Esperanza Laundromat at 45-12 Skillman Ave., which recently closed. (Photo: Queens Post)
Dec. 28, 2018 Staff Report
Skillman Avenue has gone through several changes in recent weeks, with some longtime business closing and new businesses already emerging.
Saffron Garden, the sizable restaurant located at 46-11 Skillman Ave., closed in the first week of December, according to neighboring businesses.
The owners of the Indian restaurant, Samin Rana Magar and Nezli Fernandes, had renovated the site only last year, and were the third set of owners to preside over the location since 2010.
It is unclear why the restaurant closed. When reached, Magar said, “We shut down the business for good,” and did not respond to additional questions about the closure.
Saffron Garden at 46-11 Skillman Ave., as seen early December. (Photo: Nathaly Pesantez)
One block over on 45th Street, Esperanza Laundromat has also recently closed.
Juan Calvo, the longtime owner of the small laundromat at 45-12 Skillman Ave. is in poor health, according to his daughter, who did not wish to provide her name.
Calvo’s daughter said her father owns the building via a family trust, and that the family closed the laundromat while they decide what to do in light of his health.
Further east on the avenue, two new businesses have opened.
NaNa Nail, a nail salon, opened on Monday at 49-18 Skillman Ave., replacing the former Olympic City Real Estate at the site.
The nail salon offers manicures, pedicures, waxing, cleansing facials and massages, and joins the multiple nail salons already in the neighborhood. Manicures start at $12, while pedicures are priced at $24. Special package pricing is also available.
NaNa Nail at 49-18 Skillman Ave. (Photo: Queens Post)
Meanwhile, at the corner of 49th Street and Skillman Avenue, the law offices of Voicu & Nica are taking over the former Attorney at Law site.
The former firm at 48-23 Skillman Ave. was run by Andreea Dumitru, who pleaded guilty to criminal tax fraud in a scheme involving Evgeny Freidman, the infamous ‘Taxi King’, and who was recently sentenced to prison for operating an asylum fraud scheme in a separate criminal case.
The new law offices are founded by Diana Voicu-Marinescu and Florentina Nica, who specialize in real estate, immigration, family and matrimonial law and personal injury.
The team has a combined 20 years of experience in courts throughout New York, and already has a presence in the area, with an office at 44-03 48th Ave. in Woodside and membership in the Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce.
48-23 Skillman Ave., where the offices of Voicu & Nica PC is opening. (Photo: Queens Post)
