Sadly, Fragole On Court Street May Close By The End Of The Year

*****UPDATE  June 15, 2005 ****
please read response from current manager at bottom of post

I am sad to report that Fragole, the Italian restaurant that has been operating at 394 Court Street since 2003, may be closing at the end of the year. A reader made me aware of a lengthy note published on the eatery's website by Andrew Rodas, the founder of Fragole. It appears that there has been a dispute regarding ownership between the partners.

The note by Andrew, who owns a 30% stake in the business, describes a lengthy legal battle with a businessman who seems to hold the lease to the restaurant. The dispute still seems to be unresolved, though the New York State Supreme Court ruled on parts of the case. According to Andrew, regardless of the outcome of the legal wrangling, the businessman "is not planning to renew the lease that's expiring next year, so it'll be sad to see Fragole go."

According to the reader who sent me a link to the restaurant's web site, he writes: "This would be a big loss for the neighborhood (and me!)."Here is a screenshot of the website. You can read the entire text on the website directly here:

Andres would like people to share the story and welcomes opinions. The website lists his contact information if you are inclined to communicate with him.

*****UPDATE****

I received an email from the manager of Fragole,  who shed some more light on the situation at the beloved Italian eatery.  Here is what she wrote:

Hello Pardon Me For Asking blog,

I hope this email finds you well. I am the active manager at Fragole ristorante on 394 court street and I just read your post about our restaurant. I just wanted to clarify since information lately is being misconstrued. 

Our old website fragoleny.com has been hacked into and compromised. There is now a false story going around and I wanted to clarify with you that Fragole will not be closing and we are continuing to do business as per usual, with authentic food, good service and rustic, friendly ambiance. 

We are now running our new website on www.fragolenyc.com orwww.fragolebk.com. We will continue to post our specials daily and hope to always make customers happy through their stomachs which is what us Italians love to do. 

I appreciate it very much and I hope you have a beautiful day.
Mille Grazie

Obviously, the good news is that the restaurant is still very much open for business. So go and enjoy a meal at Fragole.  Hopefully it will remain open.



Read more