Italian Spot, Wollman Rink Among New Upper East Side Restaurants

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The Upper East Side's latest restaurant openings will include an Italian eatery, the new Wollman Rink concession, and a wine bar relocating after a dispute with its landlord.

Most of the upcoming eateries were presented on Tuesday to Community Board 8's street life committee as their owners sought the board's approval to obtain alcohol licenses. They are among the dozens of new restaurants that Patch has covered in recent months as the city recovers from the depths of the pandemic.

Here's a rundown of the upcoming businesses presented this week:

Sojourn Social (1708 Second Ave., between East 88th and 89th streets):

• Owner John Musovic contacted Patch about this New American restaurant set to open in the former Genesis Bar space on Second Avenue.
• An outpost of the existing Sojourn restaurant on East 79th Street, Sojourn Social will have a focus on cocktails, including some available on draft. It is set to open in early November once city permits are secured, Musovic said.

Unnamed Italian restaurant (808 Lexington Ave., between East 62nd and 63rd streets):

• This not-yet-named Italian eatery will occupy the storefront previously home to Fig & Olive, a Mediterranean restaurant. Its owner is Terrence Lowenberg, a principal owner of the real estate firm Icon Realty, who also owns the Chelsea Pines Inn on 14th Street.
• Lowenberg and a representative told the board that the restaurant will be a "fine-dining, white-tablecloth" establishment with quiet background music, open daily from noon until midnight.

Vero (1149 Second Ave., between East 60th and 61st streets):

• In business since 2002 on Second Avenue near East 77th Street, the owners of Vero sued their landlord Benjamin Ohebshalom this spring, accusing him of making violent threats in an effort to drive them out of the building in order to redevelop the site.
• This week, owner Jude Marovic told the community board that Vero was relocating because the owner of its current home is "looking to demolish" the building. Now, Vero has signed a lease at 1149A Second Ave., where it will operate a virtually identical business as its existing bar.
• Food will serve meat and cheese plates, salads and paninis, Marovic said. It will be open until 4 a.m. some night, prompting concerns from board members who said Vero has not responded to noise complaints at its existing location.

Wollman Rink concessions (Central Park)

• One of the neighborhood's highest-profile openings, the new concessions at Wollman Rink will be manned by Wollman Park Partners: the joint venture by Related Companies, Equinox gym and Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment that the city picked in July to take over the beloved rink from the Trump Organization.
• While some questioned the choice of a business-oriented group to run the park attraction, representatives reminded CB8 this week that the group planned to accept no profits from the rink, intending to reinvest any proceeds from concession back into community programming.
• Speakers included Melba Wilson, proprietor of the eponymous Harlem restaurant, whose food will be featured at the new Wollman. The concessions, Wilson said, will "represent the melting pot that our city truly is."
• Concessions will be managed by Great Performances, a catering company also responsible for Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Plaza Hotel. The rink aims to open on Nov. 15, and Wollman Rink Partners aims to spend $7 million upgrading the rink's "outdated" equipment.

More Upper East Side restaurant coverage:

• New Upper East Side Restaurants: Greek Spot, Seamore's Seafood
• New Pizzeria, Bakery, Health-Food Eatery Open On Upper East Side
• These New Restaurants Are Coming To The Upper East Side
• Upper East Side Wine Bar Owners Say Landlord Made Violent Threats