The Sign of the Dove flies high with kitchen renovation

Nation's Restaurant News, March 13, 1995 by Milford Prewitt

NEW YORK -- Few operational challenges can be more daunting to a restaurateur than the prospect of replacing equipment in an aging kitchen.

Usually it means shutting down for days or weeks and losing money while the chef and his crew fine-tunes the placement of the equipment.

But that wasn't the case for The Sign of the Dove, the romantic fine-dining restaurant located on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

The 32-year-old restaurant replaced a 20-year-old bank of ovens and flattops and remained open by using a banquet kitchen that usually handles private parties.

While the job was not so elaborate as the kitchen renovation under way at Charlie Trotter's in Chicago -- which has forced the restaurant to close for two weeks -- it did have its setbacks, not the least of which was the disintegration of one wall as the old equipment was pulled out.

But rather than lose a day's receipts, the restaurant shifted its personnel to the banquet kitchen and even marketed the renovation with a special, five-course meal at $59, including wine and a champagne toast.

The unusual dining event was reported in New York magazine, leading to a healthy turnout for the rare dining occasion.

"I think this might have been a first," said co-owner Henny Santo. "Whoever heard of a party to celebrate a kitchen renovation?"

Executive chef Andrew D'Amico went more than two days without sleep in order to supervise the installation of the new kitchen equipment.

He said that after the restaurant closed Sunday night, the kitchen crew immediately began dismantling the old equipment in preparation for the arrival and installation of the new equipment the following Monday morning.

But to the staff's surprise, each time a piece of old equipment was pulled away from its position, huge chunks of the ceramic wall tiles came with it.

So much ceramic tile was destroyed during the removal of the old equipment that The Sign of the Dove had to retile about 20 feet of wall space, a process that slowed the installation of the new equipment.

"The back of that wall had not been seen in 19 years," D'Amico said. "You can imagine what it looked like."

D'Amico said that although The Sign of the Dove had been making some equipment upgrades periodically, which included the replacement of two large refrigeration units a few years ago, the ovens had not been touched. He said that despite their age, the old stoves were performing well, but it was time to replace them.

"After using this equipment from 8 a.m. to 12 midnight for 19 years, it was time for a change," D'Amico said. "Nineteen years is a long time to operate anything."

Among the city's romantic and upscale dining venues, The Sign of the Dove takes up five floors in a building that formerly had been a boarding house. It includes three private dining rooms and a spacious lounge area with nightly live jazz.

Management is fastidious about the ambience of the restaurant, and The Sign of the Dove employs two full-time florists to arrange and design the dining table centerpieces and other bouquets for private parties.