While many NYC restaurants have been forced to close since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, one Midtown establishment has consolidated three restaurants into one location to stay afloat through the ongoing crisis.
Meet Nerai, a Greek restaurant at 55 East 54th Street, between Madison and Park Avenue, that opened in 2013. Recently, the two-story restaurant also started up a new Italian venture from its location called Segreta Cucina Italiana. What’s more, the follow-up restaurant from popular sushi chef Mark Garcia — Kissaki — will start operating a second outpost of the Bowery restaurant from this Midtown location come May 14.
All of it came together when Nerai owner Spiro Menegatos started thinking of creative ways to use his massive Midtown space — which stretches two floors above ground and two below — after the shutdown on dining in went into effect in mid-March. After initially closing his restaurant, Menegatos felt he had to stay open and do something with the space besides Greek food.
His initial preference was to bring in a sushi chef, but when that didn’t materialize, Menegatos decided to focus on Italian comfort food to be prepared by the same chef running the Greek kitchen. The chef, Moshe Grundman, lived in Italy for seven years and has worked at the Greek restaurant since 2017, according to Menegatos.
Segreta Cucina — which means “secret kitchen” in Italian — refers to the Italian kitchen tucked away in the Greek restaurant, Menegatos tells Eater. The lower two floors of the restaurant have two different kitchen spaces, and each of the restaurants there can now operate in its own distinct sections.
The Italian spot now turns out classics like Calabrian shrimp, veal Milanese, and pappardelle bolognese, along with Italian-American fare like penne a la vodka. “My chef hates that we added such an inauthentic dish, but people really want comfort favorites at this moment,’’ Menegato says. “We use all the best ingredients including hand-stretched fresh mozzarella.’’
Kissaki’s second outpost is the latest addition to this expanding kitchen. Menegatos met Garry Kanfer, one of the owners of Kissaki, through a mutual friend. Kanfer was looking to expand his delivery network beyond downtown Manhattan, and Menegatos had plenty of room to spare at his establishment.
Starting May, Kissaki will occupy a portion of the kitchen at Nerai and deliver to Midtown, and the Upper West and East Side. The omakase takeout sets on the menu at the Bowery location will also be offered at the Midtown spot, though Kanfer tells Eater that the restaurant is placing the nigiri toppings under the fish instead of on top so that they travel better during delivery.
Kanfer is hoping to turn the Midtown outing into a permanent location once the pandemic passes, by using one of the two dining rooms Nerai has to offer. “All we need to do is build a bar,” he tells Eater. At present, Kanfer doesn’t pay rent on the Midtown location and has worked out an agreement with Menegatos to share profits.
Menegatos too is looking to expand. “When we are allowed to reopen, we will probably only serve at half capacity, so I will look for another location for Segreta,’’ he tells Eater.
For now though both Nerai and Segreta Cucina are available for delivery and takeout on various online delivery platforms, and both have their own distinct menus. Kissaki will be open for delivery and takeout in Midtown and Uptown in a couple of weeks.
NOTE: A previous version of this article stated that Kissaki would start delivery from its Midtown location on May 1. The restaurant has now pushed that to May 14.