Daniel Maurer 239 East 14th Street in background.

More than a month after EV Grieve spotted a job filing with the Department of Buildings indicating that 239 East 14th Street will be remodeled to accommodate a 7-Eleven, a “Store for Rent” sign is still posted at the former home of Exquisite DVD & Video. Today, The Local put in a call to Larry Guttman, a principal of the company that owns the building. He said, “Nothing’s set yet. All I can tell you is that we’ve been negotiating with several different companies and a couple of different companies are interested in the space and there’s due diligence going on.”

“It’s not easy to make a deal,” he said, adding that brokers and their clients have shown a good deal of interest in the space next to the new IHOP. “We’ve been approached by several bars, restaurants, 7-Eleven, McDonald’s, a hamburger place. Talk is cheap.”

Mr. Guttman said he hopes to have a deal wrapped up in the next few weeks. We’ll update you as soon as information becomes available.

A space that briefly housed a poker club –  until it closed in August after a gunpoint robbery –  is now home to a deli. As you can see from the exterior shot in the slideshow above, the Fresno Gourmet Deli at 27 Avenue C is much less shy about advertising itself than the poker club was.

Working the counter last night, Bee Alsadi said the deli opened a little over a week ago, and is operated by his family, which owns seven other locations in Harlem, the Bronx, and soon in Hell’s Kitchen. He claimed most of the stock was organic, pointing to shelves full of packaged nuts, and said prices would be cheap, with specials such as a free soda with a $3 cold-cut sandwich and free coffee with a $2.50 egg-and-cheese. Free delivery is available at (212) 353-1110. Read more…

Amalie R. Rothschild Breakfast at Ratner’s

We’ve now heard more about those Ratner’s buttons being sold on Craigslist. The vendor, who mysteriously didn’t want to give a name and referred to himself only as the Flea Market King (he also sells the buttons at the flea market at Avenue A and 11th Street on weekends), said that he acquired 40 of the buttons a year and a half ago while he was cleaning out the estate of an electrician who did work at the restaurant – though it’s uncertain whether it was the Ratner’s on Delancey Street or the one on Second Avenue.

Selling for $20 each, the buttons have dwindled to about a dozen: 10 of them went to a Long Island restaurateur who was planning a Ratner’s theme party and turned them into cufflinks.

The Flea Market King, who grew up on the Lower East Side, said he doesn’t hear many stories about Ratner’s from his customers. In fact, he’s usually the one sharing memories. He was a customer at the Delancey Street location (he also worked as a bag boy at the Lion Supermarket near the Second Avenue location) and still lives in the neighborhood, as do the now-elderly children of some of the Ratner’s bakers. Read more…

Amalie R. Rothschild Breakfast at Ratner’s

Here’s a chance to own a piece of East Village history: A Craigslist poster is selling buttons said to have been worn by the servers at Ratner’s, the 24-hour dairy restaurant that was located at 111 Second Avenue (now the Met Foods supermarket) before it closed in 1974. They’re going for $20.

Amalie R. Rothschild noted in her Viewfinder about the Fillmore East that the restaurant, which was next-door to the Fillmore, “had these very old Jewish waiters who were put off by the hippie crowd. They did not like us and were surly and difficult.” Her photo of breakfast at Ratner’s (above) doesn’t show the waiters wearing the buttons, but maybe you remember them? Or were these from the Ratner’s on Delancey Street? We’ve e-mailed the Craigslist poster for more information and will update it if we get it.

Photos: Daniel Maurer

As expected, Tompkins Finest Deli opened Tuesday in the former Avenue A Mini Market space at 153 Avenue A, between 10th and 11th Streets. That’s co-owner Adeeb Ghamem (also a partner in East Village Finest Deli as well as First and First Finest Deli) putting signs up in the window. And here’s the menu, complete with the obligatory Special Sandwiches section. None of them are named after local bloggers as at Tompkins Square Bagels: You’ll have to settle for a Mr. Bean, a Chelsea Antique, or the Amtrack [sic] Express. Read more…

For every East Village business that’s opening or closing, dozens are quietly making it. Here’s one of them: Barbara Feinman Millinery.

