Wet Dreams

Years ago, I worked in a restaurant that had opened in a Midtown neighborhood that was considered dicey at the time. The block-long stretch of shops looked run-down, parking was inconvenient and it was far enough north of the Plaza to be considered dangerous by the suburbanites who use 47th Street as their symbolic Maginot Line: Beyond the Plaza was Terrorville.

"That restaurant is going to flop. You won't make a cent," fellow waiters warned me. They thought I was insane to throw in my lot with a hip restaurant opening in a distinctly unhip neighborhood. The restaurant opened, had several years of astounding success, then fell out of favor, as hip restaurants do. But it proved a point: A great location isn't everything. I've seen successful chains fumble in surefire locations and oddball restaurants lure customers to the most implausible destinations.

The owners of the Malay Café (see review) took the middle ground, opening in a strip center near one of the Northland's busiest malls. The new Aqua, a restaurant and lounge that opened in November, took a riskier path. The brick building at 3421 Broadway (the block isn't exactly a hotbed of retail or restaurant life) had sat empty for several years before young entrepreneurs Charles Mussorici and Carlo Cammisano took it over.

"Looking back at all we ultimately had to do, we wondered what we were thinking at the time," says 27-year-old Mussorici. "It was a lot of work."

It helped that the business partners had friends and family members who were handy with tools and knew how to do plumbing and electrical work. Cammisano, 27, is a pipefitter by trade and created the striking stainless steel railings inside the building, which is now painted bright blue outside and boasts a visually stunning interior, all soothing greens and blues, created by interior designer Tina Blanke.

"We wanted an artistic, contemporary place where people could gather for martinis, music and Mexican food," says Mussorici, who hired a chef from the successful Taqueria Mexico empire to oversee the kitchen. Aqua now serves reasonably priced, creative Mexican fare until 9:30 p.m., then becomes a lounge, "attracting the 21- to 35-year-old crowd," Mussorici says. "They come in here either before or after going to the Empire Room or the Velvet Dog.

"The food hasn't taken off yet," Mussorici adds, "but it's very good, so we know it will."

One place where the food has taken off is the newest, fourth location for Taqueria Mexico, which opened in a former Shoney's at 3300 Rainbow. This isn't the first time the family-oriented Romo brothers have successfully converted an old Shoney's into a busy dining room; their second Taqueria Mexico location, on Independence Avenue, was also one of those once-ubiquitous franchises.

And on the subject of makeovers, the venerable EBT(1310 Carondolet Drive) will close for a week -- from January 28 to February 4 -- to get a much-needed freshening up, including new wall coverings, lighting and chairs -- and a new menu.