Afghan Kebab House relocated to 1448 First Avenue on October 11
After being forced to close due to a reported impending demolition of the building, Afghan Kebab House has found a new home just a few blocks away. Originally located at 1345 Second Avenue (between 70th and 71st streets), the restaurant had to shutter on September 28 after being told the building would be demolished to make way for a new high rise. Fortunately, they were able to reopen on October 11 at 1448 First Avenue (between 75th and 76th streets).
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Owner Izmar Yalai, who runs the business with his son Mackenzie, told East Side Feed that the move was fairly sudden, but that they were lucky to find the new location so quickly. He said that they rushed to fix up the new space so that they just “lifted the restaurant from Second Ave and took it over to First Avenue.” The space is a bit smaller—they can now seat 35 rather than 40-45 at the old space—and he misses the décor he added over the years, especially the waterfalls and chandelier.
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But Izmar is happy to see many of the faces who frequented the restaurant before the move. He says that many of their regulars have found them and followed, but that he wished he had information to contact them all. They are working on getting some traction on social media, and the website is not yet updated, so they’d love to get the word out.
While the address doesn’t match, the website still shows what they have to offer. The menu remains exactly the same and you can call the same number to make a reservation or order takeout (718-813-9556).
Izmar is happy to report that the new location has been great to work with, making the transition as easy as possible. It was briefly home to Zucchero e Pomodori, although it abruptly closed soon after relocating from its previous location at 1435 Second Avenue.
The other restaurants in the soon-to-be demolished building on Second Avenue were forced to close as well. Il Divo shared via Facebook that they closed on September 29 and have yet to find a new home. Jean Claude moved to 1076 First Avenue in September.
Plans to demolish the building were filed in January of 2022, but no movement has since been seen on the project. East Side Feed reached out to the building’s owner, Gatsby Enterprises, in September; however, the representative told us that there were no demolition plans at that time. The restaurants are now boarded up, and signs that directed customers to new locations—including Afghan Kebab House—have been covered or torn away. What ultimately happens to the space remains to be seen, but we’ll provide updates as soon as we know more.
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Developers are definitely targeting avenue buildings. So many services like shoe repair shops, locksmiths, etc. are gone. If you pass one, remember where it is; there aren’t many left.
Hopefully, some of those will relocate to side streets. There are numerous underutilized side street locations that once housed small businesses. Perhaps we can revisit the past and offer affordable space for neighborhood small shops?
Good for the restaurant, too bad for the old neighborhood.