Daniel MaurerDavid Ravvin, a 29-year-old graduate of N.Y.U.’s Stern School of Business, is opening a sushi joint where Cotan once rolled rice at 135 First Avenue, near St. Marks Place. As you can see from the plywood art created Tuesday by street artist Para, he’s hoping his concept will be a bit more iconic than his predecessor’s was.
The name of the 14-seat restaurant, Iconic Hand Rolls, is a play on the word “cone” – a reference to the funnel-like rolls that Japanese cooking authority Hiroko Shimbo created for the 8- to 12-item menu.
Mr. Ravin, who got his M.B.A. last year, said his eatery will operate like a more upscale version of a quick-service restaurant, meaning customers will place their orders at a front counter, for takeout or to enjoy with a beer or sake (the beer-and-wine license is pending).
“I love sushi but I don’t go to the fanciest restaurants all the time,” he told The Local. “So I wanted a sushi option that was more reasonable – that was not in plastic containers and wasn’t the traditional takeout sushi, but something a little better, fresher.”
Not that he’s above plastic containers: Mr. Ravvin, who lived in the East Village for two years while attending N.Y.U. (he’s now a resident of Midtown East), said that Panya was a favorite grab-and-go option. He’s hoping to join it in the neighborhood sushi-sphere sometime next month.
