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Rooftop Lounge Opens at Hotel Indigo

By DNAinfo Staff on June 28, 2011 5:53pm

By Jill Colvin

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MIDTOWN — A new Italian restaurant and rooftop lounge from the world-renowned BiCE group are set to open Tuesday night at the Hotel Indigo, following serious complaints about previous management.

The new caféB, which replaces the former Blu Restaurant and Bar, will serve mid-scale Italian cuisine in a "fun, hip, stylish atmosphere" on West 28th Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues, general manager Peter Guimaraes said.

In addition to the new eatery, the hotel's renovated rooftop sky lounge will re-open, serving up cocktails and small plates as well as sweeping 360 degree views of Midtown.

The launch is the first of a more casual concept from the Ruggeri family's BiCE group, which first began Milan in 1926. The group now operates more than 30 restaurants around the world, with locations in Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East, as well as the BiCE Ristorante on East 54th Street, which was described at "outrageously expensive" by New York magazine, but earns consistently high reviews.

As for the new spot, "We're not a five-star restaurant, but we have five-star food," said Guimaraes, whose team was still busy at work Tuesday afternoon, perfecting the menu design and finishing construction on the space, which will feature furniture that arrived from Italy just two days ago.

"We’re trying to do a mad rush to get it done," he said.

The space, which had previously been managed by the hotel, had been a source of constant complaints from neighbors, Nicholas Athanail, chair of Community Board 5's public safety committee, said at a public hearing on the Ruggeri's liquor license application last week.

"That rooftop operation has been a disaster for the this community," said  Athanail, who said the board had received an "enormous" number of complaints every weekend from residents and was pleased to see the venue switching hands.

Restaurateur Roberto Ruggeri also assured members he has no plans to turn his eatery into a loud or noisy space.

"We are restaurateurs, not bar operators," he said.

The grand opening is set for 10 p.m. tonight.