Ongoing building issues force Caffe Corretto to close after only 2 months in service on 12th Street

Photo from June 2023 by Stacie Joy 

After more than five months of frustrating limbo during building repairs, the owners of Caffe Corretto announced yesterday that they will not be reopening at 511 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

East Village residents Colin Vickery and Leah Blewett, partners in business and life, were behind this project that they say was inspired by the all-day cafes of Rome. Sadly, though, they only were able to realize their dream of running a restaurant for two months last summer.

The two shared this statement with us yesterday:

We are heartbroken to announce that Caffe Corretto will not return ...

After years of planning, two joyful months of service, and five months and counting of frustrating limbo, the ongoing repairs to our building have forced us to depart permanently. Following a gas leak that was discovered in August, we were required to close our doors, and while we've worked hard since then, the space still cannot be used for our restaurant at this time. 

We remain hopeful that the robust and comprehensive business interruption insurance that we purchased to protect us in the case of an event like this will come through. However, without that crucial support for our young business, we must bid farewell to our home on 12th Street. 

We want to share our warmest thanks with our team, our investors, our friends and family, and especially our guests. Welcoming you was an unmitigated delight, and we will miss you dearly. 

We're so grateful for all of the love and support you've shown us, including through this interminable closure, and we look forward to seeing you around our neighborhood for a caffe, a slice, or a cold vermouth over ice with a twist.

In a follow-up email with EVG's Stacie Joy, Leah said:

We love the idea of reopening at some point, but for now, it's far away and would for certain require our business interruption insurance to pay according to the terms of our policy. Until then, there's not much we can do except vacate the space and wait and see.

Caffe Corretto opened last June, offering an appealing mix of breakfast pastries and lunchtime pizza al taglio ... while the evening menu featured a variety of pasta dishes, seasonal salads, and other entrees via Chef Alessandro Urbisci. 

Previously, Raclette was here for six years, bowing out in 2022.  

Dunkin' shutters on Cooper Square

After 10 years of dispensing doughnuts and coffee, the Dunkin' outpost at 67 Cooper Square has closed. 

A for-lease sign now hangs in the front window here between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place. Workers cleared out the space last week.

Apparently, the 10-year lease was up. The brand arrived here in the summer of 2014, the new tenant after Norman's Sound & Vision decamped to Williamsburg. 

Dunkin' was always a nice alternative to chains like Blank City Coffee.

Chicken & the Egg closes; taqueria in the works for the space

Chicken & the Egg has closed at 221 Second Ave. between 13th Street and 14th Street. 

Signage notes the new business coming soon: Dear Rufino Taqueria...

We're not sure who's behind the new establishment... and if the closure also impacts Sincerely, Ophelia, the speakeasy in the back. 

The fried chicken sandwich restaurant-speakeasy combo opened in August 2022.

Mr. Kim quickly leaves St. Mark's Place

Photos by Steven 

Store-for-rent signs are now posted at 22 St. Mark's Place, marking the end of a brief run for Mr. Kim. 

The business only arrived in September and offered one-stop-shopping for some St. Mark's Place-friendly staples — tattoos, piercings, cheap sunglasses, etc.

Mr. Kim, no relation to the onetime famous Kim's on the block, was here 21 years and nine months less than the last business — WAGA, which sold handmade goods primarily from West Africa.