Sept. 25, 2013 By Christian Murray
Blend, the well-known Latin Fusion restaurant located on Vernon Blvd, is expected to open its Center Blvd restaurant in the middle of October.
Blend on the Water, located on the ground floor of 45-40 Center Blvd, will be three times the size of its 47-04 Vernon Blvd location. It will have 160 seats, 2 outdoor patios and a private dining room.
The big draw is that the Center Blvd. restaurant will have 10 foot windows that wrap around it, providing views of the East River and Manhattan. The restaurant will continue to provide Latin food, although the menu is currently being reviewed.
Kelvin Fernandez
Construction of the new restaurant is essentially complete, with minor details such as lights, mirrors and benches left to put in. The kitchen was done some time ago.
Once the new operation is running, the Vernon Blvd location will be closed. The owners of Blend are planning to revamp the premises and create a whole new food establishment.
Meanwhile, Blend has recruited Kelvin Fernandez to be the chef at Blend on the Water. He started working at Blend’s Vernon Blvd location three weeks ago—as he gets ready for October’s Center Blvd. opening
Fernandez, who is of Dominican heritage, was the executive chef at the Strand Hotel in Manhattan before taking this role. Prior to his Strand job, he worked at the Water’s Edge in Long Island City under Michelin star chef George Masraff.
Vernon Blvd location to close
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12 Comments
Reading all the negative comments I was very surprised. Have been there at various times and always received good service, great food, and wOnderful music and decor. Hope the new, enlarged version Will be as good.
Meh food, awful service, terrible bartenders (don’t know how to make basic cocktails, can only make what’s on their list), and atrocious parking situation. This place is doomed if they don’t change their ways.
Oops . Best restaurant in LIC….
My family and I absolutely love Blend. We have never had a service issue. I don’t understand what all of the above speak of. I have gone in the day and evening and it has all been great. I cannot wait to go to Blend on the water tomorrow.
Food an 8
Service 4 horrible all i have to say is ignore, ignore
Ignore thats all they do!
Pros: Food, prices, décor and location.
Con: Service/Wait time for food. Especially large groups…..NIGHTMARE.
I WOULD eat at Blend a lot but I stopped going about two years ago.
Why? Because…………..
First time: Table for 10 including hungry children should not have to wait 2 hours for food!!!!! It’s Brunch for crying out loud.
Second time: Dinner for 8 took 2 ½ hours! I should have learned the first time!
I am sure the new location will be beautiful and the chef will be amazing. Blend will now have an Outstanding menu now that Chef Fernandez is in the kitchen!
*** BLEND please hire well TRAINED and WELL MANNERED staff. ***
Good Luck.
I will give the new location a chance especially with my large group of foodies!
Was there the other day. Drinks were great, food was great. Service was the worst. We waited for our food which never came. customers that came 30 mins after us got their food before us. The waitress’s/hostess ignored us while talking to the tables filled with men. I really hope the new place hires professional staff. The great food goes to waste when your completely ignored and mistreated by the people you tip at the end of the night.
Actually with this new location they won’t have to bring their A game b/c people will go there just for the view, even if the service sucks, i.e. the Riverview restaurant.
It will be a destination location for sure, filled with people that don’t live in the area. The food at the previous location was not worth the money and the staff were marginal at best. I am glad something is actually opening up in there, but I still can’t buy a shirt in the neighborhood.
I got to say that their food is pretty good and I hope it gets even better with the new chef. However, it is hit or miss on service. Sometimes food comes out fast and other times not so much – usually due to under staffing. As for the staff I have never had an issue with them being rude or unfriendly.
I wish blend the best in this new venture and with this top location they will need to bring their A game.
Let’s hope they lose the old staff and hire new staff that don’t utterly ignore you. Or treat you with disdain for asking a menu related question. And while I’m at it, a staff who might apologize and actually wish to correct the matter when your food came out completely wrong.
This location is a potential Gold Mine, I very much hope that they get it right.
Let’s hope the revamp the service. Their food is actually quite good, but their service has always sucked. Such a missed opportunity.