CLINTON HILL — After 15 years on Myrtle Avenue, Zaytoon’s is closing and returning next month as a taqueria with a full salsa bar, the restaurant’s owner said.
The Middle Eastern eatery at 472 Myrtle Ave. will reopen in early January as Villa Pancho, a California-style taco spot, owner Ahmad Samhan said.
Zaytoon’s closed Dec. 3 after signs went up on the restaurant’s window announcing that it would reopen as a new concept with a new name.
Samhan said he decided to switch gears after struggling to make ends meet over the past three years.
“I was holding on and holding on and I realized that Zaytoon’s was one of the first restaurants, sort of like a frontier store on Myrtle Avenue,” he explained. “I still believe in Myrtle Avenue, I just don’t believe in Zaytoon’s on Myrtle Avenue.”
The restaurant owner said he decided to switch things up by opening a Mexican eatery since he’s had experience operating taquerias in the past.
The new restaurant will be more casual with grab-and-go options, and the menu will include tacos, burritos, chips and salsa.
Like Zaytoon’s, the new restaurant won’t serve alcoholic drinks.
Samhan said Zaytoon’s other two outposts in Prospect Heights and Carroll Gardens will remain open.
In the meantime, the restaurant owner said he’s looking forward to a fresh start in the neighborhood.
“It’ll be a new feel, a new look and a new atmosphere,” Samhan said.
