By COLlive reporter
The official opening date of the new Calabria dairy restaurant in Crown Heights remains in limbo, COLlive.com has learned.
Billed as a casual eatery offering Roman-style pizza and beer, Calabria is located on the corner of Kingston Avenue and Lincoln Place.
It is the location that is deterring kashrus agencies from providing it the necessary certification of rabbinical supervision for kosher consumers.
Calabria is opening literally across the street from Basil Pizza & Wine Bar, a trendy Italian kosher bistro that opened in 2010 and serves… pizza.
Basil’s owners, Chassidic residents of Crown Heights, filed a lawsuit against Calabria’s owners at Beis Din Beis Yosef, a rabbinical court in Boro Park.
Basil argued that the new dairy restaurant violates the halachic rule of Hasagat Gevul, prohibiting unfair economic competition to an existing business or property.
The Harel brothers, owners of the new Calabria, responded that despite both restaurants boasting Italian cuisine, they are only serving regular (not specialty) pizza, even though they are rectangular and displayed in large glass cases.
“The only item the restaurant will sell is pizza,” Meryl Harel, manager of Calabria and sister of the owners, told COLlive.com. The Harel brothers also own Chocolatte eatery on Kingston Avenue.
Basil, which has been called “a cross-cultural experiment” for drawing Jewish and non-Jewish clientele, sells specialty pizza made to order, in addition to a full menu of appetizers, salads, fish, entrees and desserts.
The Bais Yosef Beit Din ruled on the 20th of Shvat 5777 that they accept Basil’s claims that the new restaurant will be a threat on “the craftsmanship of a fellow” person.
The Beit Din, presided over by Rabbi Reuven Alt, instructed Calabria not to sell any specialty pizza, but emphasized that they “are allowed to sell regular pizza and other food.” In a second hearing, the rabbis added that it is forbidden for Calabria to sell Roman-style pizza as well.
Harel told COLlive on Friday that he will present his case once more to the Rabbis on Sunday. He hopes he will be able to come to some agreement which will enable the new restaurant to open as soon as possible.
Just addressing this point since no one else has yet: Guys, the psak is pretty clear that the beis din is concerned that Basil will go out of business if Calabria is opened. This has to do with the amount of money they invested into opening their place. The Alter Rebbe, quoted as an afterthought, is only brought down as an “even if”. “Even if” Basil won’t go out of business, there is still a “midas chasidus” to not compete. But since lemaiseh Basil could go out of business, it is absolutely ossur for Calabria to open with their Roman… Read more »
A place with tanya on the ceiling?! Tanya isn’t cool hipster wall art . This place is all wrong
what would the Rebbe say to having a restaurant that is for goyim aswell in kaan tzivoh hashem es habrocho aswell as them playing goyshe and seasonal music.Hashem Yerachem
Doesn’t the whole hasagas gvul apply only on necessaties not luxuries?
There are not tens of thousands in CH. And it’s funny that you write period and then out a “!”. Calm down and all the best.
with all due respect you either are living in lala land or you are delusional. Check the voter rolls. check the anash list. Nothing close to tens of thousnads living in CH. Not even close to ten thousand. There is a limited amount of consumers in CH. One point you wrote has some merit, diversified eateries can all exist side by side but restaurants offering the same fare cannot exist on lincoln place together. CH is not yet BP with 300,000 orthodox Jews ken yirbu live in immediate close proximity to each other. Again, there might be enough for everybody… Read more »
To all the clowns lamenting that a BP BD was used, it’s like asking for “a jury out of state” so it’s somewhat impartial. Sad that there is no real BD today, and that obviously if it were in CH there may be favoritism shown to one side.
No one would complain, (except for the dry calzone and the guy who couldn’t stomach the bacteria on the ziti slice).
The fact that the place looks beautiful (I go to B&B across the street often, so I’ve been following the build) gave Basil a scare imho.
My suggestion to Calabria if it doesn’t work out is go for a different concept completely, e.g. Tapas tacos or whatever and just open up. People will flock regardless.
Good luck to all.
Joe A.
THIS IS A DANGEROUS PRECEDENT.
THERE ARE KAIN YIRBU TENS OF THOUSANDS LIVING IN CH AND 10 RESTAUARANTS IN LINCOLN PLACE WOULD ALL MAKE MONEY. THIS PSAK WOULD NEVER BE AGREED IF IT WERE RESTAURANTS IN BORO PARK SO WHATS THE DIFFERENCE? EVERY OTHER STORE IN BORO PARK IS AN EATERY. IN FRUM COMMUNITIES AROUND THE WORLD THERE IS NO HASOGAS GVUL WHEN IT COMES TO FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS PERIOD!
The saddest thing here is that the people of Crown Heights have clearly lost all and any respect for the local Beis Din. How terribly sad. I want to cry.
The idea of hashgacha makes sense. In practice its a mafia. Plus the place is milchig . Yea the rabbis should start practicing halacha not politics.People stop complaining about fairness. There is nothing fair about substandard food thriving.
catering to a different demographic.
