Aisle Be Back: Fairway Reopens in Red Hook

Hurricane Sandy devestated the East Coast at the end of October last year. In Red Hook, the storm left five feet of seawater inside Fairway and destroyed everything therein. The only option was to throw it all out and start from scratch. Seventy dumpster loads, over $20 million in repairs and damaged inventory, and four months to the day later, the 50,000 square foot grocery has reopened. On Friday last week, Borough President Marty Markowitz, Mayor Bloomberg, Senator Chuck Schumer, Miss America, and St. John Frizell (owner of Fort Defiance a few blocks away) were among those celebrating the store's return. We made it to Van Brunt later in the afternoon. Here's a look around the new and improved Fairway.

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Governor Will Not Reopen

The owners of Colonie, Gran Electrica, and Governor announced over the weekend that, due to damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, they will not be reopening Governor.

"In the aftermath of this dreadful storm, we assessed the destruction at Governor caused by five feet of water, and we were determined to rebuild our fledgling restaurant.  But despite our commitment and the subsequent and remarkable outpouring of support in all forms--from individuals, the restaurant industry and the community, we have, regrettably, been forced to accept that the scope and scale of repairing the damage to our restaurant is beyond our means financially.

It is with a very heavy heart that we must humbly face up to this fact."

We had the good fortune of eating at Governor shortly after the restaurant opened, but the unfortunate news serves as a reminder of the storms severity. We're sad to see the restaurant close, as it had quickly received city-wide acclaim, neighborhood praise, and two stars from Pete Wells in the mere four months it was open. Benefits held and donations made since Sandy have raised over $50,000 for the restaurant, but Tamer Hamawi, one of three owners, "estimated the damage at $300,000 to $350,000," writes Wells in an article for Diner's Journal. The owners are offering to return all the donations.

Along with Hamawi, Elise Rosenberg and Emelie Kihlstrom will continue to pour their efforts into their other two projects, "We will continue to operate Colonie and Gran Electrica and refocus our efforts on making these businesses viable in their Brooklyn neighborhoods for the long term." The statement also reveals that Brad McDonald, who served as the executive chef for the restaurant group, will be moving on "to spend time with his wife and two young children." [StongBuzz] [Diner'sJournal]

Pork Slope's Hurricane Sandy Benefit

Dale Talde, Dave Missoni, and John Bush hosted a fundraiser at Pork Slope last night to benefit victims of Hurricane Sandy. Wyatt Cenac and Eugene Mirman were amongst those tending bar, ?uestlove showed up around midnight and DJ'd a set of 80s jams and funky Xmas tunes, and two lucky attendees won tickets to the February 5th Nets vs. Lakers game at Barclays Center.

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Sandy Benefit Tomorrow Night at Pork Slope

Dale Talde and co. have put together a fund raiser to benefit Hurricane Sandy victims. Tomorrow night, December 18th, from 9pm - 2am, comedian Wyatt Cenac (former Daily Show correspondent) will be behind the bar with owner John Bush and resident Pork Slope bartender Phil McNamara. All tips and sales of the "Slippery Slope" special running tomorrow night will go to the Brooklyn Recovery Fund. The special is a shot of Jameson and a can of Blue Point Toasted Lager. For $20, you can buy into a raffle for the chance to win two tickets to the February 5th Nets vs. Lakers game at Barclays Center. All proceeds from the raffle will also go to the BRF. The Roots drummer Questlove will be there to DJ a late night set too. It's a win win.

Just Dropped in to See What Condition Red Hook's Condition Was In

Red Hook was one of the neighborhoods in New York to get hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy. Manhattan south of 39th Street received power at the end of last week; some Friday, most Saturday. In Red Hook, many areas are still without. We spent the afternoon criss-crossing Red Hook's streets to see what condition the seaside neighborhood is in.

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From Kung Fu Fighting to Downtown Dining, Hopefully

In lieu of a review this week, Pete Wells penned "Why Downtown Needs Diners Now," in which he embraces the culinary landscape in downtown Manhattan. He writes, "While other neighborhoods suffered more, downtown needs support now, too." Aside from physical damage brought by Hurricane Sandy Monday, October 29th, the ensuing power outage forced restaurants to throw out perishable inventory. "This is a big hit for businesses that get by on small margins," Wells notes, "and for workers who are often paid by the hour. A few places may not survive. All will struggle."

Wells describes the southern end of Manhattan as "the place where chefs come to think big thoughts, still, even with Brooklyn rising." It is there where you'll find "thinkers," "highly-distinctive voices," a "virtuosic manipulator of flavor and texture" in Paul Liebrandt of Corton, David Bouley, whose "mind won't stop whirring," and Annita Lo, a protege of Bouley's, who is guided at her restaurant Annisa by her "uncannily perceptive palate."

There is a unique charm and culinary talent enduring in restaurants south of 23rd Street. "Right now, these restaurants, the people who own them and, even more, the people who work for them, need us. And we need them. Downtown’s restaurants show us who we are." All told, the article lists 29 restaurants that exemplify the downtown experience. Perhaps now more than ever, any restaurant would be grateful to accomodate guests, but we thought we'd lay out those mentioned in the article for a quick reference on where you might go to do your part:

Come Together, Right Now, Over Meat

[allison joyce/getty images]The New York City restaurant community is coming together over the recent havoc wrought by Hurricane Sandy. #DineoutNYC was launched on Halloween and aims to get local restaurants affected by the storm back on their feet by encouraging people to go out to eat. The #DineoutNYC Facebook page reads, "#DineoutNYC is a movement to motivate people to dine out in restaurants throughout NYC in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. This movement helps restaurant operators and their employees get back to work and helps diners learn about where to dine out in New York City. Getting involved is easy. Using #dineoutNYC allows diners to be part of a movement to support restaurants throughout the boroughs."

Dine Out Williamsburg gives participating restaurants and bars the chance to donate a percentage of their sales to the Red Cross. Their website notes that, "As members of the Williamsburg community, most of us came out unscathed by last week’s Hurricane Sandy.  If anything, businesses saw a boom from this disaster, and many of us would like to pay it forward." Dine Out Williamsburg takes place this Thursday, November 8th. Some of the participants so far include: Diner, Marlow & Sons, Reynard, Gwynnett St, Mason Premiere, Nitehawk Cinemas, Parish Hall, and the Brooklyn Star.

Riders On the Storm

Hurricane Sandy brought countless damage in her winds while power outages and floods have left a majority of New York City's restaurants temporarily out of commission. Our travels have removed us from the wrath Sandy wrought on the city, but our thoughts are with everyone affected by the storm.

David Chang offered the above words of wisdom via Twitter, which has been our source for updates on the storm and the city's condition while we're in Vietnam. Here are a few more to come via Twitter regarding restaurants that are able to open tonight:

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