Detroit slice city: Artichoke bringing an outpost of Lions & Tigers & Squares to 2nd Avenue

[Photo Saturday by Steven]

The owners of Artichoke are using the former location of Nicoletta on Second Avenue and 10th Street for the next NYC outpost of their Detroit-style pizza shop Lions & Tigers & Squares.

Here's more about the concept via the EVG inbox:

Lions & Tigers & Squares was conceived in 2018 by Artichoke Basille’s Pizza co-founders and pizza aficionados, Francis Garcia and Sal Basille, who were inspired to open a Detroit-style pizza shop after visiting Buddy’s Pizza in Detroit ... They were impressed by the quality of pizza and wanted to bring a taste of Detroit to New York City, thus deciding to open a shop dedicated to the Motor City’s signature square pan pizza with a crunchy, caramelized cheese crust. While LTS is a Manhattan-located pizzeria, it’s also an ode to all things Detroit: Detroit Lions, Detroit Tigers, and Detroit-style square pizza.

The new restaurant, expected to open before year’s end, will have indoor and outdoor seating ... with a menu showcasing four-slice Detroit-style square pies featuring pepperoni, baby meatball, black olive and their Mustard Pie with spicy brown mustard and cheddar cheese. (This is the neighborhood's second Detroit-style pizzeria following Emmy Squared's arrival in July 2018.)



The first Lions & Tigers & Squares opened in the spring of 2018 on 23rd Street in Chelsea. Over at Eater, Robert Sietsema noted their "greasy but solid pies." (As for Artichoke, he writes in the same post that they're "a local pizza chain that turns out some awful pies as far as I’m concerned — especially its vaunted artichoke slice, which tastes like someone poured cream of artichoke soup in its canned and concentrated form on the pie.")

The ever-expanding Artichoke started its empire in the East Village in 2008 on 14th Street. They moved to a larger space across the street in June 2017.

Nicoletta closed last December at this address after six-plus years in business. They are still delivering pizzas from an undisclosed location.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Artichoke Basille’s Pizza vying for former Nicoletta space on 2nd Avenue and 10th Street

Artichoke Basille’s Pizza vying for former Nicoletta space on 2nd Avenue and 10th Street

Looks like the Nicoletta space will remain a pizzeria on Second Avenue at 10th Street.

Reps for the ever-expanding Artichoke Basille’s Pizza chain, which started in the East Village, are on this month's CB3-SLA agenda for a liquor license for 201 E. 10th St.

This questionnaire for the Sept. 16 meeting isn't online yet. However, the name of Artichoke co-founder Francis Garcia is on the application posted at the CB3 website.

Renovations are currently underway at the former Nicoletta space, which had a sizable dining room and outdoor cafe. Artichoke's plans for the venue aren't immediately known.

This would mark the second East Village location for Artichoke, which moved from its original East Village home (circa 2008) on 14th to a larger space across the street in June 2017.

Artichoke has been expanding nationwide with multi-unit franchise deals, most recently opening in Oakland, Calif.

As for Nicoletta, the much-heralded pizzeria from Michael White closed last December at this address after six-plus years in business. They are still delivering pizzas from an undisclosed location.

This corner space on 10th Street and Second Avenue had been on the retail market with a nearly $18,000 monthly ask.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Artichoke appears to be moving into a new space on 14th Street

Report of an early-morning fire at 328 E. 14th St., home of Artichoke Basille’s Pizza

Artichoke Basille's Pizza signage arrives at new 14th Street location

FDNY says fire that started at Artichoke was accidental

Work happening inside the former Nicoletta space; please mind the carpenter

EVG regulars Vinny & O share these photos, showing work happening inside the former Nicoletta space on 10th Street at Second Avenue.

There aren't any updated work permits on file with the city, so we don't know exactly what's happening here at the moment.

However, there is a homemade sign to "beware of carpenter" ...



The much-heralded pizzeria from Michael White closed last December at this address after six-plus years in business. They are still delivering pizzas from an undisclosed location.

This corner space doesn't appear to be on the retail market. It had been asking nearly $18,000 per month.

Former Nicoletta space for rent on 2nd Avenue and 10th Street

The for lease signs are up now in the windows at 160 Second Ave. at 10th Street, the former home of Nicoletta, Chef Michael White's pizzeria.

According to an online listing, the monthly asking rent is $25,000 (1,700 rentable square feet on the ground level).

As first reported here on Dec. 21, Nicoletta was opening in a new, undisclosed spot in the East Village where they are continuing with a delivery service.

Not sure where they are working from these days, but the Nicoletta Instagram is actively pushing the pies...

View this post on Instagram

It’s Championship Sunday! We are offering 15% off all signature pies and 1/2 off wings when you call in your order and mention “Game Day Deals.” 🏈🍕🍗

A post shared by Nicoletta | NYC (@nicolettanyc) on Jan 20, 2019 at 5:59am PST

A previous Nicoletta Instagram post noted that their new EV space will also feature expanded menu items and delivery zone.