Robyn Rock

Before she opened her East Village hat shop, Barbara Feinman spent twenty years working office jobs. “I was raised to be a smart Jewish girl who went to college,” she said. “Those girls aren’t supposed to use their hands.” But she burned out on white collar work, took a class at FIT, and decided to become a hat maker. After initially working out of her kitchen, she opened Barbara Feinmen Millinery at 66 East Seventh Street in June of 1998. She recently told The Local how she has managed to make it to 14 years.

What prompted you to stop working out of your kitchen and seek a proper storefront?

I got a few big orders. One from Barney’s that was a $17,000 order. That was absolutely huge in the 1990s. After that I started sharing a studio space on Ninth Street. When I got a dog and wasn’t allowed to bring my dog to work, that really bugged me since what’s the point of working for myself if I can’t work how I want? That’s when I went solo. I walked around the East Village, saw a sign and walked in. It was walking distance from my home. I grew up around here. I feel most at home here. Plus, fourteen years ago there weren’t many places I could have afforded. Read more…

Noah Fecks The porchetta sandwich at Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria. Click on the image for a super close-up.

When chef Sarah Jenkins opened Porchetta in a tiny East Seventh Street storefront in 2008, the general reaction was: great sandwich, but wow – $9? Porchetta’s signature dish – that rolled, herbed pork roast served on ciabatta that has been called one of the ten best things to eat in New York City – will now set you back $10 plus tax. But it hardly seems expensive any more.

Four months ago, Il Buco (where Ms. Jenkins was once chef) opened an offshoot Alimentari & Vineria, and it’s doing insane business on Great Jones Street thanks to an adulatory New York Times review last week. On the lunch menu is a porchetta sandwich that costs no less than $16 plus tax. And yet it’s regularly selling out. Read more…

With the premiere last week of Angelina Jolie’s film about the Bosnian War, “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” conflict in the Balkans is once again making headlines. Last week, Serbs in northern Kosovo voted against that region’s autonomy four years after its declaration of independence from Serbia, a country that is vying for E.U. status. Clearly, the past has left divisive wounds for many in the region, but in the East Village, Vladimir Ocokoljic, a Serbian ex-pat who has made the neighborhood his home for the past 21 years, says that all are welcome at his restaurant, Kafana.

Mr. Ocokoljic describes himself as a proud Serbian, but he says that many of his customers come from across the Balkans. Watch The Local’s video to find out more about the “little piece of Belgrade” that he has carved out on Avenue C.

Natalie Rinn 507 East Sixth Street

A storefront that has been vacant since a fire shuttered 6th Street Kitchen a year ago will soon hold a pan-Asian restaurant, with a veteran of one of the space’s previous occupants, Oriental Grill, serving as head chef.

Jimmy Lin worked as a cook for seven years at Oriental Grill, the neighborhood joint that was open for 15 years before owner Chris Genoversa transformed it into 6th Street Kitchen. After his time at O.G., Mr. Lin worked at other restaurants, including Spice, Aja, and Asia Kan. Now he’s returning to 507 East Sixth Street as a chef-owner, with his longtime friends Yun Feijiang and Sally Lam as partners.

Ms. Lam, whose family previously owned the shuttered Magic Chef restaurant in Ossining, N.Y. and King Buffet in Staten Island, said the new restaurant, Purple Ginger, would likely serve Thai and Malaysian cuisine and include a noodle bar. The dining room will hold 14 small tables and should be ready to open after another two or three months of work.

For every East Village business that’s opening or closing, dozens are quietly making it. To kick off a new series celebrating the neighborhood’s undersung heroes: Flower Power Herbs and Roots.

