Pommes Frites is a New York City restaurant which specializes in Belgian-style fries. The restaurant was located in the East Village at 123 2nd Avenue (near 7th Street),[1] but relocated to 128 MacDougal Street after the original building was destroyed in a 2015 natural gas explosion.[2]

Pommes Frites
Original (2nd Ave) store
Map
Restaurant information
EstablishedJanuary 1997 (1997-01)
Owner(s)Susan Levison, Omer Shorshi
Food typeFrench fries
CityNew York City
StateNew York
CountryUnited States
Websitehttp://www.pommesfritesnyc.com/
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The restaurant sells only one food item: fries, served in paper cones, with a variety of sauces to choose from.[3] Fries are prepared in the Belgian style, deep fried twice at two different temperatures.[4] Additionally, a variety of European beers, soft drinks, and fruit smoothies are offered as beverages.

History

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The shop was opened by Susan Levison, a Bronx native, in January 1997 after returning from a backpacking trip through the low countries.[2] (At the time of its destruction, she co-owned the restaurant with Omer Shorshi.)[2] Nine months after it opened, New York Magazine reported that there were lines outside the restaurant every day.[5] At one time, the restaurant had expanded to two locations, as well a copycat restaurant under the same name with a different owner, but by 2013 only the original location remained.[4]

Gas explosion

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On March 26, 2015, the restaurant was destroyed when the building which housed it collapsed, following a natural gas explosion.[2] No Pommes Frites customers or employees were seriously injured, although an employee and a customer of another nearby restaurant were killed.[6] Pommes Frites reopened on May 23, 2016.[7]

References

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  1. ^ Sietsema, Robert (1999). Secret New York. ECW Press. p. 89. ISBN 9781550223743.
  2. ^ a b c d Maslin Nir, Sarah (27 March 2015). "Owners of Restaurants Destroyed in East Village Explosion Mourn Their Losses". New York Times. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  3. ^ Kaminsky, Peter (24 February 1997). "Hot Potatoes". New York Magazine. pp. 131, 179. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  4. ^ a b Sietsema, Robert (27 December 2013). "Guerre des Frites: Pommes Frites v. Newcomer La Frite". New York Eater. Vox Media. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  5. ^ "Big Dippers". New York Magazine. 27 October 1997. pp. 60–61. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  6. ^ Yee, Vivian & Otterman, Sharon (29 March 2015). "Two Bodies Recovered at East Village Explosion Site". New York Times. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  7. ^ Maslin Nir, Sarah (22 May 2016). "Pommes Frites Restaurant Opening 14 Months After Fatal Blast". New York Times. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
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40°43′48″N 74°00′01″W / 40.730023°N 74.000143°W / 40.730023; -74.000143