Showing posts with label Rich Torrisi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rich Torrisi. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Carbone Going Corporate


CARBONE
and
The Former ROCCO'S SIGN

Thompson Street
GREENWICH VILLAGE
NEW YORK


The juggernaut, as the New York Times recently called then, The Torris Boys (Major Foods) is going corporate. "Watch Out Boys and Girls," that means exclusiveness, cachet, and overall cool factor goes down. Major expansion, they going corporate, McDonaldesque if you will. Well not quite, but you know what I mean. The so called Torrisi Boys, Mario Carbone, Rich Torrisi, and partner Jeff Zalaznick who own and operate; Carbone, Parm (2 locations), Torrisi Italian Specialties, and ZZ plan on major expansion in the next couple of years with a large bakery/ restaurant downtown, that will partner with Melissa Weller and feature fresh baked; Bagels,Danish, Bear Claws, Challah Bread, yeast based and other baked goods. Jeff Zalaznick states, "It's going to be our version of Barney Greengrass."
     The partners whose Parm Restaurant on Mulberry Street next to their first place Torrisi Italian Specialties has been super successful from day one and quickly spawned a sister Parm at Yankee Stadium. The Torrisi Boys (Major Foods) plan on opening several more outposts of PARM all over New York, in; Battery Park, 2 in Brooklyn of which one be near to The Barclay's Center and another in Williamsburg, the Upper West Side and who knows where else? The New York Times says they plan on building Parm into a citywide Shake Shack style franchise. "Good Luck." Corporate, make a ton of money, but majorly lose cachet and so-called cool-factor. You can't have it all boys. They probably do.
    Most well-heeled New Yorkers hate chains a corporate conglomerates when it comes to restaurants. Many giant nation-wide food chains who've made it big in a large part of the country thought they'd come in to New York and knock-em-dead. Not! Discerning New Yorkers tend to like small independent restaurants, not corporate like Applebee's and Bennigans. When you see restaurants like Red Lobster and Olive Garden doing well around Times Square it's tourists and the less well healed New Yorkers going to them, the rest of us hate chain restaurants. 
    So it will remain to see what happens with Parm, Carbone and the now much smaller Major Foods (Torrisi Boys) empire. With a good number more Parm Outlets open, will the original loss it cachet and hot-factor? Who knows? Probably. And what of Carbone, the flagship of the corporation which has from day one and to this point (March 20, 2014) been uber-hot and still New York's Hottest Restaurant Ticket in Town? Time will tell, and ...


DBZ





PARM

Mulberry Street


Frank Sinatra & Dean Martin



FRANK & DEAN

NOW THAT'S COOL" !!!!











Monday, January 20, 2014

ROCCO'S CARBONE DANTE MILADY'S And GREEDY LANDLORDS





















The OLD ROCCO'S SIGN

The traditional Italian restaurant Rocco in Greenwich Village has closed due to “greedy landlords,” as Rocco’s owner Antonio DaSilva says on the now-defunct restaurant’s voice greeting.



THE OLD ROCCO'S SIGN

"Yes the Old Sign with CARBONE Superimposed
Over ROCCO

all photos Daniel Bellino-Zwicke



GREENWICH VILLAGES LOSES CHERISHED CAFFE RESTAURANT BAR 
            and BAKERY (Vesuvio's)


First it was Rocco's a couple years ago. Rocco's Restaurant on Thompson Street was just one of few surving Old-School Italian Red-Sauce Restaurants left in New York's Greenwich Village .. As per usual with greedy-landlords and insane skyrocketing rental priced, the rent on Rocco's was jacked-up by another "Greedy Landlord" and Rocco's was "pushed out of business" and forced to shut its doors after almost 90 years in busines (Since 1922).

Milady's, one of the last remaining old-school neighborhood bar was forced out of business by "greedy landlords" and served their last Beer to sad and loyal customers on Sunday, Juanuary 12, 2014 ...

The beloved classic Italian Caffe, "CAFFE DANTE" Closed on Sunday, January 19, 2014
"What is this World Coming to?"


Reported From The VILLAGER   ........ January 19, 2012



In November of last year, the New York City restaurant blog Eater reported that the traditional home-style dining spot’s lease was up at the end of 2011. And to renew that lease the landlord was asking for $18,000 a month — a $10,000 monthly increase from what DaSilva traditionally paid.
Assuming the lease are young up-and-comers Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi, both chefs belonging to the Torrisi Italian Specialties team. Together with partner Jeff Zalaznick, the group operates a mini-chain of restaurants with two spots in Little Italy and a stand at Yankee Stadium.
Word is the Torrisi team struck a deal with Rocco restaurant’s landlord and then slyly advertised the restaurant takeover in a 16-second video on their Web site.
“It’s pretty bad and it’s a shame,” said Ralph Redillo, the superintendent of the restaurant’s building. “A lot of outsiders came into the neighborhood just for Rocco’s.”

Pat Gombos, a neighborhood regular of Rocco's says, “Great prices, great food and great atmosphere,  I’ll totally miss it.”








"La TAVOLA" Is GREENWICH VILLAGE ITALIAN