I hope shalom prevails and it all works out. There is no question that the genres of the two restaurants are similar, however, can NYC/Crown Heights not sustain both? I’m not so convinced that proximity is specifically what drives business. If they were in Jewish Children’s museum it would make such a difference to Basil? I hope both establishments are guided by G-d and will both be rewarded with success of all sorts.
I respect both parties that they went to a Be is Din. It’s Commendable to follow their posak even if one party doesn’t agree. Hashem will reward that party immensely for doing so.it’s only the right and moral path b/c doing other wise makes a complete mockery of making a Din Torah in the first place.
That’s exactly the point of the psak.
That a restaurant selling specially pizza, which is a key part of Basil’s menu, across the street is not cool. If Calabria was a straight up pizza shop they would have no problem.
One is called Basil Pizza and Wine the other Calabria Pizza and beer… really different.
Just how pray tell would the Basil owners hold sway over a boro park bais din?
For your information Basil is a pizza and wine place that happens to serve other items.
What would be your reaction if a cafe would open next to chocolatte and offer cut rate coffee croissants and salads
I’m not pretending to have the truth but this are my impressions: – I love Basil and I love the fact that they offer a comfortable atmosphere for many Jews other than Chassidic. Food is good and kosher, a lot of Jews come from other areas and can enjoy eating kosher in a nice, clean restaurant in CH. – I understand Basil’s concerns about competition. With all the food in the world couldn’t the owners of Calabria come with something different? (Mexican, Indian, French, Chinese, Peruvian Food…?) – I don’t think selling “regular pizza” it’s in Calabria’s minds, their roman… Read more »
Are you saying there aren’t enough kosher clientele for TWO pizza shops??? One is high end fancy schmancy pizza and other food and the NEW place will serve primarily PIZZA. There is a difference between a Pizza Shop and an expensive restaurant that also happens to serve pizza.
I say WE NEED BOTH!!!!!
Competition is AWESOME for us HUNGRY consumers 🙂
Take me as an example
I won’t go to basil often because I don’t enjoy dairy restaurants, I do enjoy pizza but basil only has specialty pizza that isn’t what I want and it’s expensive. Calabria on other hand I wud go to often because I want straight up good pizza.
If Kingston pizza or another pizza shop called to a din torah I wud understand, but basil is not even same category. It’s like basil calling beuf and bun to a dt because they both serve fries
Bh basil has business and HaShem grants all their Parnassah that’s point one
Besides ppl come to basil for all their food not their pizza especially
So why would you let them sell regular pizza and other food
Let them sell pizza and ppl can go to both
Diff type and style places
Ppl go to basil for their food and setting let others go to new place for their pizza
Ess and bench has nothing to do with chocolatte
What are the parameters for proximity of restaurants. Is it only across the street but one block is ok? Is it only the same food but others is ok? Like why is pomadori ok if it’s one block from Kingston Pizza and sells Pizza? What about in Borough Park and flatbush where there are 100’s of restaurants many of them across the street from each other both selling Pizza, or burgers or falafel? Does the fact that there are 1000’s of people living in CH not make a difference? I would love to be convinced that this Psak was one… Read more »
What where they thinking upening up right a cross from Basil. They are lucky they let them sell pizza at all. They should just except the psak and move on, personally, I like plain old pizza better than the specialty ones anyway. Besides, basil is tiny and very uncomfortable, the new place will get tons of business of they do it right. So please, sell regular pizza and get on with life.
I have a lot of respect for the owners of the new place for heeding the BD (even though it’s out of the shchuna) and trying to work something out.
As others have said, Basil is overpriced and still PACKED all the time, so I don’t think that the HG claims have merit. Still, kudos to Calabria for being mentschlich.
And as for #16, they’re right across from Kehos, so you may have a point…
the more kosher stores in the area the more buisness traffic…
no to mention that basil is ALWAYS full to capacity…ie been there random times not busy seasons and hard to get a seat!
So now Basil is all concerned about Halacha? Lol. I’m a Lincoln Place resident and I’ve been hear non-Jewish music from there all the time. They’re doing very well, another more affordable pizza shop in the area won’t leave them bankrupt!
What’s the argument this is Torah’s opinion and this is your feelings
I never step foot in Basil, so a new pizza place would not take my business away from Basil. Prices too high, klipadic music etc. But if Calabria is just going to be more of the same then who needs it? Better to make an affordably priced pizza store.
Some people fight for a dollar like they would fight for 10 million dollars – it’s mind boggling. Calabria has put together a few kopkes to take a true risk for parnassa – I don’t understand why the proprieters of Basil are giving them such a hard time.
So how come in Israel you cant get a decent hashgacha if you play treif music or allow mixed seating at a chasuneh.?
Personally i request OK to demand the goyishe music be stopped immediately or at least post a large sign “only the food in this establishment is kosher. Sound blocking headphones should be worn”
Oh and before anyone gives a hechsher to calabria (after they agree to modified menu) please have them remove the prirmordal snalke, and cover up the tanya on the ceiling before other fools start painting pesukim on their walls., which is a christian custom.
Competition is very healthy. Although, it is slapping basil in the face by opening right across the street. Perhaps, this guy should have opened his store a few blocks down. Nevertheless, whatever he did, he did. At the end of the day Basil is high priced, it is always packed and playing goyish music. So, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if Calabria opened up it would add a little competition and force Basil to step up it’s game.
