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10 Queens Restaurants Receive Grants to Help Cover the Cost of Winterizing Their Outdoor Dining Setups

Pink Nori Astoria (Instagram)

Nov. 25, 2020 By Allie Griffin

Ten Queens restaurants have received grants to help cover the cost of setting up their outdoor dining areas for winter weather.

The eateries each won $5,000 to winterize their outdoor seating areas from the food delivery service DoorDash in partnership with the non-profit NYC Hospitality Alliance. The money can be used to buy heaters and various outdoor furnishings.

The 10 Queens establishments are among 100 citywide to receive the DoorDash “winterization” grants.

The Queens restaurants that won the grant money are:

Pink Nori, at 36-06 30th Ave. in Astoria

Djerdan Burek Astoria, at 34-04 31st Ave. in Astoria

Fresco’s Cantina, at 12-14 31st Ave. in Astoria

Vite Vinosteria, at 31-05 34th St. in Astoria

Macoletta Brick Oven Pizzeria, at 28-15 24th Ave. in Long Island City

Levante, at 26-21 Jackson Ave. in Long Island City

Makina Cafe, at 36-47 30th St. in Long Island City

Nine Thai, at 110-70 Queens Blvd. in Forest Hills

Ganda Sushi Express, at 80-08 Surrey Pl. in Jamaica Estates

Little Saigon Cuisine, at 25309 Northern Blvd. in Little Neck

The restaurants competed for the grants and the winners were selected based on their financial need and ties to their respective community.

Restaurant owners had to apply for grant by Oct. 16 and meet a number of requirements — including having no more than three locations, employing 50 or fewer employees and earning $3 million or less in 2019 annual revenue per location.

The winterization grants are part of a larger effort by DoorDash to help local restaurants across the country keep afloat during the pandemic.

The NYC Hospitality Alliance, a nonprofit association that represents restaurants and bars, applauded DoorDash for its partnership.

“We thank DoorDash for their partnership in supporting restaurants and working to ensure that our industry can keep moving forward through this pandemic during the cooler months,” said Andrew Rigie, Executive Director of NYC Hospitality Alliance.

“The Open Restaurants program has been a critical lifeline to thousands of small businesses, and giving grants to restaurants to help them weatherize their outdoor dining setups and operate safely indoors will help many restaurants continue to serve their communities during the fall and winter.”