Ra-Ra-Rasputin

Coney Island Avenue’s Doomed Rasputin Goes by ‘Romanoff’ Now

Sympathy for the sign maker.
Sympathy for the sign maker. Photo: Courtesy of Sheepshead Bites

The cabaret-size hole in Brooklyn left by the sudden government seizure and subsequent closure of megalithic restaurant-club Rasputin back in May is about to be rectified with the introduction of Romanoff, an equally megalithic restaurant-club at the exact same Coney Island Avenue address. Rasputin closed in May after co-owner Michael Levitis was indicted for defrauding customers out of more than $2 million through a bogus debt-relief company.

In addition to the whole Tsar Nicholas–Rasputin thing the restaurant’s partners have going on with the new name, guests who genuinely missed the pelmeni and high-kicking cancan routines may appreciate this other historical tidbit: Sheepshead Bites notes that Romanoff Restaurant was also the name of a glitzy L.A. eatery in the fifties that was owned by an alleged nephew of Tsar Nicholas II — until it was discovered that he was just some guy from Lithuania. Let’s hope none of this bodes ill for the new owners, or their borscht.

“Rasputin Restaurant Becomes Romanoff,” Or “My Favorite Business Decision Ever” [Sheepshead Bites]
Earlier: Rasputin Owner Michael Levitis Indicted for Defrauding Debt-Relief Customers Out of $2.2 Million

Coney Island Avenue’s Doomed Rasputin Goes by ‘Romanoff’ Now