Italian restaurants close, cafes open

From L: Minetta Tavern, Caserta Vecchia

Smokin’ Q, a barbecue place on the Upper East Side, closed last month after only a year in business. L’Ulivio on Spring Street will close on March 31. Gates of Morocco at 8 Prince Street has closed its Soho location and will now operate only online. Earth, on 10th Avenue between 17th and 18th streets, has closed permanently. Brouwers, on Stone Street, is closed. In Brooklyn, Caserta Vecchia, an Italian restaurant at 221 Smith Street, was recently put up for sale with an asking price of $290,000. Citysearch.com offers a list of other restaurants that might close if they don’t get more business.

In more positive news, LittleMissMatched, a tween accessories brand, has signed a lease for 400 square feet in Grand Central Station and plans to open in May. Tracy Stern Salontea, a tea house, is opening on the Upper East Side this week. Trattoria Amici and Il Caffe Latte opened in Harlem recently. David’s Bridal opened its first Manhattan store at 751 Sixth Avenue and 25th Street. Minetta Tavern on MacDougal Street will reopen today. In Harlem, Doris Wade has signed a 10-year lease for 1,000 square feet at 2113 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, between West 114th and West 115th streets, for Questan’s, a new seafood restaurant, which she expects to open in May. In Brooklyn, Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo will open Cafe Peddlar at 210 Court Street at Warren Street tomorrow. Restaurant Lundy’s on Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay will reopen as a gourmet market called Cherry Hill, occupying 19,000 square feet. TRD