Report: Higher rent helped doom Nino's; owner wants to open another pizzeria in the East Village

[EVG photo from yesterday]

On Wednesday, the signs on the door at Nino's stating that the pizzeria would reopen were removed... along with the help wanted signs...

As reported on Tuesday, owner Nino Camaj accepted a low six-figure amount to walk away from his remaining 10-year lease and surrender his longtime space on Avenue A at St. Mark's Place.

Nino's had to close on Oct. 21 due to a gas leak in the building. On Nov. 17, the pizzeria was hit with an eviction notice. Camaj has said that the gas was shut off in the building without any notice to him.

In late November, Camaj's lawyers were reportedly in discussion with landlord Citi Urban Management to dispute the rent charged for the month during which they had to close due to the gas leak. However, a Citi Urban representative at the time told Bedford + Bowery that Nino owed rent for previous months — not just for the month without gas.

DNAinfo spoke briefly with Camaj, who said that he could no longer afford the $14,500 monthly rent. "I’m not making any money before I closed," he told DNAinfo in a story published yesterday. "I’m breaking even."

Camaj said that the rent for the corner space was $3,500 when he opened in 1989. (Nino sold the business in 2012, which produced a short-lived pizzeria. He returned and reopened Nino's in July 2013.)

Camaj told DNAinfo that he would like to continue running a pizzeria in the East Village — if he can find a more affordable location.

Meanwhile, James Morrissey, who owns The Late Late on East Houston, had been after the Nino's space to combine with the former Hop Devil Grill next door to create The Honey Fitz, a destination serving a grab-and-go breakfast in the morning along with high-end cocktails by night... with WiFi and printers for freelancers and others to use during the day.

However, facing a denial for a liquor license from CB3's SLA committee on Tuesday night, The Honey Fitz team withdrew their proposal for the time being.

Morrissey said Wednesday that he "remains interested in the location, assuming all outstanding lease issues have been resolved," per DNAinfo.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Honey Fitz in the works for St. Mark's Place and Avenue A (54 comments)

Gas leak closes Nino's for now

Nino's and Yoshi Sushi served with eviction notices on Avenue A

Encouraging signs at Nino's

Report: The Honey Fitz on hold; and RIP Nino's

Report: The Honey Fitz on hold; and RIP Nino's

[EVG photo from November]

As previously reported, a cocktail bar-restaurant-co-working freelance/Wifi space called The Honey Fitz is in the works for the former Hop Devil Grill and the temporarily closed Nino's Pizza storefront on St. Mark's Place and Avenue A.

The proprietors, James Morrissey (The Late Late on East Houston) and Gerard McNamee (GM of Webster Hall), pitched the concept before CB3's SLA committee last night.

For starters, a quick recap about Nino's, the longtime pizzeria on the corner.

Nino's had to close on Oct. 21 due to a gas leak in the building, according to a sign on the door. On Nov. 17, the pizzeria was hit with an eviction notice. Owner Nino Camaj has said that the gas was shut off in the building without any notice to him.

In late November, Camaj's lawyers were reportedly in discussion with landlord Citi Urban Management to dispute the rent charged for the month during which they had to close due to the gas leak. Camaj still has 10 years left on his lease, and had been in court with the landlords.

However, before last night's CB3-SLA meeting, a tipster told us that Camaj had accepted a low six-figure amount to walk away from his lease and surrender the space. We'll have more about this development later.

As for The Honey Fitz. BoweryBoogie was at the meeting, and reports that in the face of a CB3 committee denial, The Honey Fitz team withdrew their proposal for another month.

Here are two passages from BoweryBoogie's coverage:

District Manager Susan Stetzer made sure the room understood her position that removing Nino’s for a business locals unanimously reject is unacceptable. The decades-old pizzeria has been shuttered for months because landlord Citi-Urban Management shut gas to the whole building (i.e. purported leak), and even residents are without the utility.

And!

The panel quickly filed behind Stetzer on this one, and was collectively incensed that Nino’s Pizza was not only being forced out, but that these operators were content to side with a landlord who acts in such wanton manner. Seeing the imminent denial at hand, the applicant team employed the strategy of withdrawing. Keeping the board and the opposition on ice for another month to reassess “given the situation with Nino.”

Read BoweryBoogie's full coverage here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Honey Fitz in the works for St. Mark's Place and Avenue A (54 comments)

Gas leak closes Nino's for now

Nino's and Yoshi Sushi served with eviction notices on Avenue A

Encouraging signs at Nino's

The Honey Fitz in the works for St. Mark's Place and Avenue A

There are ambitious plans in the works to convert and combine the former Hop Devil Grill space on St. Mark's Place with the temporarily closed Nino's Pizza next door on Avenue A, according to public documents (PDF) on the CB3 website.



A team led by James Morrissey (The Late Late on East Houston) and Gerard McNamee (Webster Hall) are proposing an operation called The Honey Fitz that would offer quick-serve breakfast as well as lunch and dinner ... in addition to a bar with "upscale craft cocktails." During the week, The Honey Fitz would offer free Wi-Fi and printers for "all local creative entrepreneurs."




[Screenshots via the CB3 website]

According to the paperwork filed ahead of this month's CB3-SLA meeting on Feb. 16, The Honey Fitz is named for the yacht owned by the Kennedys.

The configuration shows two bars in the conjoined spaces ... with seating for up to 90 people. The proposal includes a plan for a sidewalk cafe with 5-7 tables for two along St. Mark's Place.


[Click to go big]

As mentioned, the plan calls for the conversion of longtime tenant Nino's pizzeria, which has been anchoring the corner of Avenue A and St. Mark's Place.

Nino's had to close on Oct. 21 due to a gas leak in the building, according to a sign on the door. On Nov. 17, the pizzeria was hit with an eviction notice. Owner Nino Camaj has said that the gas was shut off in the building without any notice to him.

In late November, Camaj's lawyers were reportedly in discussion with landlord Citi Urban Management to dispute the rent charged for the month during which they had to close due to the gas leak. As we understand it, Camaj still has a lease on the space, and is currently in court over the matter.

You can read the comprehensive questionnaire for The Honey Fitz at the CB3 website. (Here.) The questionnaire includes several letters of no objection from nearby neighbors who said they would welcome this concept to the block.

The SLA committee meeting is Feb. 16 at 6:30 p.m. in the CB3 office, 59 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.