Empanada Mama Headed to LES, Ellabess Closes

Empanada Mama

By James Mulcahy

It's going to be empanada time in a few more neighborhoods when Hell's Kitchen eatery Empanada Mama expands. The teeny restaurant already announced that they would be opening an outpost in the East Village - that one is still planned for 513 Sixth Avenue and will be rolled out this Spring. But, there's also third location in the works that will debut even earlier than that on the Lower East Side. Diners will be able to enjoy an empanada or two along with pitchers of sangria at 189 Houston Street (between Ludlow and Orchard) when that location opens this March. While that operation is going full swing, turns out news isn't so good down at the NoLitan Hotel.

Short-lived Ellabess, from the team behind West Village gems L'Artusi and Dell'Anima has shuttered after less than a year in business. The news comes after a recent spruce up, which apparently couldn't save the space. The hotel plans to launch a new eatery in a few months time.