A new restaurant for the former Mighty Quinn's space on 2nd Avenue

The August Community Board 3 SLA docket has yet to be made public... however, we know about at least one applicant for a beer-wine license. 

There are posted notices on the street and storefront for a new venture coming to the NW corner of Second Avenue and Sixth Street — Norigami, Inc. (dba Boka & Shiro Kuro)...

We'll learn more soon enough when the questionnaires are posted online. CB3's SLA committee meeting will be on Aug. 19. 

Mighty Quinn's had a 10-year run in this corner space until last August. 

Three of the five retail spaces on the west side of Second Avenue (the former Mighty Quinn's, Apple Bank and New Yorkers Foodmarket) are currently vacant.

The former Mighty Quinn's space is for rent

Photos by Derek Berg

A for-rent sign arrived this past week at 103 Second Ave., where Mighty Quinn's recently closed here at Sixth Street.

Workers last week also removed the 6,000-pound smoker that the BBQ joint had installed when it opened more than 10 years ago...

This was the very first restaurant for the brand, which now has multiple corporate locations in the NYC metro area ... and ownership has been franchising, with outposts in New Jersey, Maryland and Florida... and in Dubai.

Ownership didn't provide a specific reason for the closure (April 10 was the last day), stating, "While we wish to have been able to just keep our first restaurant in the system forever, many realities have made that path impractical."

People into Mighty Quinn's can still have it delivered here via the Greenwich Avenue outpost. 

Mighty Quinn's has closed its East Village outpost

After 10-plus years on the NW corner of Second Avenue and Sixth Street, Mighty Quinn's has closed its first restaurant. 

Yesterday marked its last day in business in the East Village. 

The news first came via an EVG reader, who unsuccessfully tried to order catering online this past week. The reader then stopped by the EV Mighty Quinn's, "and the counter server told me they were shutting down and moving employees to the West Village location."

Here's a statement from the Mighty Quinn's founders via Facebook:

It’s hard to believe that 10 years have passed since we opened the first Mighty Quinn's in the East Village. We rolled a 6,000-pound smoker through our new dining room and parked it next to our cutting board, where it remains today. We all knew the adventure was going to be a wild ride and we feel blessed to have been able to serve so many from this restaurant. It is with a heavy heart that we have decided not to renew our lease at this location. 

While we wish to have been able to just keep our first restaurant in the system forever, many realities have made that path impractical. 

We hope that all our local guests will make the short trip over to our West Village location at 75 Greenwich Ave. after we close the East Village restaurant on April 9. We still offer delivery to every address in the East Village (and the surrounding areas) from our other locations. 

We’re excited about the future, with seven new restaurants in the pipeline, but will forever cherish our original home.

Thank you to our team, our guests and the entire East Village neighborhood.

Mighty Quinn's started as a stall at Smorgasburg in 2011, later opening its first brick-and-mortar location here in December 2012. There are now multiple corporate locations in the NYC metro area, and ownership has been franchising, with restaurants in New Jersey, Maryland and Florida... and in Dubai.

Shortly after Mighty Quinn's opened here, we heard from some anonymous upstairs neighbors about the smell coming from the popular BBQ joint. One resident told us: "[O]ur apartments & hallways reek of barbecue, all the way to the top floor — it's coming up through the radiators, walls and floors." An exhaust duct was later added to the building.  

Although their styles differed, this is the second barbecue restaurant to close within two blocks in recent months: Dallas BBQ shut down at the end of 2022. 

Thanks to Mighty Quinn's, Otto's Tacos is making a (virtual) return

All four outposts of Otto's Tacos permanently closed late last year, including the one on Second Avenue between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street. 

However, the quick-serve tacqueria has made a comeback thanks to Mighty Quinn's Barbeque.

In an article this week on ghost kitchens and delivery-only restaurants, CNBC reports that Otto's has become a virtual brand, an increasingly popular concept thanks to COVID-19.

After their closure, Otto's founder Otto Cedeno reportedly contacted Mighty Quinn's.

Per CNBC:

The two companies opened their flagship locations in the East Village neighborhood two blocks away from each other less than a decade ago, and their founders were friendly, swapping industry updates and tips, particularly as the coronavirus pandemic hammered New York City. 

But rather buying Otto's Tacos outright, Mighty Quinn's struck a deal instead to license the brand and bring it back to life as a virtual brand. The barbeque chain also sells chicken wings under the virtual brand Sugar Wing. 

"We decided, rather than bringing on additional kitchen capacity, to utilize what we already had at Mighty Quinn's to execute their menus," said Mighty Quinn's co-founder Micha Magid.

For now, the digital, delivery only location for Otto's is on the Upper East Side (as of last month). Otto's will be expanding to other neighborhoods in 2021. Service will likely one day include the East Village, given that both Otto's and Mighty Quinn's started in the neighborhood ... and because Otto's has a built-in audience here.

The former Otto's storefront on Second Avenue is said to become another taco shop.

Mighty Quinn's remains close due to gas leak in building

[Photo by Derek Berg]

Mighty Quinn's Barbeque on Second Avenue at Sixth Street has been closed since the middle of last week... the sign for patrons blames the closure on a utility shut down in the building. A Facebook post more specifically states a closure due to a gas leak.

