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Raclette is now open at 195 Avenue A just north of East 12th Street.
The quick-serve restaurant is the creation of East Village resident Edgar Villongco, who originally tried to open the cafe in 2012 on East 12th Street.
At the time, he was seeking a beer-wine license. After a handful of residents spoke out against another liquor license for the block between Avenue A and Avenue B, Villongco — who lives nearby — dropped the plans rather than pursuing the matter directly with State Liquor Authority. (You can read all the background in this article published in The Local from June 2012.)
Instead of the cafe, he opened a scooter shop, Urban Motion, at 508 E. 12th St.
However, after nearly three years, he recently closed Urban Motion to put his focus back on launching Raclette (without a beer-wine license still).
Villongco shared a little more about the cafe.
"It's got both French and Swiss Raclette dishes, but the croques and tartines are mainly French influenced with some twists. For example we have a Cubano with dijon mustard, and a tartine with that comes on naan with curried cauliflower and hummus," he said.
And here's a look at the menu...
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Updated: Yes, they do serve racelettes…
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