UWS Gluten Free, Kosher Eatery Will Open In Former Home Of Calle Ocho

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A popular gluten free and kosher restaurant team is expanding its Upper West Side footprint, and a recently shuttered longtime neighborhood eatery's storefront is getting a new tenant.

While a name has not yet been revealed, a new restaurant operated by the owners of neighborhood spots Modern Bread and Bagel and Thyme & Tonic will open at 2756 Broadway at the corner of West 106th Street, according to a a Business & Consumer Issue Committee Community Board 7 meeting.

The cuisine of the new restaurant will also be kosher and gluten free.

The incoming unnamed eatery will be taking over the space most recently occupied by Calle Ocho, which closed in January 2020 after serving customers on the Upper West Side for almost 25 years.

The 106th Street and Broadway storefront was actually Calle Ocho's third home on the Upper West Side, first opening in 1998 at 446 Columbus Ave., before moving to 45 W. 81st St. in 2012, and then finally to its final location.

The new restaurant space from the Modern Bread and Bagel team is going to be upscale, with an outdoor section and patio that will use a bar during the summer, Joshua Borenstein, who presented to Community Board 7, said.

"I'm very excited to have this restaurant going in there," Upper West Sider David Rebhun said during the meeting. "There is a long history of noise complaints here due to the many windows, though. I'm concerned more generally about noise from the outdoor area."

The restaurant's representative responded to the worry by hoping to promote an open line of communication between the eatery and nearby residents, as well as "reasonable and not rowdy crowds."

The new eatery will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on week days and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends. There was also a desire to have a DJ or live music every once in a while for special events, Borenstein said.

One of the Upper West Side board members questioned the need for a DJ if there was already a history of sound complaints at the location, but Borenstein emphasized that the larger music setups would only be on a special-occasion basis.

Additionally, the committee stipulated that there would no music played in the rear yard of the location.

The eatery's new two-year liquor license was subsequently unanimously approved.