Ron Moreno of Brasco Photography Lata Kennedy

Lata Chettri-Kennedy calls herself a “green witch.” At Flower Power Herbs and Roots, established in 1993, she presides over a variety of natural remedies (organic herbs, roots, tinctures, flowers, and essences) that are grown in local backyard gardens, imported from India, or sourced from trusted brands like Gaia and Herb Pharm. Walk into her East Ninth Street apothecary and her apprentices – trained in holistic care – might suggest maca for sexual energy or ashwagandha for anxiety and depression. So what’s her secret for longevity? “My ex was a wonderful real estate negotiator and his negotiation of the lease is the only reason I am still open,” Ms. Chettri-Kennedy told The Local. Her rent was $1,000 in 1994; thanks to an increase of just 5 percent per year, she’s currently paying just $2,000. We asked Ms. Kennedy to tell us more about making it.

Why did you choose the East Village for your business?

I’ve lived here my whole adult life. It’s a neighborhood that relates to me. I know everybody. The original Flower Power was on Second Street between First and A. It was huge and $5,000 a month in the early 90s. Too much for me to afford. I like to say we really opened when I moved into Ninth Street because that was when we were able to feel like we could last. Read more…

Gentlemen, you have no excuse. Valentine’s Day happens every year, and every year you buy her a dozen red roses. Yawn. Step it up with gifts from local shops that strike the perfect note: romantic but not too sappy.

Photos of Fragrance Shop New York by Vivienne Gucwa

As shown in the slideshow above, Lalita Kumut’s Fragrance Shop New York has reopened on East Fourth Street, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Meanwhile, a high-profile restaurant located next to the shop’s former home on East Seventh Street plans to take over the newly vacant space.

Porsena, the Italian spot that chef Sara Jenkins of Porchetta opened in 2010, wants to expand next-door. But at a meeting of Community Board 3’s S.L.A. Licensing committee last night, residents fearful of the din caused by an exhaust fan spoke out against the move. Read more…

Stephen Rex Brown

One of the East Village’s most complained-about clubs and the scene of a post-Thanksgiving stabbing is up for a liquor license renewal; but even with a new partner promising to make changes, neighbors aren’t hearing it.

About a month ago, Joseph Shienouda, 32, bought a 50 percent stake in La Vie, a club on First Street that racked up the 12th highest number of noise complaints within the boundaries of Community Board 3. Some believe the new part-owner has continued to operate the venue – listed as a bar and restaurant on its most recent liquor license questionnaire – as an unlicensed cabaret, with live D.J.s and late-night dance parties.

At last night’s meeting of C.B. 3’s S.L.A. Licensing committee, Jason Weisfuse, who lives next-door to the club at 62 East First Street, said decibel levels had not decreased since Mr. Shienouda came on board. “I hear their music practically every single night – earth-shaking bass music weeknights until 4 a.m.” he said. “We’ve communicated with them countless times. After a year and a half, we’ve stopped reaching out to them.”

But the new partner, who said he had previously managed a club in New Jersey for five years, claimed that he had started making changes. Read more…

Natalie Rinn Barbara Sibley and Robert Ehrlich

The owner of La Palapa is joining the founder of Pirate’s Booty in taking over the Holiday Cocktail Lounge space, and the duo will open a restaurant there.

At a meeting of Community Board 3’s S.L.A. licensing committee last night, Robert Ehrlich, who purchased the building at 75 St. Marks Place from former owner Roman Lutak, and Barbara Sibley, who will manage the spot, confirmed that their restaurant will not keep the Holiday’s name, dealing a final death-blow to the beloved bar.

Committee members lamented the loss. “It’s too bad it won’t be called Holiday Cocktail Lounge,” said Ariel Palitz. “It’s the end of an era.”

Ms. Sibley has been in the neighborhood for some time. She ran Telephone Bar on Second Avenue, which closed in 2010 after 22 years of business, and is currently the chef and owner of La Palapa, the Mexican restaurant that stands next door to the former Holiday at 77 St. Marks Place. Read more…

Diner’s Journal takes a look at the menu for the East Village outpost of the popular Mexican restaurant Fonda, and reveals that it will open next week. Roberto Santibañez, who opened the Park Slope location three years ago, said that the new Fonda at 40 Avenue B will feature more bar food, brunch plates and mezcals: “In Brooklyn, this is a neighborhood place, a hangout, and I hope it will be the same in Manhattan.”

Eater has a beer at Sophie’s, the East Fifth Street watering hole, and shares some trivia about the previous occupant: “Before Sophie moved in, the space was called the Chic Choc, owned by Virginia Chicarelli and a person named Chocolate. You can still see the words ‘Chic Choc’ (in my opinion, one of the worst bar names ever) on the cement threshold of Sophie’s.”

Photos: Noah Fecks. Cocktails, in order: Friend of the Devil (two photos), Gin and Juice (three photos), Manhattan, Lady of the Night (three photos), and J. Crusteau at Booker and Dax; I Hear Banjos (two photos) at The Wayland; Beetnick, Manhattan on Draught, Bowery Fix, and Yankee Mule at Saxon + Parole; Flor de Jalisco, 1890, Bitter Mule, and Pimm’s Tonic at The Wren; and G.P. Spritz and The Last Cocktail at Prima.

Jason Mendenhall, a partner in the new cocktail bar on Avenue C, The Wayland, knows the East Village has long been a drinks destination. “I’ve heard people refer to the neighborhood as the cocktail ghetto,” he recently told The Local. Lately, mixologists like Mr. Mendenhall have been raising the proverbial bar on tired old speakeasy drinks, with twists that have nothing to do with lemon rinds: we’re talking red-hot pokers, smoke capsules, and centrifuges.

Take Mr. Mendenhall’s most popular creation, I Hear Banjos. The mixologist roasts apples to make bitters for the corn-whiskey and applejack drink (he’s also working on umami bitters, made from various mushrooms). But that isn’t the impressive part. For campfire effect, the drink is capped with an upside-down snifter full of applewood smoke. Mr. Mendenhall is planning an entire line of smoked drinks (and a line of drinks incorporating vegetables like kale and beets, as well), and he also hopes to create smoked ice.

At Booker and Dax, the recently opened bar at Momofuku Ssam, partner Dave Arnold is going one step further than using a smoking gun – he’s wielding a red-hot poker. “It has an internal temperature of 1,500 degrees Farenheit,” he said. “We shove it into the drink to create burnt-caramel flavors that you can’t get by making a hot drink on the stove.” Read more…

Daniel Maurer

The owners of Tompkins Finest Deli say they hope to open the store sometime in the next ten days, and about two months from now, they’ll open a Middle Eastern café at the corner of First Avenue and Second Street.

Adeeb Ghamem, a resident of Park Slope, Brooklyn, and Ahmed Alzabair, of the Upper West Side, were busy stocking shelves with Vitamin Water and PopChips earlier today, in a space that has been considerably gussied up from the time it housed Avenue A Mini Market. Mr. Ghamem, who is also a partner in East Village Finest Deli (on Avenue B) and First and First Finest Deli (you can guess where that is), said that he was opening another store in the East Village because “people are nice. Nobody gives nobody a hard time. Everbody’s polite here.” Read more…

Stephen Rex Brown Mike Zohn and Evan Michelson show off some just-purchased oddities in front of their new location at 207 Avenue A.

After a rushed departure from their former space on East 10th Street, the owners of Obscura Antiques and Oddities are aiming to reopen at a new, more spacious location at 207 Avenue A by the end of February.

Fresh from a visit to a Hell’s Kitchen building that yielded a Tibetan Kapala skull-cup, headhunter’s axe, a small replica of an electric chair, and old handcuffs, Mike Zohn and Evan Michelson touted their new store, which is nearly double the size of the previous location.

“There is room to breathe,” said Ms. Michelson. “It’s like a dream come true.” Read more…