A New York Pizza Chain Brings Williamsburg to Omaha

Williamsburg Pizza is on the move. More than a decade after opening its first location on the corners of Union Avenue and South Third Street, the pizzeria has outgrown its home neighborhood: It has shops in Bushwick, Crown Heights, on the Upper East Side, and now in Nebraska. The small chain opened its sixth location, and first outside of the five boroughs, this week in founder Aaron McCann’s hometown of Omaha — the state’s largest city by population and a stop on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. The menu looks to be the same, with small, medium, and large pies priced like you’re back in Brooklyn.

The fight to sell wine at Wegmans

Go to just about any Wegmans in the country, and shoppers can browse aisles of wine that go beyond the standard boxed pinot gris or Barefoot pink Moscato found at most supermarkets. That hasn’t been the case in New York: A Prohibition-era law passed in 1934 prohibits grocers from selling wine, among other restrictions. Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration established a series of commissions to reconsider those regulations, and supermarket chains like Wegmans, which spent $30,000 on lobbying efforts in May alone, have banded together to take on New York’s liquor lobbies. Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits and Empire Merchants, two of the state’s main alcohol distributors, have spent a combined $120,000 so far this year lobbying local officials, according to the New York Times.

A cult-favorite ice cream shop blows in from Portland

Portland’s cult-favorite ice cream shop Salt and Straw will make a rare appearance in Manhattan this month. The chain, popular for its off-beat flavors like peach and blue cheese ice cream, will set up shop at Blue Stripes Cacoa Shop (28 E. 13th Street, near University Place) on June 9, from 4 to 7 p.m. It’s not the company’s first time out east: In 2017, Eater wrote that Salt and Straw had invaded New York City after it started selling ice cream at Danny Meyer’s Daily Provisions. The ice cream chain has more than 20 locations scattered across California, Oregon, and Washington, but none in the northeast United States.

A Jersey coffee shop heads to the East Village

Kuppi Coffee, a New Jersey coffee shop known for roasting its own beans, is expanding across the bridge. Its first New York location is targeting a June opening at 131 First Avenue, near St. Marks Place, in the East Village, according to owner Kevin Kim.