Michael White’s Nicoletta in East Village Shutters, But He Has Expansion Plans | Eater NY

"After nearly seven years I watched the original East Village location close, and Chef Michael White is now planning to reinvent the critically maligned pizzeria as a fast-casual, counter-service chain with little to no seating and a focus on takeout and delivery. I note Nicoletta has been running a delivery-only operation out of its sister restaurant Osteria Morini in Soho with an expanded menu that includes more salads and entrees like branzino and gnocchi. Opened at 160 Second Ave. on Tenth Street in 2012, the 50-seat space struggled to fill with sit-down diners—delivery and takeout accounted for over 70 percent of the restaurant’s revenue, which prompted the shift. Critics were cool from the start: Pete Wells of the Times wrote that “the pies are overburdened conglomerations of cheese, flour and fistfuls of other stuff; in the end, the elements cancel one another out,” other negative reviews followed and the restaurant landed on Eater’s Deathwatch in 2013, yet it managed to keep doors open through the end of 2018 while expanding to a New Jersey location, a Pennsylvania mall outlet, and a stall in Citi Field. The concept is presented as the Altamarea Group’s homage to White’s favorite childhood dish: hand-tossed specialty pies or create-your-own pizzas made fresh to order, alongside snacks, handmade pastas, and fior di latte soft-serve gel." - Carla Vianna