No Dollface for the former Bar Virage space on 2nd Avenue

Dollface, Ravi DeRossi's vegan-diner concept, will have to find a home elsewhere.

A for-rent sign now hangs at the former Bar Virage on Second Avenue at Seventh Street.

Back in February, DeRossi appeared before Community Board 3 for a full liquor license for the space. However, CB3 issued a denial, citing among other reasons, its proximity to Middle Collegiate Church on Second Avenue between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.

But didn't Bar Virage have a full liquor license? Yes. Per the CB3 minutes from February:

Community Board 3 does not know whether a determination was made by the SLA about this house of worship when the previous applicant was considered for a full on-premises liquor license but believes that a full on-premises liquor should not now be approved within the proximity of this location to a longstanding house of worship in this community...

The minutes note, too, that "this applicant has also failed to submit any indication of its outreach to the community or support by the community for this application through petition signatures or other means."

In an email on Saturday, DeRossi confirmed that he will be looking for another spot for Dollface in the East Village.

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

Previously on EV Grieve:
Ravi DeRossi plans vegan diner in former Bar Virage space

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