The former East Side bar Tucker’s Kozy Korner, a beacon of Black culture since 1948, has embarked on an entirely new narrative. Empty since 2023, its framed covers of Ebony magazine long gone, the space has been rebranded Tucker’s Italian.
In the United States, at least, Italian cuts across all cultures.
And it’s a cuisine the new operators are more than modestly familiar with. Michael Sohocki’s and Jason Garcia’s Italian chops spring from Il Forno, often mentioned as the best pizzeria in town. But no, before you ask, they didn’t bring pizza with them to Tucker’s. Rather, the duo has focused on pastas such as an un-ironic Italian American spaghetti and meatballs (not always available), sandwiches featuring the likes of prosciutto with arugula and ricotta and rotating evening entrées “From the Grill.”…