Contra Principal Might Revive ‘Una Pizza Napoletana’ Pizzeria on Orchard Street
Contra and Wildair principal Jeremiah Stone this week filed the application with Community Board 3 for his proposed Hell Square pizzeria. And some foodie circles are buzzing about what it could potentially mean for the neighborhood.
The paperwork is somewhat light on details, but does include a sample menu with a header of “Una Pizza Napoletana.” It’s also the corporate name of the business. This has many wondering whether Stone is bringing Anthony Mangieri back to the neighborhood. He last served pies from 2004 to 2009 under the same Una Pizza namesake in the East Village.
Mangieri’s name doesn’t appear anywhere on the application. However, as Eater notes, the menu provided pretty much mirrors the San Francisco location of the restaurant. According to the questionnaire, the eighteen-table restaurant on Orchard Street would seat 75 people, including a bar, and would be open from 5pm to 11pm.
Of course, all this news could mean the end of a controversial road for four-year-old Whynot Coffee. Conceived in 2013, owner Emil Stepkov opened at 175 Orchard Street with a beer-wine license under the guise of an art bar, and twice tried to upgrade to full liquor. Both times resulted in failure. Stepkov also briefly considered relocating the coffee shop to make way for a restaurant concept that never got off the ground called Sushi Wa. Through it all, though, the coffee concept seemed to click with neighbors.