Ciano to Reopen on UES; Shea Gallante OUT

A month and a half ago, restaurateur Stratis Morfogen abruptly shuttered his two-and-a-half-year-old Flatiron restaurant Ciano with plans to reopen it on the Upper East Side. Now, according to Grub Street, Morfogen has announced that the new incarnation, Cucina Ciano, will open up this August at 181 E. 78th Street, in the space that formerly housed restaurant Carpe Diem.

As suspected when news first broke of the Flatiron shuttering, acclaimed chef Shea Gallante will not be involved with the new restaurant. Tien Huyn, who served as Gallante's sous at the former location, will be the chef of Cucina Ciano. Morfogen says the Upper East Side restaurant will serve many of the original's greatest hits, but that he's aiming to create a more casual and accessible restaurant in the new space.

· Ciano Reopening As Cucina Ciano on Upper East Side [Grub Street]
· All Coverage of Ciano [~ENY~]