Construction has yet to even begin at Daikaya, the planned ramen and izakaya spot by Sushiko‘s Daisuke Utagawa, located next to Graffiato in Chinatown. Yet, landlord Douglas Development put out a press release today suggesting the place will now “tentatively open in late spring/early summer 2012.” This is a revised estimate, mind you, over early projections of a February launch—-that is, like, now. Y&H reached out to a Douglas rep to inquire whether the new time frame is really feasible, what with the current construction-site status of the not-yet-built joint. Even she admits that the “late spring” side of the equation is probably pushing it:

“There have been some setbacks resulting in delayed construction; however they’re still shooting for that estimated time frame to open, although it’s most likely going to be an early summer opening. The people behind Daikaya right now aren’t wanting to reveal too much about what’s going on, given that any further information before construction even begins would most likely come across as just hype, so unfortunately that’s all the information I have for you right now.”

Having heard all sorts of overly optimistic opening-date projections over the years and witnessing countless delays and missed target dates along the way, I’ve been asking various restaurateurs lately to help me translate: When an operator says they’re opening on a given date, how many months should I automatically add to get the realistic time frame? Responses so far have ranged from one to three months. In Daikaya’s case, I’m not even sure the more pessimistic extra three-month window is enough time. At this rate, the proprietors might be better served by fudging the timeline, altogether, à la hotelier Andre Balazs: “Coming Soonish.”

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