Tilila up and running after Bailey Avenue fire

After a fire destroyed several Bailey Avenue establishments nearly three and a half years ago, Tililá La Casita Azul at 3648 Bailey Ave. saw a packed house on its first night of reopening on Feb. 21.

The Dominican-owned restaurant and bar persevered through the difficult setback, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, after a four-alarm electrical fire destroyed Tililá and several other businesses along the Bailey Avenue strip in November 2021.

After more than three years of waiting, Tililá officially reopened late last month, now able to showcase its expanded establishment to the community.

Manager Jose Severino said it cost about $600,000 to repair the establishment and mostly addressed the water damage caused by the FDNY when putting out the fire. 

“Everything was flooded, they gutted everything — and basically threw everything in the restaurant away,” Severino said, who added the three years following the fire was a “difficult” and “trying” time period.

Severino, who was born in the Dominican Republic before coming to the U.S. in 1999, recalled he was on his day off when the fire took place and said the community has been incredibly supportive leading up to the restaurant’s reopening.

“I can’t explain the emotions I feel, after everything that happened to the point we are at now,” Severino said.

During the interview, Severino shared he was getting chills from talking about the incident and witnessing how far his business has come.

“The feeling is amazing — yet it’s so hard to describe,” Severino said. “There are a ton of emotions.”

The restaurant’s name “Tililá La Casita Azul” stems from a former restaurant and bar with the same name located in Moca, a city located in the Dominican Republic and south of Puerto Plata.

Despite the restaurant’s mostly blue awning, and the word “blue” included as a part of the restaurant’s name, blue is not a prominent color inside the lightly-luminated establishment.

The restaurant’s bar, located on the right side of the establishment, can seat 16 people, while the restaurant itself can accommodate upwards of 80 people.

Tililá, which opened in 2015, was one of four establishments destroyed in the Bailey Avenue fire in 2021, along with Con Sabor Latino, Yeung Hing Restaurant and Best Laundromat.

Located next to the former Chinese restaurant, Tililá expanded their restaurant space, which now allows for private parties for graduations, weddings and other festivities in an enclosed section of the restaurant.

After the fire and during restaurant repairs, Tililá was expanded using part of the property which was previously owned and operated by Yeung Hung Restaurant.

Severino said the restaurant would have room dividers for customers to hold parties in the expanded space in the near future.

The restaurant offers several dishes, including pastelitos, a savory pastry which includes chicken, corn, beef, raisin, cheese, spinach and a sweet version made with guava. They also offer madurito gratinado, which are sweet plantains with ground beef, grated cheese and salsa criolla as well as chicharron de cerdo (fried pork belly) and fried plantains, among other Dominican favorites.

Tililá also brought back their happy hour options from 4-7 p.m. on weekdays, which includes margaritas, mojitos, Sangría and house wine for $8 and beers for $4.

Additionally, Tililá hosts live karaoke on Monday nights at 9 p.m.

On Thursday, Feb. 27, Tililá had live local bands performing at the restaurant to celebrate Dominican Independence Day in honor of the 160th anniversary of the Dominican Republic’s independence from Spain.

In August 2024, after nearly three years without a social media post, the establishment published a picture of its new, mostly blue restaurant awning on Instagram and received over 1,000 likes on the social media platform and dozens of comments in support of their return 

“Se puso seria la cosa! Miren que lindo nuestro nuevo letrero. CUENTA REGRESIVA! Ahora si, ya casi,” the Instagram caption read, which translates to, “Things got serious! Look how cute our new sign is. COUNTDOWN! Now yes, almost!”

After weathering the storm of a fire, the dimly lit Tililá has bounced back and is bigger and possibly better than before.