Nicholas Figueroa went on a lunchtime date to a restaurant where an explosion severely damaged several buildings along an East Village block on Thursday. He has not been heard from since, said his family, which was frantically searching for him early Friday.

His brother Tyler, 19, said that Nicholas, 23, had taken a co-worker out to lunch at Sushi Park, a popular restaurant at 121 Second Avenue known for inexpensive Japanese food, and paid the bill shortly before an explosion erupted from the building’s basement.

“I don’t know what to do,” Tyler Figueroa said early Friday outside of a makeshift Red Cross center in the East Village. “We’re just praying that they find him.”

The family fanned out across Manhattan on Thursday afternoon to search for Nicholas. Tyler walked to a nearby hospital while his father, also named Nicholas Figueroa, and a cousin sought the help of the police. But there was no trace of him.