At Midtown East micro-eatery, it’s bye bye burger

Restaurateur Alon Kruvi is taking a different culinary tack with his 85-square-foot micro-eatery at East 43rd Street, opting to replace burgers with falafels.

In the spring, Kruvi opened Simply Sliders, which served tiny versions of Jughead’s favorite treats, but on Monday he will replace it with Crisp: Falafel Express, a quick-service outpost of his Crisp vegetarian chain.

Kruvi has given up his 530-square-foot Crisp location just a few doors down from the micro-eatery, due to a dispute with the landlord, Crain’s reported. By moving that operation into the micro-eatery, Kruvi will pay rents of only $2,700 per month compared to the nearly $19,000 he was paying for the Third Avenue location.

“Falafel is easier than the meats and the buns from sliders, which spoil faster and depend on temperature control,” Kruvi told Crain’s, adding that while Crisp could bring in as many as 400 customers a day, Simply Sliders had a tough time getting even 150. [Crain’s] – Hiten Samtani