Astoria
Jul 29, 2014

Some Ditmars Updates, July 2014

I took a walk down Ditmars over the weekend to check on some things that are pending in the opening department. The first thing I stopped at was the Caffe (…)

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I took a walk down Ditmars over the weekend to check on some things that are pending in the opening department. The first thing I stopped at was the Caffe Bene coming to the old Jackson Hewitt space at 31-30 Ditmars.

caffe-bene-ditmars-plywood-astoria-queens

There seems to be constant sounds coming out of there, so they are working on it, though I peeked in and saw that the place still seems pretty much at the gutted stage.

Next I stopped by Nature’s Taste at 35-07 Ditmars.

butcher-ditmars-waiting-astoria-queens

The place looks ready to go—shelves, coolers, and display cases are in, just no product. I did see that they have a Facebook page, finally.

I sauntered past Francis Cafe, AKA Le Gamin Astoria, and saw some of the tasty things they had on special this weekend. The people inside seemed to be enjoying themselves quite nicely.

francis-cafe-le-gamin-ditmars-astoria-queens

Finally, I stopped in at the new mystery restaurant going in at 38-01 Ditmars, the old Rosario’s Pizza.

new-italian-restaurant-ditmars-38th-astoria-queens

As you can see, they’ve put a facade on the outside, compete with doric-type columns and faux stone. Here’s what it used to look like:

old-rosarios-ditmars-38th-astoria-queens

Photo credit: Google Maps.

I asked the guys what was going in there and they repeated what we’ve heard for weeks—Italian restaurant. I asked what they would be serving and the answer was “everything.” I did manage to step inside and see the space, which is still way under construction. The guy inside said they’d serve everything from pizza to meats to poultry. Wine, too. I saw a pizza oven on the left, some semblance of a bar, and a dining room that was smaller than I expected. They said it would be open in about a month.

So there you have it.

About Meg Cotner

Meg Cotner was trained as a harpsichordist and now works as a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of "Food Lovers' Guide to Queens," and is a skilled and avid home cook, baker, and preserver.

3 Comments

Kevin

Any word on a liquor license for Le Gamin Astoria?

Also, the new Italian restaurant is called “Grano’s”

Reply
Ron

Also re old Rosario’s pizza space: they painted that facade a hideous salmon/red color today. Hope that’s not the final color!! Yikes

Reply
Joan

Re the old Rosario’s Pizza space: with such an elaborate facade, let’s hope they’re not using flocked red wallpaper in the interior!

I also noticed the almost-open OK Cafe on 33rd Street off of Ditmars, next to Amenda’s nail salon.

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