46 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • SEPTEMBER 16, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
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Comfortland hosts annual San Gennaro Festival
BY JESSICA MILITELLO
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
If you noticed a long, winding
Café Renis opens on 30th Avenue in Astoria
BY JESSICA MILITELLO
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Most mornings, getting a cup
of coff ee usually involves waiting
in a long line and getting
just enough caff eine to start your
work day.
But Café Renis doesn’t just
want to give you your caff eine
fi x; the new shop, located on
30th Avenue in Astoria,
wants to take you on a
mini escape from
the city.
Th e café,
w h i c h
opened on
July 24 at
47-14 30th
Ave., has
three unique
sitting areas
with carefully
craft ed details and
decorations everywhere
you turn,
down to the colorful cups and
saucers with gold trim and golden
spoons.
“Astoria has nothing like this,”
said the café’s owner, Renis Fusha.
“I just want people to feel like
they’re in a diff erent place every
time they sit down.”
Outside, the café has a large
pink awning, charming mint
green tables and chairs, and a sign
with their daily specials. Walk
inside, and you’ll see that Fusha
brought art, color and careful
detail to every inch of the space.
Th e café is not his fi rst business
venture, but it was one
of his dreams to open a
space like Café Renis
— so when the
space became
available, he
jumped at
the opportunity
to
fi nally get
started on
the café he
always envisioned.
He designed
the place himself,
with help
from family and friends, as well as
some talented artists like Gabriele
Perici and Caryn Cast, whom he
hired for some of the café’s artwork.
Th e fi nal result has a living
room setting, a seating
area among a beautiful fl ower
wall, and a “sunroom” that
is designed to look like a garden,
complete with fl owers,
green plants, a fountain with the
peaceful sound of fl owing water
and a skylight.
Even the restroom depicts
another setting, with scenes of
the Adriatic Sea painted along the
walls and ceiling, and a real seashell
that was used for the sink.
Fusha felt he knew that this
kind of careful detail and eff ort
would be best appreciated by the
Astoria community.
“Astoria is very diverse. It’s
where diff erent cultures meet,”
Fusha said. “And up here there’s
no coff ee shop like this; you’d have
to go down to Steinway Street. I
don’t believe something like this
would work very well somewhere
else.”Th
e café uses Stumptown for
all of their coff ee drinks. It has a
menu with classic cafe selections
from cappuccinos to lattes, as well
as some tea options, like a matcha
latte and chai tea.
Th ey also serve sandwiches,
which are always made with fresh
ingredients, as well as pastries and
treats they get from Rudy’s Pastry
Shop in Ridgewood.
Th eir pastel macarons are a
delicious and perfect companion
to a cup of coff ee or a matcha latte.
Mostly, Fusha wants to create an
environment where people enjoy
time with friends, both old and
new. He’s already started to get a
few regulars since the café opened
over a month ago.
“I’m very social and I become
friendly with everybody,” Fusha
said. “We’re pet-friendly. I want
people to come with their pets
and just talk with their friends and
get to know everybody around at
the café. I want to be the spot that
everybody talks about, like ‘hey,
let’s go there.’”
line down 30th Avenue
and Steinway Street these past
two weekends, that was due to
Comfortland’s second annual San
Gennaro Festival on Friday, Sept.
3, featuring their usual tasty fare,
including deep-fried rainbow cake,
boozy tiramisu shakes, deep-fried
lasagna and more delicious Italian
food for the two-weekend-long
event.
Th e restaurant was decorated
for the festival with red, white
and green balloons, Italian fl ags,
lights, music as well as tables and
chairs. Guests enjoyed their food
and the company of their friends
fellow Comfortland guests, while
live performances and DJing took
place throughout the evening.
Some guests waited as long as
an hour and a half in line to get
their orders, but spirits were high
and the wait was worth it especially
when the payoff was getting
to enjoy creative and tasty concoctions
made by head chef and
owner, Donnie D’Alessio.
“Comfortland is a staple in the
neighborhood and anything they
do is amazing, so I fi gured this is
going to be a really special one,”
said Astoria resident Vanessa
Gonzalez-Bunster, who’s lived in
the neighborhood for about nine
years and who waited patiently
in line for her fi rst Comfortland
event.
D’Alessio’s vision has certainly
been a staple in the area and
beyond, known for their decadent
and oft en over-the-top dishes as
well as desserts that have always
had a twang of childhood nostalgia,
complete with a feel-good,
happy atmosphere.
Queens Comfort was actually
D’Alessio’s fl agship of the brand up
until October 2020, when the business
closed due to the struggles
brought on by COVID-19 pandemic
closures and restrictions.
But Comfortland is still standing,
and the restaurant even has
a “throwback Th ursday” where
it features food from the Queens
Comfort menu.
Th e idea for a Comfortland
San Gennaro festival originated
due to the pandemic aft er the San
Gennaro Feast in New York City
got canceled in September 2020
because of COVID. Th e event was
such a hit that they decided to
put it into their rotation of events
resulting in a second annual event
that will continue on throughout
the foreseeable future.
“Whatever the pandemic
threw at us, it’s all about adaptation,”
said James Avatar, the restaurant’s
front of house manager
and brand ambassador. “Th e
fi rst year was amazing, but I can
say that this has exceeded our
expectations for San Gennaro for
the second year. Th e line is going
to continuously go around the
block all weekend.”
Some of the San Gennaro menu
included chicken parmesan, mozzarella
sticks, lasagna empanadas,
sausage and peppers, chocolate
chip cannoli ice cream with
rainbow cookie crumb cake and
Nutella, frozen fall sangria and
many more tasty dishes.
Th ere was also be some DJing by
Avatar and other guest DJs, as well
as live performances throughout
the two weekends. Th e fi rst night
was kicked off by singer Seann
Cantatore, who sang some Italian
songs along with some more familiar
hits from artists like Adele.
“Th e vibes here are always great,
even just the look of the place is
amazing,” Cantatore said. “It’s very
inviting, and everyone who works
here is very positive and has good
energy. People were participating
in the music, so it’s just good vibes
all around.”
Photo by Jessica Militello
Comfortland kicked off its second annual San Gennaro Festival on Friday, Sept. 3, featuring their usual tasty fare.
Photo by Jessica Militello
The exterior of Café Renis in Astoria.
Macaroons at Café Renis