.
Meatballs, Martina Mista salad, seasonal vegetable dishes (starting with zucchini), potato croquettes, etcetera.

For booze, Anderer wants to offer the same quality of craft wines and champagne as his recent spots. "So if somebody does want to go high-brow, low-brow and have a seven-dollar pizza with some awesome champagne they can do it without breaking the bank," he says. Not to mention that gelato machine, serving a basic vanilla flavor that he'll use to make desserts like affogato.

#capricciosa

A post shared by Martina (@martinapizzeria) on Jul 14, 2017 at 7:34am PDT

Previously on EV Grieve:
Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group planning Martina for 55 3rd Ave.

Danny Meyer's incoming pizzeria looking for CB3 approval for a 4-table sidewalk cafe

One more quick note about tonight's CB3-SLA committee meeting... as previously noted, Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group is opening Martina, a pizzeria, at 198 E. 11th St./aka 55 Third Ave.



They are on this month's docket to get approval for a four-table (eight seat!) sidewalk cafe ... here's a rendering (PDF) via the CB3 website... showing off that Mmartina lettering...



The street-level pizzeria proposes to operate the outdoor seating Sunday-Wednesday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Thursday 11 a.m. to midnight, and Friday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.

CB3 OK'd the beer-wine license back in November. Apparently this didn't include the sidewalk cafe. Not sure!

The CB3-SLA meeting is tonight at 6:30 in the Thelma Burdick Community Room, 10 Stanton St. (corner of the Bowery).

Previously on EV Grieve:
Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group planning Martina for 55 3rd Ave.

Plywood arrives on 11th Street outside Danny Meyer's incoming restaurant Martina

While here on 11th Street at Third Avenue... workers yesterday erected the plywood on 11th Street outside the under-construction new restaurant from Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group.

Martina is the working name for the space, which is in the former lobby of Eleventh and Third, the 12-floor residential building here.

The group applied for a beer-wine license last November (they were approved). The application (PDF!) on file at the CB3 website showed that the space will hold 13 tables with a sidewalk cafe with four tables. (The overall capacity was listed at 75 or below with nine employees.) The proposed hours were 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday; until 1 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.

In approving the applicant, the CB3 minutes refer to Martina as "a full-service pizza restaurant."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group planning Martina for 55 3rd Ave.

Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group planning Martina for 55 3rd Ave.

Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group, whose well-regarded establishments include Gramercy Tavern, the Modern and Union Square Cafe, have plans for a new restaurant on Third Avenue and 11th Street.

The group is applying for a new beer-wine license for 55 Third Ave., and are on this month's CB3 SLA committee docket.

According to the questionnaire (PDF!) on file at the CB3 website, the new venture is called Martina. There isn't any mention of the style of food that will be served.

The application shows that the space will hold 13 tables with a proposed sidewalk cafe with four tables. (The overall capacity is listed at 75 or below with nine employees.) The proposed hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday; until 1 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.

Here's a look at the layout via the questionnaire...



So what space is this restaurant taking? 55 Third Ave., aka Eleventh and Third, is the 12-floor building that recently went through a top-to-bottom luxury renovation. No 55, which is between 10th Street and 11th Street, is currently home to two retail tenants: M2M, the Asian grocery chain, and The Smith. M2M is apparently moving away to make room for Wagamama. The Smith isn't going anywhere.

So where does this leave Martina? There is the building's former lobby on the 11th Street side (across the street from NYU's Third Avenue North dorm).







This month's SLA committee meeting is Monday, Nov. 14 at 6:30 p.m. CB3 will hold the meeting in the Thelma Burdick Community Room, 10 Stanton St. at the Bowery.

Danny Meyer's future in politics

At the Post, Jennifer Gould Keil conducts a Q-and-A with restaurateur Danny Meyer... Blah, blah, blah... and he doesn't really answer this question ... that I'd love to honestly hear him answer...

Q: What happened in Nolita? You were going to build a Shake Shack in a parking lot and backed off when some neighbors complained. Why?

A: One of the good things about the experience is that there will not be an unlimited number of Shake Shacks in New York and life is too short. That's the bottom line. We are going to open our first Shake Shack in Miami in late spring, before it gets too hot. And there will be others opening on the Upper East Side and in the theater district soon. There's also one in Central Park, at the Delacorte Theater.

So life is too short is what happened? Or maybe it had something to do with this resident...