Say What? Former 'The Grocery' Space On Smith Street To Become 'Pop Pasta', Home Of The Original Spaghetti Donut!

Screenshot from Pop Pasta's web site

This, we did not expect.

The storefront once occupied by The Grocery at 288 Smith Street is to become Pop Pasta, home of the original spaghetti donut. If that sounds like a sad replacement for a once  thriving and much loved local eatery to you, you are probably not alone. The storefront has been for rent since about 2016. Most people in the neighborhood probably expected a more upscale restaurant to open in The Grocery's place.

What exactly is a spaghetti donut? Pop Pasta describes it on its web site as the combination of "a popular Neapolitan dish, the spaghetti pie (frittata di maccheroni or frittata di spaghetti)  with an
American food icon, the donut."
Is that really a thing?
Apparently, Pop Pasta has been serving its spaghetti donuts at Smorgasburg Williamsburg and the Bronx Night Market. The 288 Smith Street location seems to be its first brick and mortar eatery.

When The Grocery, one of the first farm-to-table restaurants opened its doors in this spot in 1999, it quickly became a favorite spot for fine dining in Carroll Gardens

The intimate little eatery garnered much praise throughout its 16 year run, earning a rating of 28 out of 30 for food in the 2004 Zagat Survey for New York City.

Many were therefore surprised when, in 2015, owners and chefs Sharon Pachter and Charles Kiely decided to close their restaurant to take a step back and to decided what to do next. At the time, Pachter told the New York Times, that the decision had been difficult to make, but that they were exhausted. Long days and nights in the restaurant had taken their toll. "We love what we do. We just have to find a more humane and civilized way to do it, ” Pachter was cited in the Times.

Since the restaurant closed, Pachter and Kiely have hosted special dinner events, wine tastings and private parties in the storefront. At the same time, a "For Rent" sign has been attached to the gate off and on for the past years. 

Since Pachter and Kiely owned the building when they operated The Grocery, one would have thought that they could have found a worthier replacement then an eatery that serves pasta in the shape of a donut.

What do you think? Will Pop Pasta make it in Carroll Gardens?

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