High-flying chef Michael White's Midwestern-style pizzeria Nicoletta opened on June 15, 2012 on Second Avenue at 10th Street.
News of its arrival was met with some instant disapproval around here.
Like!
Via Jeremiah Moss: "Here comes yet another fucking upscale pizzeria for the East Village, where there have always been plenty of good, cheap pizza places."
Some readers were tuned off by Nicoletta's T.G.I. Fridaysish interior and clipboard-toting hostesses standing guard by the door while keeping tabs on those early are-you-fucking-kidding-me 90-minute waits ... and some reviews were quite unkind, such as the 0 stars the Times dropped on it.
Anyway!
Fast forward to now... Eater put Nicoletta on its Deathwatch yesterday... Eater figures that White and partner Ahmass Fakahany will close the place and turn it into another concept from their Altamarea Group's restaurant arsenal.
Per Eater:
Nicoletta means well. On a recent Tuesday night, Team Eater had excellent chicken wings, passable fritti, an okay pizza, and slam-dunk ice cream sundaes. The service was great and the tab was low, but the restaurant was as quiet as a tomb.
The question is not whether Nicoletta will close, but when. The safe bet is that Altamarea will revamp the restaurant once the D.C. outpost of Nicoletta is off the ground. After that, White and Fakahany might re-think this space and give the neighborhood something that it will really embrace.
Previous Nicoletta posts have produced some negative Nicoletta comments. I've never been here... Perhaps you have? Does death become it?
Previously on EV Grieve:
Nicoletta product placement or just trash?