NYC's First Avocado Bar To Open In Brooklyn

Alessandro Biggi, a Modena native (home to Massimo Bottura's Osteria Francescana), knows good food. So when he moved to the United States, it's no surprise he fell in love with the mighty avocado. Now, he and co-owner Francesco Brachetti, along with their third partner and chef, Alberto Gramini, will open Avocaderia, the first entirely avocado-based joint in Brooklyn's Industry City.

With no seats and no tables, the space will be fit for mostly take-out items. The menu will feature toasts, salads, bowls, smoothies and seasonal selections featuring the "green gold," a term Brachetti says the locals in Mexico use for their top export.

Their signature toast will be topped with avocado mash and shichimi togarashi—a Japanese spice with red chile pepper, orange peel, sesame seeds, Japanese pepper, ginger and seaweed. They will also have an avocado mash with salmon, dill and leche de tigre— a citrus-based marinade that contains lime juice, sliced onion, chiles and a little bit of fish juice. The Mediterranean toast will switch it up with a base of kalamata olive and caper tapenade, topped with sliced avocado, sun-dried and cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, and a pistachio dukkah, highlighting the flavors of the owners' hometowns.

The team hopes to open about 20 locations in the first five years and create a model  for franchising.

Despite recent avocado shortages and the threat of higher taxes on Mexican imports looming, the owners say they are not concerned about sourcing their produce from one consistent fair trade supplier. "It's really hard to imagine a scenario where the United States did not consume avocados from Mexico," Brachetti says.