Social media influencer Danny Mondello, known online as Cugine (which is Italian slang for cousin), is opening an Italian sandwich shop and cafe called Casa Cugine (427 Graham Ave.) in Williamsburg.
Casa Cugine will takeover the storefront that was previously home to Caffe Capri, a family-owned shop that closed in 2015 after serving the neighborhood since 1974.
Casa Cugine will serve a tight menu of Italian sandwiches that Mondello’s millions of Instagram and TikTok followers will recognize, like the “Hey Toots” with turkey and spicy soppressata and the “How Ya’ Doin” with chicken cutlet and broccoli rabe.
To drink, there will be sodas, including Mondello’s favorite soda, Diet Coke, and iced coffee slushes, similar to the ones that became popular at Caffe Capri. Plus, there will be gelato and cannoli for dessert.
Mondello wants Casa Cugine to feel like an old Italian social club. It is opening in a historically Italian section of Williamsburg, just a few doors down from two mainstays, Anthony & Son Panini Shoppe (433 Graham Ave.) and Emily’s Pork Store (426 Graham Ave.).
According to Grub Street, Anthony & Son’s Sabino Curcio feels no ill will toward Mondello and actually helped him find the storefront for his sandwich shop.
Curcio told Grub Street, “The way we see it, it’s good for the neighborhood and the culture. People come to get a sandwich from us one day, they get a sandwich from Cugine another, maybe they go to Emily’s another day — we all win.”
Casa Cugine will open “any day now” as soon as permits are approved, according to Grub Street.