This location at 103 Second Ave. was the very first brick-and-mortar location for Mighty Quinn's back in December 2012. There are now 12 corporate locations in the NYC metro area, and ownership is franchising, having opened several outposts overseas, including in Dubai, Manila and Taipei.

DOH temporarily closes Mighty Quinn's on 2nd Avenue

[Photos by Derek Berg]

Mighty Quinn's on Second Avenue and Sixth Street received an unwelcome holiday gift on Dec. 26 when the popular BBQ establishment failed a Department of Health inspection and was ordered to close.

The violations from Dec. 26 have not yet been posted to the DOH website. While Mighty Quinn's currently has an A rating, previous inspections this year turned up several violations, according to public records at the DOH.

On Aug. 12, sanitary violations included "Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas." A subsequent inspection on Aug. 31 found 0 violations, per the the DOH. There were also violations issued in April, including for "evidence of mice or live mice present in facility's food and/or non-food areas."

There isn't any notice about a closure from Mighty Quinn's posted at the restaurant. A look through the windows shows that some renovation work is taking place...



Mighty Quinn's got its start as a stall at Smorgasburg in 2011, later opening its first brick-and-mortar location here in December 2012. There are now 12 corporate locations in the NYC metro area, and ownership is now franchising, having opened several outposts overseas, including in Dubai, Manila and Taipei.

Report: Zagat survey names Mighty Quinn's NYC's best new restaurant

Mighty Quinn's opened in late December over on Second Avenue and East Sixth Street ... And Ryan Sutton at Bloomberg reports this afternoon that the barbecue spot run by a former hedge funder was named New York's best new restaurant by the Zagat survey. (The survey is based on the responses of 48,114 participants.)

Never been here ourselves. Perhaps you have?

Relief from the BBQ smell on the way for residents who live above Mighty Quinn's?

Shortly after Mighty Quinn's opened last month, we heard from some anonymous upstairs neighbors about the smell coming from the popular BBQ joint on Second Avenue and East Sixth Street.

We live in the building and our apartments & hallways reek of barbecue, all the way to the top floor — it's coming up through the radiators, walls & floors.

Perhaps some relief is on the way. CB3's Landmarks Subcommittee meets tomorrow night, and on the agenda:

Cert of Appropriateness: 103 Second Ave to show the exhaust duct running along the façade of the building

The CB3 website includes a PDF of the engineering plans for this new exhaust system ... from inside the restaurant...

... and on the East Sixth Street side...

The building here is part of the East Village Historic District that came into existence last fall. According to the plans for the new exhaust system, the work "will not affect any significant architectural features or decorative masonry." In addition, plans show that the new ductwork "will bypass the decorative cornice feature at the sub-roof and coping stone at roof and will not alter or compromise it in anyway."

The meeting is tomorrow night at 6:30 at the BRC Senior Services Center, 30 Delancey St. between Chrystie and Forsyth.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Resident claim: Living above Mighty Quinn's can be mighty smelly

Resident claim: Living above Mighty Quinn's can be mighty smelly

Mighty Quinn's opened last Wednesday on Second Avenue and East Sixth Street, and people have been very enthusiastic about the Texas and Carolinas-inspired barbecue.

As Eater noted, pitmaster Hugh Mangum "is smoking all his meat in a pit the size of most people's livings rooms, using oak, apple, and cherry wood."

Sounds good, though perhaps not if you live in one of the apartments upstairs... A reader left this comment on a previous post:

The giant room-sized meat smoker has serious ventilation problems. We live in the building and our apartments & hallways reek of barbecue, all the way to the top floor — it's coming up through the radiators,walls & floors. Additionally, the ventilation system on the roof is going 24/7 & sounds like a jet plane idling. I'm sure everyone on the block can hear it. It's quite intrusive. The Health Dept. is coming to check it out. We're distressed! There's a reason smokehouses are located down country roads — they stink up the place, even if the food is delicious...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Life behind IHOP: 'My apartment now smells like the kitchen of a cheap hotel after the breakfast rush'

Mighty Quinn's looks mighty close to opening

Several readers have noted the progress at Mighty Quinn's, the new slow-smoked BBQ place opening on Second Avenue and East Sixth Street. The sign was unveiled last Thursday here at the former Vandaag space. Nothing official for the opening date, per the various Mighty Quinn social media sites. (Per Facebook: "We're getting very close...") This marks the first "brick and mortar location" of the BBQ food truck favored by the food-truck crowd.

Previously.

Food truck favorites Mighty Quinn's taking former Vandaag space on Second Avenue

[peter radley]

There's a new restaurant opening in the former Vandaag space on Second Avenue and East Sixth Street. Eater has the scoop that the address will be home to the first "brick and mortar location" of Mighty Quinn's, a BBQ food truck, specializing in sustainable smoked meats, favored by food truck foodies in Brooklyn.

Per Eater: The "stand consistently draws the longest lines at the weekly food fest — it's one of the only lines that people will keep waiting in even when it starts to rain. The most popular menu item is his smoked brisket, which is usually gone by 1 p.m., but the stand also serves chili, ribs, and barbecued lamb."

Anyway, been a bit of a tough corner here for restaurants... there was that pita/sports bar combo that never actually opened ... Bounce Deuce ... Smoked ... and ...