MIDTOWN — Burgers, ramen, pork buns and bánh mì will soon share the same roof in Midtown.
Graso, a take-out hamburger joint, and Kitto, a sit-down Asian restaurant, were set to debut on East 48th Street between Madison and Fifth avenues this week, said owner Raymond Kim, who was opening the eateries with his twin brother, Rob.
Located in a former Mangia restaurant, Graso will be on the building's ground floor, and Kitto on the second story.
"We actually kind of didn't know the plan until we signed the papers," Raymond Kim said with a laugh. "We just wanted to try something different and have something in the neighborhood that's different."
The restaurants, just north of Grand Central Terminal, will open in an area with few culinary options, outside a smattering of steakhouses, food trucks, takeout salad bars and delis. In fact, the Kim family owns a few of those delis, as they operate five Toasties shops in Manhattan.
"We were at first thinking a full-blown Japanese restaurant, but we wanted to do something with a bit more of a mix," Raymond Kim said. "Now we're down to the wire, we're very nervous. But you don't know until you try."
This week will mark only the restaurants' soft openings, Raymond Kim sainf, adding that "the menus will be evolving" but declining to elaborate further.
Graso and Kitto are located at 16 E. 48th St.
