Union Square’s PokéSpot Eyes New Location on Cleveland Place

The otter is coming to Little Italy with more Poke. Indeed, the suddenly-hot, Hawaiian cuisine will soon be on the menu at 25 Cleveland place.

According to SLA paperwork on file with Community Board 2 for January meetings, the PokéSpot, operating in Union Square since summertime, is seemingly identified as the newcomer. The proprietors seek a beer-wine license for the business for this new location.

We reached out for further details, but ownership did not immediately respond to our request.

And what is Poke, you ask (pronounced poh-kay)?

Raw fish salad served as an appetizer in Hawaiian cuisine, and sometimes as an entree. Poke is the Hawaiian verb for “section” or “to slice or cut.” Traditional forms are aku (an oily tuna) and he’e ( or octopus). Increasingly popular ahi poke is generally made with yellowfin tuna. Adaptations may feature raw salmon or various shellfish as a main ingredient served raw with the common “poke” seasonings.

As for 25 Cleveland Place, this particular address has seen plenty of turnover the last few years. The American-style foodie favorite, The Cleveland, closed in November 2014 after a short tenure on the block. There were rumors at the time that the property would eventually fall to accommodate a new ultra luxury hotel. However, nothing of the sort ever materialized, not even building permits. Then a year later, CopVsDrop moved in and maintained a consignment-slash-Bitcoin boutique which lasted until a couple months ago.