Iconic Lunch Counter B & H Dairy Hits Another Roadblock in the Long Struggle to Reopen

Beloved lunch counter B & H Dairy has hit another blockade to reopening. The restaurant has been closed since the 2nd Avenue explosion and the team keeps promising to open soon, but this past Saturday the fire department handed down some tough news during an inspection. The space needs a new fire suppression system in order to reopen. That work will take at least three weeks, says EV Grieve. Owners Fawzy and Ola Abdelwahed have launched a campaign on Kiva Zip, a crowd-lending site which will hopefully give them a $10,000 loan to go towards the work, to paying the staff, and buying groceries when they're ready to reopen. Another crowdfunding campaign on Smallknot has already raised $26,505 for the restaurant, but is now closed to donations. Meanwhile, Stage Restaurant across the street is still battling its landlord to stay in its space and ultimately reopen.