Greek Restaurant To Replace Calexico In Big Astoria Space

ASTORIA, QUEENS — Since Calexico closed down this summer just months after it opened, Astorians have wondered what business would try its hand next at the big triangular restaurant space on 30th Avenue.

Now they have an answer: Nisi Mediterranean, a Greek restaurant that hopes to open up by early December, manager Lefteris Daskalopoulos told Patch.

With an existing location in Mellville, Long Island, Nisi also had a previous location in Manhattan's West Village before moving uptown to the Theater District, though the Midtown location shuttered as the city emptied out during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But Nisi has reason to be optimistic about its chances in Queens.

"We're coming to Astoria, which is a Greek neighborhood," Daskalopoulos noted.

In keeping with its coastal theme — "nisi" means "island" in Greek — Nisi has applied a white coat of paint to the standalone restaurant building between 32nd and Newtown avenues, which Calexico had painted black.

They are also renovating the restaurant's interior, though Nisi will presumably benefit from the significant improvements that the owners of Calexico carried out after taking over the space in 2019.

When Calexico closed in July after just eight months in business, co-founder Dave Vendley told Patch that the money spent on those renovations, combined with the pandemic and a summer heat wave, had dug the restaurant into a hole that it could not climb out of — despite amassing a solid customer base.

Once open, Nisi will be the fifth restaurant to occupy the 30th Avenue space since 2014. But Daskalopoulos brushed aside claims that the storefront could be "cursed," pointing out that the Greek spot Athens Cafe had survived there for years until its 2014 closure.

"The corner there, I believe, it was well-known as a Greek corner," he said.

As for the food, Nisi's other location offers traditional salads, hearty entrées like mushroom risotto, seafood paella and lamb shank, plus mezze, daily specials and desserts — though Daskalopoulos said the new location will "adjust our menu according to the Astoria needs."

Related coverage: Astoria's Big Calexico Restaurant Closes After Less Than 1 Year