By Megan Fitzpatrick
I shimmy into the narrow shopfront on Columbus Avenue between 70th and 71st Streets to shield myself from the rain, and I’m immediately drawn to the wonderfully delicious smell of vodka sauce, cheese, and potatoes. Fresh gnocchi is being prepared upfront and packed into takeout containers as I greet Mike Salzano, co-owner of Gnocchi on 9th, the newest addition to the rich food businesses of the Avenue.
In our office, we loved the clever wordplay the new store employed as Columbus Avenue is also formerly known as 9th Avenue. To my surprise, this was purely coincidental. “It was a total accident,” says Mike. But what wasn’t an accident was the decision to open their third location on the Upper West Side. Ariel Strizower, the other co-owner, grew up in the neighborhood, right on West 68th Street. He did everything in this neighborhood, he even remembers getting his birthday cake at the iconic UWS bakery, Soutine at 104 West 70th Street (which closed in 2012). It was a no-brainer to expand following immense success since their first opening in April 2024.
The co-owners met each other through other ventures- Mike was Ariel’s realtor. But the two got talking pasta, and the rest was history. Although technically potatoes, the idea for a gnocchi restaurant took hold. “Gnocchi is easy to stab with a fork,” Mike says. And it’s just that simple. They specialize in ‘grab and go’ gnocchi that’s served up fresh right in front of you, placed in a box, and topped off with parmesan and a fork ready to eat. The space, one of the few unique narrow storefronts on the Avenue, is small (seven feet and three and a half inches to be exact), but large enough to accommodate a stroller. We step out of the narrow store to allow the customer with the stroller to order as she tells us, “I’ll be quick.” And indeed she was. In and out in less than three minutes.
Simplicity is key to their business model. Streamlined gnocchi, with a small footprint. But they’re not cheaping out. They serve high-quality Italian gnocchi and make their sauce in-house, says Mike. Their menu is also pretty straightforward, with four options to choose from. Mike tells me they began with two, Pomodoro and Vodka sauce. Pesto and Cacio e Pepe were added later. Burrata, ordinarily considered a luxury cheese, as a topping for the gnocchi is their specialty, (or something that I particularly love anyway). To have burrata at a restaurant, you could be looking at $18-20, but at Gnocchi on 9th, it’s just $3 extra. “You’re getting a main course and an appetizer for the price of an appetizer,” Mike emphasizes quite rightly.
Their business really blew up thanks to one video uploaded to the social media platform TikTok. “A regular customer one day asked if she could record me and put it up on TikTok,” Mike says, “and I ask, ‘Do I need to say anything?’ and she said no, just smile and wave.” The very next day, they had a line running out the door and completely sold out.
The fast rise of this charming new restaurant gives us an insight into the virality of novel food offerings in the city. Although gnocchi is far from novel, there are a million and one burger and pizza places in the city to choose from, but they’re the only ones offering this model of quick bites of quality food on the UWS. And their success shows, as they’re selling in three NYC Christmas markets this year! Check them out on Columbus (9th) Avenue.