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Read the press release here.

Greek Cousins to Bring Mediterranean Spin on Comfort Food to First Avenue

By Shaye Weaver | July 9, 2015 2:20pm
 Cousins NYC will open in the former East River Diner at 1514 First Ave.
Cousins NYC will open in the former East River Diner at 1514 First Ave.
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DNAinfo/Shaye Weaver

UPPER EAST SIDE — Brothers Zachary and Felix Papadakis and their first cousin George Forakis are opening Cousins NYC, a new restaurant with a Mediterranean flare.

The restaurant, at 1514 First Ave. between 79th and 80th streets, will offer traditional comfort food such as burgers, sandwiches, salads and hand cut french fries, and also a selection of their mothers' recipes from their homeland of Crete. Diners can expect dishes such as pastitsio, a Greek version of lasagna, according to Forakis.

The new spot will replace East River Diner, which had been there for 30 years. They hope to open in September.

Their fathers, Nick Papadakis and Mike Forakis, owned two restaurants in New Jersey — McAteer's Restaurant and Reo Diner — for decades, where the cousins worked growing up.

"The boys worked the restaurant together with me during their school years and went on to be professionals," George Forakis said. Zachary Papadakis works as a dentist on the East Side and Felix Papadakis is a lawyer. They were both born in Brooklyn.

The restaurant will be open seven days a week, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., except on Saturdays when it will be open until midnight.

Their request for a liquor license got a green light from Community Board 8's street life committee this week. The proposal will go before the full board July 15, and then to the New York State Liquor Authority for final approval.