I don’t give it not much time for e&b closes.
He doesn’t have many customers. Unfortunately..
Calabria will not be pricey wont have to mortgage your home to have a slice of pizza
I think it genuinely hurts the parnassa of Basil opening a pizza shop directly across the rd. I hope that the owners of Basil will be able to survive the financial distress it will cause them and their family.
it is not a compotion
basil sells ambiance of the outside world with non jewish music which the larger precent of the chasidic residents
of the schuna r not intrsted in
Ess and bentch is not owned by the same people as ChocoLatte and Calabria.
Yes it was not the right thing for him to open next to mendy’s
Do you know how hard it is to run a restaurant today with all the regulation health department fire department consumer affairs etc all there fees nati from mendys puts so much money back in to this neighborhood and trying to make a honest living. Yes it does hurt when a guy opens 4 Doors away from you
Lol there owned by the same person that’s why…
Given that Calabria will almost definitely have lower prices and given the fact that they knew Basil served similar cuisine accross the street this is pretty straight forward. To all those who keep complaining about basil please realize that this is immaterial in a case of hasagat gvul. Calabria should have known better and set up further away.
That’s not competitive enough, as you see mendy is always full of customers.
Vihamayvin yovin….
All the Crown Heights restaurants are filled to the brim! As I discovered on Sunday of the Kinus when we tried to go out with family. We had a terrible experience and the owner did not try to make it better! Perhaps competition will bring some Chasidishe humility to existing restaurant owners. My family also did not appreciate the blaring goishe music that prevented us from enjoying our conversation with family. When we politely requested to have the music turned off, we were told that the owner controls it remotely and there was nothing that could be done! Crown Heights… Read more »
What about opening up right near Mendy’s? They should be taken to Bais Din for that as well.
There is ALWAYS room for competition!
That’s the healthy way. It keeps a ‘good’ business on their toes and shows they are willing to serve thier customers (in this case literally with food) as they should be served! There are enough people in CH looking to eat out and all year round guests too!
Let there be peace upon you all and allow what G-d had intended for your Parnasa on The High Holy Days be blessed for you without all this.
Hatzlacha.
I’m sorry you lost. Don’t write off every bais din that paskens against you..
I disagree. If you’re going to pasken in a way that will earn you more money for that reason, you’re not a qualified dayan for ant case. Boruch Hashem our Rabonim are qualified dayonim and can be trusted to rule in a unbiased manner.
Please be quiet! We pasken according to Torah, not according to how YOU feel…..
Boruch Hashem there are enough to enjoy and support both!!! Look at Ben Yehuda and other populated Jewish areas !
Ive been to beis yosef beis din… i dont think they are fair.
My humble opinion is that it will force basil to up their customer service.
I would eat at both if that happened.
Besides, from what I understand the new place infringed on copyright laws by printing Tanya without permission from the publisher Kehos, which I heard has them in more hot water.
Basil, which has been called “a cross-cultural experiment” for drawing Jewish and non-Jewish clientele,
The CH also offers a Hechsher, which would make it political when it comes to a din about restaurants. Doesn’t that make sense to you???
hmmmm this beis din isnt a crown heights one, and the hechsher of basil isn’t a crown heights one either
it’s only fair that people living in crown heights have a restaurant with their own hechsher
Basil is successful and often has no seating available so I think they can withstand the “competition” as well this new place does seem to offer completely different menu.
I wish both success.
A rose by any other name is still a rose. Calabria will sell whatever he wants, & just call it regular pizza with assorted toppings…
As the Bais Din instructed Calabria not to sell any specialty pizza, “only regular pizza or other foods.” In a second hearing, the rabbis added that it is forbidden for Calabria to sell Roman-style pizza as well…….
I’m not a Halachik expert by any means… however common sense is what’s needed here.
These two Resturant’s will only compliment one another and bring more business to that area.
People will go to either place – Resturant’s fall into an entirely different category as people plan where they will go and like to try different places. I think both parties can work out a fair deal for them both. Hechshairim should not be political
The quote in their Pasak the Alter Rebbe and write that “Midas Chasidus”. Do we Pasken Halacha based on Midas Chasidus?
I think competition is good. This way Basil will up their service.
Thats life.
Basil will just have to get their act together and work harder to give better customer service.
Why would you give the hashgacha?
The new pizza place has Tanya on the ceiling where you won’t give the kosher seal but the one that plays goyishe music they do get the kosher seal?!? Rabbis please!!!where is justice?!?
Clear and straight to the point
Competition is always good for the costumer. Let there be 2 it’s time the ch community have more options
I wish there WAS competition mainly so Basil would implement decent customer service and a logical pricing model. In my opinion there is much room for a new, BETTER, and more fairly priced specialty pizza option in Crown Heights if they don’t improve and it’s no one’s fault but their own
Come on not enough business for both? Can have Sheva Brochos and Lechaims there. One for men and one for women.
It’s a pity that Crown Heights residents no longer have their own Beis Din to turn to fir Din Torah, that have to seek other Bati Din