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— Vegan fugitive restaurateur Sarma Melngailis — who was recently nabbed in Tennessee after ordering Domino's pizza — finally faced a judge in a Brooklyn courthouse yesterday. Her bail was set at $350,000, and she now faces a 24-count indictment for allegedly stealing $2 million from her restaurant, Pure Food & Wine, and stiffing her employees on their wages. A bunch of former Pure Food & Wine employees showed up to the hearing yesterday to "see justice served." If convicted, Melngailis and her husband could face 15 years in prison. No word yet on when her arraignment will be held.
—‚The dining payment app Cover has been phased out. The company, which launched in 2013, was acquired by its UK-based competitor Velocity last year. Velocity will fold Cover's functionality into its app, which allows diners to make reservations and pay via their phones.
— A grease fire broke out in the kitchen of the McDonald's on First Avenue near Sixth Street last night around 7 p.m. The FDNY rushed to the scene. There was no damage to the dining room. The restaurant closed for the evening and reopened for business this morning.
— The Pomeroy's application for outdoor seating has sparked a debate about the number of sidewalk cafes on Ditmars Boulevard in Astoria. A neighboring business owner collected signatures from local residents who adamantly oppose more sidewalk seating. One NIMBY tells DNAinfo: "You cannot even walk....I've gone up Ditmars at night. You have to see it to believe it." The Community Board 1 gave initial approval the application with the suggestion that The Pomeroy team only put out four tables, as opposed to eight.
— A rolled ice cream shop by the name of Roll it Up is coming to 65 East Seventh Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue. EV Grieve notes that this is just one of three new rolled ice cream shops headed to the neighborhood.
— Bowery hot spot Rebelle now offers four shareable entrees: veal porterhouse, whole sole meuniere, lamb shoulder, and roasted chicken. Rebelle also launched brunch not too long ago.
— A new cafe/flower shop called Bohaus is coming to Marcus Garvey Boulevard near Halsey Street in Bushwick. The shop will serve Kobrick coffee.
— The Brooklyn Barge Bar near Greenpoint's Transmitter Park is almost ready to roll:
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— Mekong on King Street closed at the end of April, and now paper is up in the windows of the space. A new team has applied for a liquor license in the space with the name Box Hill listed on the app, but no public information about the applicant is available on the Community Board 2's homepage. A few blocks away, Tribeca Citizen notices that paper is up in part of the Jacques Torres space on the corner of Hudson and King. The chocolatier's cafe is still open. It looks like part of the factory space is being converted into another operation — a worker says it will serve ice cream and sandwiches.
— A new seven-table American cafe is coming to the corner of Canal and Rutgers streets called Little Canal. No word yet on an exact opening date.
— And finally, here's a look at how Josh Capon makes the lamb burger at Burger & Barrel in Soho: