First, the good news: Just a week after its paint job, Calliope has opened in the former Belcourt space. Grub Street has a look inside, and you can find the menu at Menupages.
Now, the bad. A couple blocks up on Second Avenue, Vandaag has become the latest ex-Villager. Thursday morning, The Local spotted a sign on the window of the darkened Dutch restaurant indicating that it was closed due to plumbing problems. Today, a new sign regretfully informs patrons of a “recent decision to close Vandaag.” The note concludes, “Fortunately, we were able to move most of our team to new digs, in Brooklyn,” meaning Woodland in Park Slope.
Vandaag opened in the former Bounce Deuce space at Second Avenue and Sixth Street and garnered two stars from The Times and then another favorable review from The Local (“Perhaps Vandaag, too, will disappear before long,” worried James Traub back in November of 2010. “I hope not; it’s the only Dutch-Danish restaurant in the neighborhood.”) Unfortunately, it was under-performing even before it lost its chef back in August.
Anyone know where to go now for a nice shot of aquavit?
For every East Village business that’s opening or closing, dozens are quietly making it. Here’s one of them: Pageant Print Shop.
Lauren Carol SmithRebecca Solomon
It’s been nearly two decades since Michael Caine and Barbara Hershey perused the Pageant Book Shop for a copy of E. E. Cummings in “Hannah and her Sisters,” but the store’s history goes back farther than that. In 1946, Sidney B. Solomon and Henry “Chip” Chafetz joined the ranks of Book Row, a stretch of mom-and-pop bookshops along Fourth Avenue from St. Marks Place to 14th Street. One of Mr. Solomon’s two daughters, Shirley, took over after her father died and then moved the store to West Houston Street after a rent hike in the 1990s.
Pageant became an online-only enterprise in 1999, only to reopen at 69 East Fourth Street after Shirley’s sister Rebecca moved back to the city. Nearly seven years later, the siblings are still selling hard-to-find items, though now maps and prints rather than rare books. “Some are old, some are very old, some are very, very old,” said Shirley during a recent conversation with The Local.
Q.
How does a shop that sells old maps stay in business?
A.
Shirley: I focus on the unique and affordable. I have things from $1 to $100, to $1,000. There’s an original David Roberts lithograph that is $3,000 framed. We get lots of foot traffic and sell a lot of things in the $1 to $4 range, which adds up. Read more…
When we first brought word of Alphabet City Beer Co. in December, it was an empty storefront. Last Thursday, the bar-and-beer-shop hybrid opened its doors and its taps. Helmed by David Hitchner (co-owner of In Vino, Alphabet City Wine Co.) and Zach Mack (a writer who has worked at tech start-ups) it’ll serve far-east guzzlers and gourmands who don’t feel like schlepping over to Good Beer to refill their growlers. In addition to coolers stocked with takeout bottles and cans from around the world, there’s a bar serving about a dozen beers on draft (expect the recently launched Alphabet City Brewing Co. to make appearances) and a grocery section carrying cured meats and cheeses picked out by Martin Johnson, an East Villager who writes the Joy of Cheese blog and also knows a thing or two about jazz.
The new shop expects to host beer tastings on a weekly basis. Sixpoint Brewery recently visited, and Louisiana’s Abita Brewery will follow up with an event next week. Watch The Local’s video for a look inside.
You’ve met the the DJ, the musician, the drag queen, and the bar manager. Now, to conclude this week’s series, meet Agnes Wtaszczuk, the overnight waitress and floor manager who hosts the nightly after-after-party at (where else?) Veselka.
We’ve heard from the DJ, the musician, and the drag queen. Today: meet Liam Wager, a bar manager at Sidewalk Cafe. He’s one of the people who keep the East Village popping.
The construction shed at Iconic Hand Rolls, which got memorably defaced last month, has come down; earlier today, workers were painting the facade of the building on Second Avenue near St. Marks Place. Seems everyone’s in a painterly mood: Calliope was sporting new colors earlier this week, and yesterday we spotted work being done at Michael White’s forthcoming pizzeria, Nicoletta, at Second Avenue and 10th Street. Here‘s how it looked today.
Aziza isn’t the only new hookah lounge in the neighborhood. Sahara Citi opened on 13th Street earlier this month. The restaurant sells about 30 flavors of tobacco and Mediterranean cuisine (see menu below). An inspirational message on the wall reads, “It is what it is…but it will become what you make it,”which might well be a reference to the casual ambiance and modest decor. Another small sign reads: “Wine me up and watch me go!” Unfortunately, despite a last-minute blessing from the community board, Saraha Citi’s beer-and-wine license is still pending, so alcohol won’t be served for at least another month. See the menu…
Stephen Rex BrownGelato Ti Amo, prior to its opening.
So what’s with the symbol that popped up in the window of 136 Second Avenue, near Ninth Street, recently? Is that a frothy head of steamed milk, indicating a new coffee bar on the horizon? Is it a scallop, meaning a seafood spot?
Neither. A construction worker told The Local that a gelato joint is bound for the space, a mere five blocks north of Gelato Ti Amo, which opened in the last week. (And, it should be noted, a block from where Timi’s Gelateria Classica quickly went out of business.)
Stephen Rex BrownThe scenes at Bistro Cafe & Grill and Joyful Nail, both of which opened today.
As The Local predicted yesterday, the Bistro Cafe & Grill is now open and serving a wide range of deli fare, plus gyros, kebabs, falafel and hummus. The new eatery at First Avenue and East Second Street is owned by the same folks behind Tompkins Finest Deli. And just a block away at 35 Avenue A, Joyful Nail also opened today. It’s the second nail salon to open in recent weeks. See what they’re offering below. See the menus for both…
Grub Street reports that Sho Boo, a former chef at one of the neighborhood’s finer sushi spots, Jewel Bako, will open Bugs at 504 East 12th Street in July. The fifteen-seat restaurant will serve “sushi and Japanese small plates like chicken saikyo yaki.” Elsewhere in the sushisphere, Iconic Hand Rolls is now hiring.
The smell of bacon on East 14th Street will soon be snuffed out.
Following more complaints of a greasy odor emanating from IHOP, The Local contacted the owner of the eatery to get the latest on the installation of a ventilation unit to neutralize the smell.
“As an IHOP franchisee, we are committed to being a good neighbor,” owner Ed Scannapieco wrote in an e-mail. “We are awaiting delivery of the equipment within the next 10 days, and we have a commitment from the contractor that it will be installed seven to 10 days after delivery.”
That will come as good news to neighbors of the restaurant who have complained since late last year about a nauseating smell that lingers around the clock.
“The odors and noise are still a problem, and the so-called ‘roof’ still looks like a garbage dump,” wrote Sandy Berger, who recently posted flyers asking her neighbors to join an IHOP victims committee.
“I had hoped that the owners would have corrected the problem by now, but right now I’m gagging on bacon fumes,” wrote another neighbor, Mary Beth Powers, to Community Board 6.
If you happen to spot the installation of the most intriguing ventilator unit since that noisy air conditioner on East 13th Street, send us a photo.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this post referred to the ventilation unit as a “smog-hog.” That reference has been deleted since the term is a brand name and Smog Hog says that it did not manufacture the unit in question.
The old Belcourt space at Fourth Street and Second Avenue got a new paint job courtesy of Eric Korsh, the former executive chef at the Waverly Inn, and Ginevra Iverson, a former cook at Prune. They’ll soon open Calliope there. Grub Street noticed that former Peels chef Shuna Fish Lydon had a hand in the bright new look.
Meanwhile a few blocks over at Second Street and First Avenue, the Middle Eastern cafe from the duo behind Tompkins Finest Deli looks close to swinging open its doors – the shelves are stocked and some grand-opening balloons are waiting to be unleashed. We’ll have a look inside in the next days.
Jum Mum, a restaurant specializing in steamed buns, has opened in the former Hottie space at 5 St. Marks Place.
The business, which sells two pork belly buns for $5.50, is run by the owners of Spot Dessert Bar a few doors down. Several other varieties of buns and rice dishes are available as well.
Jum Mum is open from noon to midnight Sunday through Thursday, and noon to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. See the menu…
For every East Village business that’s opening or closing, dozens are quietly making it. Here are two of them: Village Kids and Foot Gear Plus.
While in high school, Tony Scifo worked part-time for a shoe guy. In 1980, at the tender age of 19, he bought Foot Gear, the shoe shop across the street at 131 First Avenue. Two and a half years ago, he and his big sister Linda Scifo-Young opened Village Kids, selling children’s kicks just a block away at 117 First Avenue. Ms. Scifo-Young used to work in corporate real estate, so she wasn’t scared of going into business during a financial crisis. “As a real estate broker, I knew that the only time I could get a decent lease for the second store was when the market was bad,” she said. The Local spoke to her at Village Kids about whether her gamble paid off.
Q.
What influences your business the most?
A.
The funny thing is that in actuality we’re in the weather business. If the weather cooperates, we’re good. If it’s cold when it’s supposed to be cold, then we have a good season. If it’s hot when it’s supposed to be hot, then we have a good season. If any of those things don’t work, you have no season. This year was hard with how the weather cooperated. Read more…
Stephen Rex BrownThe sign on the door of the Starbucks at 145 Second Avenue.
The Starbucks at Second Avenue and Ninth Street has been closed by the Department of Consumer Affairs for “operating illegally,” according to a sticker on its darkened window.
When a tipster sent word earlier today, we wondered if it was a hoax, since Starbucks became a target of neighborhood scorn after it replaced the Bean at 49 1/2 First Avenue in February. But a walk past the Second Avenue location confirms that it was indeed shuttered by the D.C.A. We’re waiting to hear back from the agency about the circumstances of what will likely be a temporary closure, and will post any updates as we get them.
Update | 2:57 p.m. Starbucks spokesman Zack Hutson explained that the coffee shop failed to renew its sidewalk cafe permit. Read more…
The former home of Dana Falafel Shawarma Deli will be offering falafel again – and flavored tobacco, as well. In the next weeks, a hookah lounge will open in the modest storefront at 45 First Avenue, near Third Street.
Stu El-Boghdedy, the manager of the forthcoming Aziza (a girl’s name meaning “beloved” in Arabic) gave The Local a sneak peek into the 35-seat lounge decorated with Moroccan lanterns, fabrics and poufs. In addition to Egyptian water pipes, he said, he’ll be serving light appetizers such as hummus, falafel, grape leaves, and eggplant salad as well as non-alcoholic drinks such as Turkish coffee, mint tea served in ornate teapots, and salep, a sweet, hot milk drink.
Mr. El-Boghdedy said hookahs would go from $12 to $35 or $40, which raised the question: why are water pipes at the East Village’s numerous smoke dens so expensive, anyway? Read more…
Stephen Rex BrownDucks Eatery will open in the old Resto Leon space on East 12th Street.
The chef from the trendy ping pong bar Spin plans to open a new creole barbecue and seafood joint on East 12th Street in the next four to six weeks.
Crispy pig ears, yakamein (a New Orleans noodle soup), shellfish, braised pork spines, and peppercorn briskets injected with cachaca and apricot preserve are all planned for the menu of the new restaurant, called Ducks Eatery.
“We’re diving hardcore into the creole and barbecue thing,” said chef Will Horowitz. “It’s pretty wild, the flavor profiles we’re doing.” Read more…
Friend House, an Asian restaurant and lounge that brought in a weekend party crowd, has closed amid a bankruptcy filing, lawsuits, and mounting debt. The deathblow came Monday when a city marshal turned possession of the space over to the landlord.
The eatery at Third Avenue and 13th Street applied for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last June, court papers show. At the time, it cited $675,995 in liabilities, including over $491,200 in rent arrears, more than $86,206 owed to Renaissance Development Corp., and smaller debts to food and wine vendors. According to papers filed last week, the company also owes about $87,000 to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and about $24,000 to the city Department of Consumer Affairs. Read more…
CBGB will be all over the place this summer, and so will a new truck bearing the name of one of the club’s legends. Marky Ramone’s Cruisin’ Kitchen hit the streets about two weeks ago, and the owner, a former East Villager, plans to feed the neighborhood’s late-night hordes.
Keith Album, a French Culinary Institute grad who has worked in catering, as a personal chef, and most recently at Whole Foods, describes his concept as “worldwide balls,” with Marky Ramone’s signature marinara sauce slathered over the Italian variety.
Not only that: the former Ramones drummer’s name and likeness are plastered on the side of the truck. Read more…
If anyone in the culinary world still hasn’t noticed the abundance of unique and delectable dessert shops that sprinkle the East Village, they will now: earlier this week, Momofuku Milk Bar’s chef-owner Christina Tosi clinched a Rising Star Chef of the Year medal at the James Beard Foundation Awards, widely considered “the Oscars of the restaurant industry.” The honor usually goes to savory chefs, but Ms. Tosi is one of a handful of pastry practitioners in the neighborhood that are getting wider recognition.
“I believe in what we do at Milk Bar and it’s incredibly rewarding to know that others do, too,” Ms. Tosi told The Local. Read more…
The Local was a journalistic collaboration designed to reflect the richness of the East Village, report on its issues and concerns, give voice to its people and create a space for our neighbors to tell stories about themselves. It was operated by the students and faculty of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University, in collaboration with The New York Times, which provides supervision to ensure that the blog remains impartial, reporting-based, thorough and rooted in Times standards. Read more »
Stephen Rex Brown
