Three Months Later, the Lucky Bee is Finally Getting its Gas Turned on

This image has been archived or removed.

​The Lucky Bee opened eight weeks ago at 252 Broome Street, formerly occupied by Jin Sushi. Since then, the restaurant has been operating in force without the benefit of cooking gas, the hookup for which mustn’t be taken for granted in the wake of the Second Avenue Explosion. That might change this week, though.

As expected, ownership has been frustrated with the lack of gas (and progress) to roll out the full menu.

“The FDNY came a few weeks ago and said we needed to submit new plans to the DOB – essentially because we put in a grill and 4 extra burners on the oven,” co-owner Rupert Noffs tells us. “So we started from scratch.”

Despite the ongoing setbacks, they’ve nevertheless notched a spot on Eater’s “Hottest Restaurants in Manhattan.”

Noffs further confirmed that the team already upgraded the fire suppression system twice, and the Fire Department gave approval a couple weeks ago. Con Edison and Department of Buildings did the same over the weekend. Now they’re just waiting on the meter men to physically twist the knobs onsite.

In related news, the Lucky Bee was a stop on City Comptroller Scott Stringer’s Lower East Side tour last Thursday, courtesy of the Lower East Side Partnership. The goal was to discuss his “Red Tape Commission” with small business owners in the neighborhood, an initiative to help them survive in the current real estate climate. Stringer is currently investigating the Rivington House debacle.