EAST VILLAGE — Neighborhood staple B&H Dairy Kosher Restaurant is one step closer to reopening, nearly four months after Con Edison shut off its cooking gas for safety reasons, according to the city.
The 73-year-old restaurant, at 127 Second Ave., received a gas authorization from the Department of Buildings on Aug. 8, a necessary step for restoring service, a DOB spokesman said.
“Finally the last inspection pass,” owners Fawzy and Ola Abdelwahed wrote on Facebook Saturday. “Now we can start open[ing] the gates.”
The couple was not immediately available to comment.
Con Edison shut off the restaurant’s cooking gas because of pipe leakages shortly after the Second Avenue gas explosion in March, which killed two men and razed three buildings just a few doors down from B&H Dairy, a spokesman previously told DNAinfo.
The last few months have been a struggle, the Abdelwaheds previously said. As they navigated through red tape to make necessary repairs and schedule inspections, they continued to make their $8,000 rent each month and pay off their monthly electricity and insurance bills.
A crowdfunding campaign is currently underway to help the owners pay for rising costs.
B&H Dairy faced another setback last week, when it failed its gas authorization because it could not pass a pressure test designed to check the pipes’ integrity, the DOB previously told DNAinfo.
It is unclear when the restaurant will reopen. It still needs to pass an additional inspection from Con Edison, which had an appointment with B&H Dairy Monday afternoon, utility officials said.
B&H Dairy also needs to restock the restaurant before opening and still needs to pass a Health Department inspection, its owners said.
