Angelo Romano's Pizzeria Rocky Slims Closes About a Year After Its Debut

The constantly hopping chef Angelo Romano is off to new projects again. His Kips Bay pizzeria project Rocky Slims has closed, not long after Romano's one-year working agreement with the restaurant's owner ended, Romano tells Eater. "The restaurant, name, and concept were never mine," he writes in an email. "I was hired to execute an idea and what the kitchen / back of the house staff achieved and created over the past year was some really rad food that I'm super proud of. " The restaurant's owner has decided to "pursue other uses for the space," Romano says.

Rocky Slims, at 338 Third Ave., opened in February of 2015 with a "contemporary Italian-American" menu, with pizza from the former Roberta's chef. Reviewers loved Romano's take on the pizza but some weren't sure about the overall vibe. Romano, who's also spent time at the short-lived Masten Lake and The Pines in Gowanus, will now be doing tastings with friends at restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn over the next few months. He will also be "chilling hard," he says. Stay tuned as more information becomes available.