Nicoletta opened to much hoopla in June 2012.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Nicoletta Pizzeria closes 2nd Avenue dining room, plans move to a new delivery-only location

Cafe Centosette closes on Second Avenue

Nicoletta Pizzeria closes 2nd Avenue dining room, plans move to a new delivery-only location

Nicoletta, the Altamarea Group's homage to Chef Michael White's favorite childhood dish (hint: pizza), has closed its dining room on Second Avenue at 10th Street.

Signage points to a new spot somewhere else in the East Village, where they'll continue on, though only via delivery... and no word just yet where the new Nicoletta will live...



For now, though, Nicoletta fans can still order their pizzas for delivery.

The new EV space will also feature new menu items, per their Instagram, and an expanded delivery zone. (Do you remember when they first started, and their delivery zone was: First Avenue to Third Avenue, and Ninth Street to 11th Street?)

Nicoletta opened to SO Much Hoopla in June 2012, including 90-minute waits for tables.

I don't recall anyone saying that the pizza was all that good. Pete Wells was Real Meh on it in an August 2012 review at the Times in which he bestowed the pizzeria 0 stars.

Per Pete:

Nicoletta’s pizzas are not quite deep dish, but they are heading in that direction. The crust is as strong as epoxy, and Mr. White piles it up with an abundance of toppings that would buckle an ordinary pie. In thickness and heft, a Nicoletta pizza resembles the September issue of Vogue.

There was another reason my table never finished an entire pizza: we lost interest. The style of pizza Mr. White is pursuing emphasizes gut-stretching abundance over flavor. The pies are overburdened conglomerations of cheese, flour and fistfuls of other stuff; in the end, the elements cancel one another out.

And the salads?

The salad recipes might have been nabbed from that corner trattoria you stopped going to a few years ago. There is the Nicoletta, with lettuce, red endive and a sliver of focaccia smeared with goat cheese. Or the insalata mare with clams, mussels, squid and octopus, all as tender as an extension cord, all bathed in a dressing that had no effect on any of it.

A look at the EVG archives and our 4568799000223323 posts about the place shows that some readers were tuned off by Nicoletta's T.G.I. Fridaysish interior and corporate vibe and the clipboard-toting host staff standing guard by the door while keeping tabs on those early line waiters.

By August 2013, Eater put Nicoletta on its Deathwatch.

Anyway, Nicoletta has been able to move past all this, enough to relocate to a smaller spot for delivery at least amid more and more competition. How many high-profile pizzerias have opened since Nicoletta arrived? In the last 12 months alone we've had Joe & Pat's, Emmy Squared, Sauce and Sorbillo Pizzeria, to name a few.

Thanks to Steven for the photos!

Report: Full liquor license arrives for Nicoletta

[Via]

As we noted last August, Nicoletta, chef Michael White's Midwestern-style pizzeria on Second Avenue at East 10th Street, was going to appear before CB3 to upgrade to a full liquor license.

CB3 signed off on the upgrade in September. (You can read the minutes from the CB3 meeting on page 19 of this PDF). And as Eater noted this morning, Nicoletta, which opened in June 2012, now has the license in hand. Per Eater: "AMG beverage director Hristo Zisovski and Nicoletta GM Rob Cryan are working on a cocktail menu that will be rolling out in the coming weeks."

An EVG reader, who shared the Eater link, noted this about Nicoletta: "It's always empty when I walk by."

Perhaps a full liquor license will inspire you to dine here?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Cafe Centosette closes on Second Avenue

Former Cafe Centosette space becoming a fancy-pants pizza place

Nicoletta looking to upgrade to a full liquor license on 2nd Avenue

Nicoletta looking to upgrade to a full liquor license on 2nd Avenue

[Via]

Last evening, CB3 released the September agenda for the SLA committee meeting coming up on Sept. 1.

So far, not all the applications and questionnaires have been filed online. So we'll take a look in the days ahead as more information becomes available. (You can find the applicants here.)

One item to start with... Nicoletta, chef Michael White's Midwestern-style pizzeria that opened to a lot of hype in June 2012 (and lousy reviews), is on the docket for an upgrade to a full liquor license. (They currently only serve beer and wine.)

There was speculation almost two years ago to the day that White might close Nicoletta and swap it out for another restaurant from his empire. (Eater even put the pizzeria on Second Avenue and East 10th Street on Deathwatch.)

Well, two years later, and Nicoletta has expanded into New Jersey with a space in D.C. on the way. Anyway, they'll likely be more speculation as to whether Nicoletta will solider on with full liquor, or if this is a step to secure a license for another venture.

And it has been about two years since we heard anything from anyone about the place. Early on, some EVG readers were turned off by Nicoletta's T.G.I. Fridaysish interior and clipboard-toting hostesses standing guard by the door. Feeling any different about Nicoletta these days?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Cafe Centosette closes on Second Avenue

Former Cafe Centosette space becoming a fancy-pants pizza place

Only 1 night of celebrating left!

