Williamsburg’s Pomp & Circumstance Faces Uncertain Future With MTA Construction

Pomp & Circumstance faces an uncertain summer

A new MTA project to make the Lorimer Street-Metropolitan Avenue L and G train stop ADA accessible is threatening the future of Williamsburg Mediterranean restaurant Pomp & Circumstance, located near the corner of Lorimer Street and Metropolitan Avenue, Greenpointers reports.

Owner Melissa Morales is in favor of the accessibility improvements — which includes the addition of an elevator and a new staircase entrance to the station — but wants the project to be delayed to later this year so the restaurant doesn’t completely lose its outdoor seating. Construction is set to get underway May 1, and Morales tells Greenpointers that the lack of outdoor seating will come as a crushing blow for a restaurant that has largely survived the pandemic — like many others across the city — on outdoor dining. Instead, Morales is hoping delaying the construction until later in the year will allow the restaurant to recover a significant amount of revenue during the summer months as more people eat outdoors.

The MTA on its part says there’s no firm date on construction and discussions with the community are ongoing. A community meeting is scheduled for later this evening, where Morales hopes other neighbors will voice support for the restaurant. Construction work is set to take about two years from start to finish. Morales opened the restaurant in June 2019 along with her husband and chef James Ahearn, who previously ran the kitchen at popular Italian-American restaurant Verde Wine Bar and Ristorante in Deer Park, Long Island.

In other news

— Restaurants in some Manhattan residential neighborhoods like the Upper West Side are seeing a surge in business in part due to the warmer weather and the return to indoor dining at half capacity.

— An upcoming Los Angeles Times Home Dinner Series event includes a meal prepared by Cosme’s Enrique Olvera. The four-course meal costs $105 per person and is available for pick up on April 24 at the restaurant.

— Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s vegetarian restaurant abcV is reopening for lunch starting April 13.

— Dig, the popular office lunch chain, is partnering with airline Jet Blue on a new customizable menu that will be available to travelers on a new flight between New York and London that’s set to launch later this year.

— Renowned baker Melissa Funk Weller has debuted her own bakery called Funk Foods Bakery. The bakery doesn’t have a physical location yet, but Weller’s baked goods will be available for local pick up in Brooklyn and for nationwide shipping.

— Women in Hospitality United and Gourmand are hosting several top women chefs and business owners who will talk about their experience working in the industry on April 9 and 10.

— Just how we like to start our day: