Sauce returns to service on 12th Street

After a months-long closure, the Sauce Pizzeria outpost at 345 E. 12th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue is back in service. (Thanks to the reader for the tip!)

A sign for patrons, dated Dec. 16, stated that they "have made the tough decision to close our doors for the next few months." And: "We are planning to relaunch this location with great enthusiasm, and we look forward to serving you again soon!" 

The reopening coincides with a fresh colorfully painted storefront...

Sauce arrived here in 2018. 

The pizzeria also has outposts on the Lower East Side (Allen at Rivington) ... plus Brookfield Place and Moynihan Train Hall.

The East Village Sauce outpost shutters for now on 12th Street

The Sauce Pizzeria outpost at 345 E. 12th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue is temporarily closed. (Thanks to Steven for the photos.) 

A sign for patrons, dated Dec. 16, states that they "have made the tough decision to close our doors for the next few months."

And: 

We are planning to relaunch this location with great enthusiasm, and we look forward to serving you again soon! 

We have a great passion for our community and neighborhood and aren't going anywhere. Brookfield

 Sauce arrived here in 2018. 

The pizzeria also has outposts on the Lower East Side (Allen at Rivington) ... plus Brookfield Place and Moynihan Train Hall.

Sauce Pizzeria deliver free pies to hospital workers; landlord chips in and freezes rent

[EVG file photo]

The crew at Sauce Pizzeria, 345 E. 12th St., has been making and delivering up to 400 pizzas at no charge for hospital workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis.

Owner Adam Elzer said he got the idea after hearing from a nurse who said she and her fellow workers didn't have time to eat, as NBC New York reported.

When Elzer's landlord discovered that they've been delivering to 40 different hospitals in all five boroughs, he reportedly offered to help.

Per NBC New York:

"I saw what Adam was doing on social media honestly and when we noticed what he was doing it was very clear that we needed to help him," said Ben Kraus of A&E Real Estate Management. The group also donated more than $20,000 to help Adam get more pizzas to more medical workers.

Sauce opened here between First Avenue and Second Avenue in September 2018.

Updated 3:45 p.m.

A few people asked when Sauce is open for takeout-delivery. The answer! 5-10 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. Whole pies only...


[Photo by Lola Saénz]

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The pizzeria isn't the only local restaurant helping out. Frank Prisinzano, the owner of Supper, Frank and Lil' Frankies, and his team have been delivering meals to local hospitals.

Ho Foods, Kura and 886 teamed up to donate and provide meals for hospital workers. Their goal is 2,000 bentos by the end of this week.

Previously on EV Grieve:
San Loco's special delivery to 2 local hospitals

Openings (Night Music) and reopenings (Sauce Restaurant)

Night Music officially debuted last night at 111 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

This is Ravi DeRossi's latest vegan entry in the neighborhood. Here's a blurb from Grub Street on this Indian restaurant:

This time DeRossi has a secret weapon: his mom. She taught executive chef Spencer Caine how to cook all the traditional dishes Ravi ate growing up during a months-long vegan-Indian-cooking boot camp at her house in Colorado.

Thanks to Vinny & O for the photos!



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[Image via Sauce]

And down on Allen at Rivington, Sauce Restaurant re-opens today following a kitchen fire that forced the 8-year-old Italian joint to close back in early January.

The restaurant has been upgraded with a refreshed interior as well as a new food and drinks menu.

Adam Elzer, who took over ownership in 2016, also runs Sauce Pizzeria on 12th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue and Coco & Cru on Broadway at Bleecker.

Sauce Pizzeria opens Saturday, though look for free slices tomorrow

[EVG photo from Saturday]

There will be yet another pizza option starting Saturday when Sauce Pizzeria opens at 345 E. 12th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

As first noted back in June, Adam Elzer of Sauce Restaurant on Allen and Rivington is behind this venture.

Elzer and company hope that the sauce here will set them apart from other pizzerias. Here's more from a Sauce rep on what to expect in the 22-seat space:

At this counter-service, pizza parlor, guests are encouraged to put sauce on everything and are given sides of sauce like (Grandmother's Gravy, Mantecato, Filleto, and Bolognese) with every order to enhance their meal, perfect for dipping crusts or adding an unexpected twist to salads.

Adam has been perfecting his dough recipe for the last five years, narrowing in on thin crust pies. Their coveted Pizza Master oven achieves overall consistency and ideal leopard spotting on each pie. The use of a homemade sourdough starter, Central Milling Beehive organic malted flour, fresh sauces, and a unique cheese blend creates their signature flavor profile. Pie highlights include:

• Upside Down Cheese Pie: constructed by reversing the order the ingredients are put on the pie with mozzarella, pecorino, tomato sauce, wild sicilian oregano, and breadcrumbs
• Heritage Sausage Pie: housemade pork sausage, red onion, shaved garlic, and breadcrumbs
• Vodka Pie: spicy mantecato sauce, fresh mozzarella, and basil

Additional menu items include:

• Fried Polenta Sticks
• Garlic Knots with fresh garlic & garlic oil
• Chocolate & Vanilla Van Leeuwen Soft Serve (the only venue in nyc to offer VL soft serve)
• Van Leeuwen Soft Serve Floats with Boylan's Soda (Black Cherry, Root Beer, Cola, Orange, etc.)

And an image via the rep...



Sauce is giving away free slices tomorrow (Friday!) from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The space was last home to S'MAC, who moved to the corner at First Avenue in July 2017.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Sauce Pizzeria coming to 12th Street

More about Sauce Pizzeria, opening later this summer on 12th Street

More about Sauce Pizzeria, opening later this summer on 12th Street

In late May we noted that signs were in the windows at 345 E. 12th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue for a new restaurant called Sauce Pizzeria.

EVG reader Adam C. thought that the logo looked similar to that of Sauce Restaurant on Allen and Rivington.

Good eye, Adam. A rep confirmed that Sauce Restaurant and Sauce Pizzeria are from the same ownership.

Here's what the rep shared:

Sauce Pizzeria will be a nostalgic pizza parlor, where homemade sauces are the star, each simmering pot visible upon entering the quaint yet eclectic space. At the counter, guests will be able to choose from a selection of signature pies, composed salads, and signature bowls.

Owner Adam Elzer has a heavy “sauce on everything” philosophy and will offer extra sides of sauce with all orders to enhance meals.

Sauce Pizzeria is slated to open at the end of the summer.

Sauce Pizzeria coming to 12th Street

The Sauce signage recently went up in the windows at 345 E. 12th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue...



There isn't any other info at the moment about who's behind this venture. (Sauce does have an Instagram account.)

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Updated 9 a.m.
Several readers have suggested that this is a spin-off of Sauce Restaurant on Allen and Rivington.

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The space, just a few storefronts away from Motorino Pizzeria, was last home to S'MAC, who moved to the corner at First Avenue last summer.

Thanks to Lola Sáenz for the tip!