Spotted at Nicoletta on Second Avenue …

Previously on EV Grieve:
Just 2 more nights of celebrating left!

Deathwatching Nicoletta

[August 2012]

High-flying chef Michael White's Midwestern-style pizzeria Nicoletta opened on June 15, 2012 on Second Avenue at 10th Street.

News of its arrival was met with some instant disapproval around here.

Like!

Via Jeremiah Moss: "Here comes yet another fucking upscale pizzeria for the East Village, where there have always been plenty of good, cheap pizza places."

Some readers were tuned off by Nicoletta's T.G.I. Fridaysish interior and clipboard-toting hostesses standing guard by the door while keeping tabs on those early are-you-fucking-kidding-me 90-minute waits ... and some reviews were quite unkind, such as the 0 stars the Times dropped on it.

Anyway!

Fast forward to now... Eater put Nicoletta on its Deathwatch yesterday... Eater figures that White and partner Ahmass Fakahany will close the place and turn it into another concept from their Altamarea Group's restaurant arsenal.

Per Eater:

Nicoletta means well. On a recent Tuesday night, Team Eater had excellent chicken wings, passable fritti, an okay pizza, and slam-dunk ice cream sundaes. The service was great and the tab was low, but the restaurant was as quiet as a tomb.

The question is not whether Nicoletta will close, but when. The safe bet is that Altamarea will revamp the restaurant once the D.C. outpost of Nicoletta is off the ground. After that, White and Fakahany might re-think this space and give the neighborhood something that it will really embrace.

Previous Nicoletta posts have produced some negative Nicoletta comments. I've never been here... Perhaps you have? Does death become it?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Nicoletta product placement or just trash?

Everything's gone green

Everyone is getting in on the act — even Nicoletta. Second Avenue and East 10th Street... Photo by EVG contributor William Klayer.

And the whole ad...

[Updated] You can now sit outside at Nicoletta

Outside seating is now available at Nicoletta, beginning tonight! Enjoy your pizza outdoors in@ Nicoletta instagr.am/p/OkPbIxQ_Xw/

— Nicoletta Restaurant (@NicolettaNYC) August 20, 2012

Not real cozy-looking just yet here on Second Avenue and East 10th Street. And is that police tape?

Updated:

A reader walked by around 7:45 tonight and noted two tables were occupied so far ...

They'll likely need to add some greenery to the space a la DBGB to make it look a little more inviting...

Nicoletta product placement or just trash?

Spotted early last evening on St. Mark's Place at Second Avenue... earlier in the day, Pete Wells bestowed a crushing 0 stars on Nicoletta in his review at The New York Times.

[Updated] Nicoletta has expanded its delivery zone!

[via ‏@robbyohara]

A few weeks ago, as we learned via Eater, fancy Wisconsinish pizzeria Nicoletta announced that they were starting delivery service in the East Village:

And the delivery zone was: First Avenue to Third Avenue, and Ninth Street to 11th Street.

Now, as the above sign shows, they've expanded the zone to include East 12th Street and Eighth Street...

Soon, they may make it all the way down to Avenue A...

Updated: A few readers mentioned that the sign (photo above) is outdated ... or hasn't been updated ... According to the Nicoletta website, the delivery zone is: 6th to 12th streets from 4th Avenue to Avenue B.

Nicoletta will start delivering pizzas if you live just a few blocks away

Eater notes this morning that Nicoletta, the new pizza place some people like on Second Avenue at East 10th Street, is starting delivery service tonight.

And the delivery zone is: First Avenue to Third Avenue, and Ninth Street to 11th Street.

Can't seem to recall a smaller delivery zone than that one ...

Final preparations at Nicoletta, opening tonight at 5

At Nicoletta, the new pizza place on Second Avenue and East 10th Street... workers are scrambling to have the place up and ready ....



...for the grand opening tonight...



For sneak previews, check out Eater and Grub Street and Serious Eats ...

(A few Eater commenters noted that the interior looks like a T.G.I. Friday's...)

If you go, then let us know how it is... because, to be honest, we'll likely never step foot in the place...

A Nicoletta for every window

Just noting that the signs are in the window now for Nicoletta, the incoming, high-endish pizzeria on Second Avenue at 10th Street ...







The place reportedly opens Friday, per Diner's Journal...

Details from Diner's Journal on Thursday:

[Chef Michael White] will serve 12- and 16-inch pies to eat in or take out. The tables in the restaurant, a high-ceilinged box in wood and brick with 62 seats inside and 38 on the sidewalk, are fitted with little metal sockets in which the stems of cantilevered pizza stands are placed, so a pizza does not take up table space.

Last month, CB3 OK'd a sidewalk cafe totaling 17 tables and 37 seats split between Second Avenue and 10th Street. Expect a mob out there this summer.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Cafe Centosette closes on Second Avenue

Former Cafe Centosette space becoming a fancy-pants pizza place