Erica Y. Lopez for News
Sweet Jane's set to open in the former spot of the FB Lounge.
In New York, it is not uncommon for restaurants to change owners like most people change cell phones. Whether it is rising rents, evolving neighborhoods, poor sales or mismanagement, even popular eateries often go bust.
Last year, this became a reality for three Latino destinations in Manhattan: La Fonda Boricua and its sister establishment, the FB Lounge in East Harlem, and the lower Broadway staple Gonzalez y Gonzalez.
The closures not only left faithful patrons disappointed, but left salsa fans with fewer places to practice their moves and Latin musicians with fewer venues in which to perform.
Downtown at G&G, veteran bartenders Joey Dee Cirillo and Evan Cohen got the chance to carry the G&G torch or should we say sombrero?
Everything is better now. The bar is longer, the menu is cheaper, and there is a whole new spin on food, said Cirillo, who reopened G&G with Cohen on March 21 and has brought back live music nights from Thursdays through Saturdays.
The new owners were able to rent half the space that G&G occupied for 23 years, only now the new entrance is at 192 Mercer, the original restaurants former back door. The other half, the one that faces Broadway and used to have the huge Mexican sombrero, is now occupied by the Mexican food chain restaurant Chipotle.
Theres just one catch in the deal. The once Tex-Mex restaurant can no longer serve nachos, burritos, fajitas or tacos.
We are now serving authentic Mexican food like tamales and tlacoyos, the items you would find on the streets of Mexico, an upbeat Cirillo explained. Most importantly, a lot of these items are under $ 5.
The famous sombrero is back, refurbished and smack in the middle of the dining room.
Uptown in Spanish Harlem, the FB Lounge, a Puerto Rican restaurant and bar decorated with Taino Indian symbols that offered live Latin music, has been renamed after a rock n roll tune.
We wanted a name from a song Sweet Janes is a very cool, casual song and that is the same feeling you get when you walk into the place, said co-owner John Jason, who is planning on opening in the next two weeks.
The new venue, where Roberto Clemente Jr. has a minority stake, according to Jason, will offer American fare and has installed couches and flat- screen TVs that give it a sports bar feel.
It will no longer have live music but will have a new outdoor garden. Jason also wants to have rotating artists regularly feature their artwork at the location.
Finally, the restaurant that was once the home of the beloved La Fonda Boricua, a cultural stronghold for 16 years, is undergoing a complete renovation though it doesnt seem people are ready to speak about it.
Various people declined to comment, including a restaurant employee and former Fonda Boricua co-owner Roberto Ayala.
A new blue-and-white striped awning simply reads Tapas Bar. But they are hiring, according to a Craigslist ad, and the plan is to open sometime this month.
ericaylopez@gmail.com
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