tufino

[moose]

Tufino had a sign that they had a fire and were rebuilding. 

[braun]

I wonder how long it will take them to reopen

[JeffE93]

What a drag!  This bit is on their homepage.

"It is with great sadness that I write Tufino suffered a fire yesterday!! Unfortunately we will be closed for awhile to rebuild. We are hopeful that we will be back up and running soon and better than ever! Thank you to our loyal customers for your support!"

I remember the fire several years ago by the Ditmars stop that wiped out the Italian Restaurant called "Thirty One"  They never recovered, sadly. Good luck to Tufino.  I like that place a lot.  I hope they come back better than ever.

[RayG]

Well, it didn't happen yesterday. It's been shut for 2 weeks(?) or so.

[smiddlem]

sounds like BS to me.    I wonder what will eventually take its place?

Well, it didn't happen yesterday. It's been shut for 2 weeks(?) or so.

[RayG]

The sign about a fire went up immediately. I didn't personally see any fire, but the windows then were a bit sooty.

[braun]

The sign made it sound like it was a small fire with not much damage, but who knows how bad it really was.

[samgucci]

The sign about a fire went up immediately. I didn't personally see any fire, but the windows then were a bit sooty.

I walked past the morning after. There were people there checking out the damage. Lots of water on the floor and that damp, distinct "just put out a structure fire" smell that is so awful. From the little bit I could glance in the front of the building, it didn't look destroyed but it's safe to say there was definitely damage. Even if the fire wasn't too big and was caught early, the floor was swamped.   

[wannabehippie]

Anyone know how it started? I am guessing it is related to their wood fired oven, but that is purely a guess.

[yippee1999]

It seems 'odd' to me that I've yet to notice any kind of repairs occurring.  I wonder if this fire was enough to take the wind out of their sails...maybe they aren't sure they have the energy/desire to repair and re-open?

What I also found very strange was....maybe two weeks ago, there was a firetruck right in front of Tufino, and a few firefighters were on the sidewalk, and they appeared to be 'checking' for something by the door just to the right of Tufino's.  No idea what was going on, and when I later walked by again, I think the truck was still there, but nothing 'urgent' seemed to be going on.  So not sure what that was all about...

[TJT]

I'd bet they don't reopen.  We had some very good pizza there but there was always something lacking.  Poor service or disinterested staff.  It never seemed like a well-run operation or with any passion behind it.  We never left feeling like it was a great experience.  Just a decent pizza meal.  Along similar lines, I can't believe Via Vai (around the corner) is still in business either.  Worst pizza I ever ate in Astoria.  And remember that awful place with the gaudy design up on Ditmars closer to Steinway?  It seems that pizza is a tough business on Ditmars!  Albas has a good thing going.

[braun]

I'd bet they don't reopen.  We had some very good pizza there but there was always something lacking.  Poor service or disinterested staff.  It never seemed like a well-run operation or with any passion behind it.  We never left feeling like it was a great experience.  Just a decent pizza meal.  Along similar lines, I can't believe Via Vai (around the corner) is still in business either.  Worst pizza I ever ate in Astoria.  And remember that awful place with the gaudy design up on Ditmars closer to Steinway?  It seems that pizza is a tough business on Ditmars!  Albas has a good thing going.

I never ate at Via Vai.  I once saw them on the news and it made me want to go there but when I went there and saw the prices I changed my mind.

[wannabehippie]

They are re-opening tomorrow December 22nd.

[braun]

That's great!  I'm glad they were able to reopen