It has an inspirational back story, a genesis in tragedy, an arc of resurrection. Colors is where dozens of surviving workers from Windows on the World, the restaurant that was atop the World Trade Center, have regrouped. And they not only work there but also have a financial say and stake in it. It's a cooperative venture, owned and run by its waiters and waitresses, bus boys and cooks.
Getting it off the ground took sweat equity, creatively engineered loans, optimism, patience and more than four years since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Early this month, that perseverance paid off, and Colors at last opened its doors on Lafayette Street, just south of Astor Place.
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Many of the recipes were derived from favorite dishes of the families of the workers themselves. That's another movie-ready detail, another prompt to root for this place.
Colors, 417 Lafayette Street, between Astor Place and East Fourth Street, East Village; (212) 777-8443. Appetizers, $11 to $17. Entrees, $18 to $33.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/13/dining/13jour.html