Greenpoint’s cozy vegetarian Italian food and natural wine destination, Adelina’s (159 Greenpoint Ave.) will permanently close at the end of August after 8 years in business.
Adelina’s introduced a fully vegetarian and vegan menu in 2019, and in January transitioned from making their usual ‘pizza fritta,’ or fried pizza, to a version made with fermented dough known as ‘pinsa Romana.’
Owner Toby Buggiani made the decision to reopen at the end of April following the restaurant’s temporary closure during NY’s coronavirus pause, and told Greenpointers that the transition to a take-out format came with lower profit margins exacerbated by third-party deliver app fees.
Buggiani setup direct ordering on Adelina’s website in May to remedy the third-party fees, but the mounting losses from a lack of indoor business coupled with limited street dining options in front of a bus stop on Greenpoint Avenue are forcing the closure, according to a statement posted on social media:
“After 8 years of serving Greenpoint we unfortunately have to announce that we will be closing Adelina’s in exactly one month. We have absolutely loved being part of the #Greenpoint community and being able to do things in our own quirky way.
Unfortunately, we have a landlord that is unwilling to budge on rent even though we are paying for an unused indoor space. There is a bus stop out front so we cannot put street side seating out and our storefront is relatively small meaning we can only put a few tables on the sidewalk.
But beyond these realities we have made the choice to close because what made Adelina’s special was it’s small cozy vibe. Good people huddled together in the dimly lit restaurant letting the warmth of good natural wines take hold and allowing italian vegetarian and vegan food fill their stomachs with music playing and inspired ideas highlighting conversations. Adelina’s was never meant to be a place just churning out food like a factory conveyor belt. It was meant to be quality over quantity, small and different. Our intention was to save some animal life with our menu choices, not risk our staff and customers’ lives with a potential of spreading a virus. In the current climate, a place like Adelina’s just does not make sense anymore, and while we appreciate many places are finding ways to pivot, and pivot again and again, we think we should preserve what Adelina’s was. Adelina’s was a place that never quite fit in any specific mold and that is what made it special for so many people.
Before we close, we have a couple of events that we will be announcing in the next few days. We will be posting images of details of the interior of the restaurant as they will no longer be seen by diners and will most likely be destroyed by whatever business takes the space after we are gone. If you have never been to Adelina’s, you have a few weeks left to try us. For our loyal customers: we love you all so much and we are sorry we have to close down. New places will always sprout up in the fertile soil that is NYC, as things disappear, new things will take their place.”
SO many businesses closing, this neighborhood is gonna feel dead in a few months.
This is a real bummer. We loved that place. Best of luck to the staff.