I was excited to see a glimpse of the renovations underway for the former Chela at West Broadway and Franklin on Instagram. Usually it frustrates me to see perfectly good interiors torn out with each iteration, but in this case, the old Distilled space had gotten pretty tired. When Chela took over, it was clearly time for a redo. (That’s the Chela space, below.)

It looks like this will be a total transformation for 211 West Broadway, by former Top Chef George Pagonis and his brother Nicholas. And if the IG caption is correct, it will be called Paros Tribeca. They are shooting for a fall opening.

The space has seats for 94, with another 15 at the bar (with its great light and Tribeca views) and outdoor seating on the raised loading platform that is within the property line with about 20 seats. The hours will be 11:30a to midnight Monday to Saturday and Sunday to 10p.

Pagonis is currently the executive chef at the Greek fine dining Kyma in Hudson Yards. He was the executive chef and partner at Mike Isabella’s first Greek restaurant, Kapnos, in Washington, DC. Before opening Kapnos, Pagonis served as chef de cuisine at Mike Isabella’s Italian-inspired flagship, Graffiato, also in DC.

The Pagonis’ brothers’ relationship with chef Mike Isabella and his company, Mike Isabella Concepts, flamed out in 2019 after a sexual harassment lawsuit brought against Isabella by a manager of the company’s food hall in Tysons Galleria named the brothers; Chapter 11 bankruptcy and then Chapter 7 bankruptcy followed. You can read that story in D.C. Eater here or in the Washington Post here.