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Italian Chef to Head Up New South Bronx Pizzeria

By Eddie Small | August 2, 2016 1:42pm
 A new pizzeria should open in the South Bronx by mid-September, according to the development team.
A new pizzeria should open in the South Bronx by mid-September, according to the development team.
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DNAinfo/Eddie Small

PORT MORRIS — A new Italian restaurant and pizzeria should arrive in the South Bronx in just a few months, marking the latest business venture into the neighborhood from developer Keith Rubenstein and his team.

The eatery, called La Grata, will serve a variety of pizzas, pastas and salads and will be headed up by Chef Erminio Conte, a native of Italy who came to New York City about 15 years ago.

"It’s going to be a traditional establishment of Italian food," Conte said. "A lot of gourmet pizza, traditional Roman pizza, and [it's] also going to have some salad and fresh pasta."

Conte has imported two ovens from the southern Italy port of Naples to be used in the restaurant and help make the cuisine more authentic.

La Grata will be located at 136 Alexander Ave. in Port Morris and should be ready to open by mid-September, according to Rubenstein.

Sean Largotta, who is partners with Rubenstein at Somerset Hospitality Group, stressed that this new restaurant was meant to be affordable for and accessible to locals. Appetizers should cost around $6, while pizzas will range from roughly $9 to $15 and overall checks should come to around just $20.

"We don’t want this to be fine dining. We want this to be comfortable," he said. "We want everyone to feel like they’re welcome to come in."

The restaurant will employ between 15 and 20 people, and Conte plans to start interviewing potential workers over the next few weeks, with a focus on hiring people from the community.

La Grata is one of several developments that Rubenstein is planning for the Port Morris area of the South Bronx, which also include a food hall at 9 Bruckner Blvd. and a residential and retail complex at 101 Lincoln Ave. and 2401 Third Ave.

He has also already helped to open a coffee shop at E. 134th Street and Third Avenue and a fashion boutique and art gallery at 41 Bruckner Blvd.

His installation of a billboard in the neighborhood advertising that the "Piano District" was coming caused a significant controversy among locals, as they viewed it as an attempt to gentrify and rebrand their home. His team emphasized repeatedly that they envisioned La Grata as a restaurant that would serve and employ people who are already in the neighborhood.

"For us to feel welcome is to have locals there that live there, that breathe there, that understand what the needs are of the community," Largotta said.