The Aussies are coming.
Ruby’s Cafe, the Australian-inspired eatery in Soho, is in expansion mode, staring with a Murray Hill outpost that will open for business on Thursday.
The new Ruby’s, at 442 Third Ave., will seat 42 people with about 8 to 10 addition seats outside and feature many of the same signature dishes like the Bronte Burger.
The partners are Nick Mathers, who also owns Dudley’s and is a partner in Happiest Hour, Tim Sykes and Chef Thomas Lim.
Mathers plans to expand the Soho location as well later this year. The original Ruby’s, which has grown to 700 square feet from 300 to start, will tack on another 700 square feet and add a take-out and deli area.
A third Manhattan location is also in the works, along with a West Coast Ruby’s in downtown Los Angeles, which is slated to open next year.
The Upper East Side’s Second Avenue restaurant row continues to evolve, thanks to cheaper rents, an influx of young people and the Second Avenue subway construction.
Now, restaurateur James Paloumbis has shut down MexiBBQ (the original is still in Astoria) and will re-open the space on Thursday as 1633. Yes, that’s the address: 1633 Second Ave.
“Due to the ongoing construction with the Second Avenue subway, we closed MexiBBQ to renovate and make it cozier,” Paloumbis said. “While we were renovating, I started to think about revamping the brand and the idea for 1633 started to take shape.”
Dos Toros Taqueria is opening its 11th location on Monday at Rockefeller Center, at 1290 Sixth Ave. The 2,100 square-foot taqueria, founded by brothers Leo and Oliver Kremer, will serve lunch and dinner.