Sanwits replacing Rowdy Rooster on 1st Avenue

Photo by William Klayer 

Signage arrived on March 31 for Sanwits at 149 First Ave., between Ninth Street and 10th Street. 

This is being billed as a Filipino sandwich shop. (Photo below by EVG reader Wes.)

The previous tenant, Rowdy Rooster, had been "temporarily closed" here since the fall, with a note on the door promising that "new things are coming." 

That appears to be Sanwits.

The Rowdy Rooster signage disappeared in January (photo by Steven).

The new venture looks to be from the Unapologetic Foods team — the same group behind Rowdy Rooster. (Unapologetic Foods is currently the only account following Sanwits' placeholder Instagram.) 

We've reached out to an Unapologetic Foods rep for more details. 

Rowdy Rooster, which offers spicy Indian fried chicken, opened in February 2022. It proved popular enough to try an outpost near Penn Station in 2023.

The openings, reopenings and temp closures on one stretch of 1st Avenue

Photos by Steven 

With Banshee now open at 143 First Ave., let's reset the storefront scene on the west side of the avenue between St. Mark's Place and 10th Street.

In just the past few months, this short stretch has seen a flurry of new openings, closings and reopening-soon signs. Here's a quick rundown. 

Rowdy Rooster has been "temporarily closed" all this fall at 149 First Ave. There is no word on a reopening date for the quick-serve restaurant from the Unapologetic Foods team, which opened in February 2022.

Next door, Gooey on the Inside Cookies debuted in early October. Background here.

To the south, Kikoo Sushi, located between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street, reopened after a months-long renovation...

And next door, Surprise Scoop, billed as "the world's first flavor roulette ice cream shop," has been closed since the DOH paid a visit on Sept. 13...

The posted notices and the DOH website mention operating without a permit, as well as other sanitary violations.

While the shop's Instagram account notes a temporary closure, the interior doesn't look so promising...
 

The shop's Instagram account mentions "TEMP CLOSED due to permit issues."

Rowdy Rooster debuts on 1st Avenue

Yesterday saw the debut of Rowdy Rooster, the new quick-serve establishment at 149 First Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street from restaurateurs Roni Mazumdar and Chintan Pandya. 

Here, Pandya "is proudly bringing to NYC the types of spices he has experienced in fried chicken on street carts in India," per its Instagram account. 

The shop is open now for takeout and limited indoor dining. Delivery is coming soon. They are open Tuesdays through Sundays from noon to 10 p.m. Check out the menu here. (And find a Rowdy Rooster preview article at Eater via this link.)

The restaurateurs, who also operate Adda and Dhamaka, have big designs on fast-casual Indian food. They plan on opening Kebabwala, which will focus on classic kebab preparations, this year at 82 Second Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street. (More details here.) 

Last April, Mazumdar and Pandya decided not to renew the lease for the Masalawala, bringing an end to its 10-year run just below Houston at 179 Essex St.

Post now includes an updated photo of the exterior via Steven 

More details on 2 new fast-casual Indian restaurants from the owners of the Masalawala

Back on June 23, we reported that restaurateurs Roni Mazumdar and Chintan Pandya of the Masalawala fame were opening a quick-serve establishment at 149 First Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street. 

The restaurateurs, who also operate Adda and Dhamaka, apparently have big designs on fast-casual Indian food.

As the Times reports, Mazumdar and Pandya are opening two spots in the East Village.

The first of the team's fast-casual restaurants, the fried chicken-centric Rowdy Rooster, opens in August on First Avenue and Ninth Street. Mr. Pandya is studying the numerous Indian iterations of fried chicken, from pakoras to Chicken 65, a spicy snack that supposedly originated in a hotel in Chennai. 

A month later comes Kebabwala, on Second Avenue and Fifth Street, which will focus on classic kebab preparations like chicken tikka and seekh kebabs.

Kebabwala will be going into 82 Second Ave., which has seen several restaurants come and go through the years, including 7 Spices and Reyna Exotic Turkish Cuisine. The owners are expecting a fall opening.

As for 149 First Avenue, which will house Rowdy Rooster, the storefront has been vacant since Afandi Grill closed after 13 months in October 2019. And several years earlier, This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef roamed the space until March 2014.

In April, Mazumdar and Pandya decided not to renew the lease for the Masalawala, bringing an end to its 10-year run just below Houston at 179 Essex St., as Eater first reported. 

Photos by Steven