Postcrane carnage outside Crave

When a crane collapse took down chef Todd Mitgang’s seven-month-old restaurant, Crave Ceviche Bar, last March, business was booming. Now—almost a full year after the website’s promised April 2008 reopening date and in the midst of a restaurant-unfriendly economy—The Feed checks in with co-owner Dino Andreakos, and finds that the future of the restaurant still appears nebulous.

“Our landlord attempted to evict us,” Andreakos tells us, “on the premise that the building had to be knocked down and rebuilt from the damage of the crane.” With the help of law firm Adam Leitman Bailey, the owners were “able to force a settlement” and give the Crave team “a chance to open in another location.” Having reached the settlement in October, the team’s focus is now on reopening.

Crave, in happier times.

Possible locations are scouted “two to three times a week, every week,” Andreakos says, alluding to sites in the downtown area and the restaurant’s former midtown neighborhood. When asked for an approximate reopening date, Andreakos explains, “It depends on what space we take over. If we find a place that requires relocating the kitchen, or doing major storefront work, that could take nine months to a year. If we find a turnkey operation, we could sign a lease and have the doors open in 60 to 90 days.”

Andreakos says that the menu—which featured a series of proteins “ceviche’d” in myriad juices, sauces and even champagne—will remain intact. As for the restaurant’s website, look for updates and a new reopen date to be posted soon, hopefully one with a more certain conclusion.—Charlie Fish