#Manhattan restaurant opens with private greenhouses for distanced dining

Ampia Restaurant and Rooftop is opening this week in the Financial District with five plastic greenhouses for private dining amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Travis W Keyes

An Italian restaurant on a Manhattan rooftop has installed five plastic greenhouses that allow guests to be isolated from fellow diners.

Husband-and-wife owners Anisa and Michele Iuliano had prepared to open Ampia Restaurant and Rooftop this spring above the gnocchi eatery they already operate at 100 Broad St. in the Financial District.

The coronavirus crisis put their plans on hold for a few months. As Phase Two began on June 22 and the city unveiled new rules for distanced outdoor dining, Anisa started searching for plexiglass dividers to set up between tables and sanitizing equipment to clean the entire venue.

She discovered the plastic greenhouses via an ad on social media that she believes was targeted thank to her relevant search history.

“It turns out that when you’re inside, it’s an exclusivity that people just absorb and enjoy,” Anisa told The Post. “They love that privacy.”

Ordering is contactless: Diners can scan a QR code to access the menu on their mobile phones. The greenhouses, which have tables for two that are recommended for people who live in the same household, will be wiped down between uses.

“Everybody fought me!” Anisa said. “It was a risk, but it turned about better than I expected.”

Dishes will include light Italian fare including tuna tartare, calamari and seafood paninis with octopus, tuna, salmon, scallops, shrimp or lobster. Pasta and pizza is also available.

Ampia’s 4,500-square-foot outdoor space also has a bar area, banquette seating and tables placed 6 feet apart amid potted plants and other landscaping. Though the terrace typically is designed to accommodate 250 people, the Iulianos plan to only allow up to 65 people at a time, or about 25 percent of its capacity. Guests must wear masks unless seated at a table.

In addition to regular cleaning, the pair covered the venue with Purity Solution’s electrostatic sanitizing spray, which is said to continually disinfect all surfaces for three months. The couple plans to spray every six weeks.

Ampia is above Gnoccheria Wall Street, which the Iulianos opened in October 2019. The couple also owns six other pizzerias and Italian joints in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn.

Though the eatery officially debuts July 8, a soft opening mean patrons can come to dine on July 3, 6 and 7, too. Reservations are on a first-come, first-served basis via phone at (212) 422-4102 or through OpenTable.

Other restaurants have dreamed up schemes for safe distancing.

In the Netherlands, a restaurant at Amsterdam arts center Mediamatic Biotoop has a similar setup, with five glass dining domes set up alongside one of the city’s signature canals. The Inn at Little Washington in Virginia filled 50 percent of its seats with dressed-up mannequins to enforce the half-capacity rule. A German cafe had its customers wear hats with pool noodles sticking out of them to make sure they kept their distance from other patrons.