Care for a Malibu Barbie with that plate of frickles? You can now order just that on St. Marks Place.

Its red-and-gold exterior may be loud, but Saints Tavern opened rather quietly last week, boasting 20 beers on tap, cocktails with names like The Grapeful Dead, and a touch of Americana (a pinup photo of Marilyn Monroe faces a replica of Joe DiMaggio’s Yankees uniform).

Alfonso Londono, who owns the tavern along with partners Richard Romano and Aida Levinshon, comes from a restaurant family. He opened his first place Hoops, a college sports bar, at the age of 21, and went on to operate a Mexican restaurant and an Asian fusion concept as well as The Copper Barrel in the Financial District.

Mr. Londono thought the American vibe would help distinguish Saints Tavern from its Asian neighbors. He and his partners scoured flea markets and local shops such as Obscura Antiques to find decor such as a bear head with boxing gloves and a big fish with a soda can. On the ground floor customers can draw all over tables made of chalkboard.
See the menu

Alexa Mae Asperin

St. Marks Places may have lost Natori, but it’s gaining another Japanese spot.

In the next couple of weeks, Kura will begin serving sushi and sashimi at a 10-seat counter in the former home of Mohamed Falfel Star, at 130 St. Marks Place.

Huey Cheng, who is involved in the project, told The Local that Kura (meaning a place to store valuables) will be open daily for lunch and dinner.

An early sample menu submitted to Community Board 3 included items such as tuna with grated mountain yam, clams cooked in a sake broth, grilled duck, fried oysters, and various assorted vegetable dishes.

Just how much business did Halloween Adventure lose when Sandy forced it to close during its busiest season?

Tony Bianchi, 67, who has managed the store for over 15 years, told The Local, “We’ve lost at least half a million dollars, and that’s putting it conservatively.”

Still, with SantaCon scheduled for Dec. 15, the store is hoping a horde of drunken Clauses will take some of the coal out of its stocking.

The massive costume and makeup store, located at 104 Fourth Avenue, closed its doors at 5 p.m. on Oct. 28 so that staffers could get home before the subway shutdown. The next day, it lost power for five days.

Mr. Bianchi considered opening and using headlamps to navigate inside but, ultimately he decided it would have been too dangerous. The subsequent closure, he said, created a “financial mess.”

“It’s sort of like FAO Schwartz or Macy’s being closed on Christmas,” he said.
Read more…

Courtesy East Village Wines

A little over a block away from where the neighborhood’s newest wine shop recently opened, East Village Wines, at 138 First Avenue, opened its doors after prohibition, in 1933. Bangladeshi owner Imran Ahmed was the shop’s manager for 12 years before he took over three years ago. He believes that what sets East Village Wines apart is its neighborly customer service (he gives discounts to locals and accepts packages for them, too) and his affinity for smaller production wines over the big-brand giants. We spoke to him about how the palate of the East Village has changed over the decades.

Were you interested in wine when you first started?

When I was managing the store, I was also the wine buyer and got really into wine and learning them and drinking more of them. I started really studying about the regions that wines come from. While I was managing the store we went from selling generic wines to me being very picky and selecting some really special high-end wines. I upgraded the inventory a lot. It was good that I was studying all of this as the clientele began changing. I have people who seriously drink wine so being more educated about wine is very important to my business. The customer today is more educated but at the same time they don’t want to spend a lot of money. Read more…

At the tiny coffee bar that opened on St. Marks Place yesterday, the beans aren’t the only thing that have been imported: the counter, front door, and other fixtures were designed and assembled in Lombardy, Italy by architect Beppe Riboli, and shipped over in boxes.

Giovanni Finotto and Caterina Musajo, the owners of I Am Coffee, wanted the 65-square-foot space that once held Another Wireless Shop to look and feel like an Italian terrazza. Beyond the sliding-glass front door, four people (and no more) can stand comfortably at a counter that resembles a balcony. There are toy birds by the handwritten menu, water pipes holding up shelves, exposed brick walls and Italian stone flooring — just the sort of touches you’d expect from the stylish proprietors of I Am Wine, an online artisanal wine shop.
Read more…

Joann Pan Opening on Friday, Zen 6 will serve New York-style ramen and succulent gyoza dumplings.

The owners of Noodle Cafe Zen on St. Marks Place and Sushi Lounge on Avenue A plan to open a ramen joint on Curry Row by the end of the week.

Hideyuki Okayama said Zen 6, in the former Chiyono space on East Sixth Street, will serve “New York City-style ramen,” meaning steaming bowls of house-made noodles set in a rich broth and topped with unconventional ingredients such as soft-shell crab, oysters and spicy fried calamari.

Traditionalists can order miso ramen with corn, meat, egg and vegetables; shio ramen with chicken broth, salt, meat and egg; or tsukemen ramen with tender meat and baby bamboo.

Next month, the eatery will give away an order of pan-fried gyoza (dumplings stuffed with beef, pork or vegetables) with any order of ramen.

Zen 6, 328 East Sixth Street (between First and Second Avenues); (917) 318-5298

Alexa Mae Asperin

You may have seen photos of 116 Avenue C in our Flickr stream yesterday: the space near East Eighth Street that was formerly Vibrations Lounge is well on its way to becoming The Third Man, the new project from Eduard Frauneder and Wolfgang Ban of Edi & the Wolf.

The cocktail bar will soft-open in the next couple of weeks, according to Florian Altenburg, one of the designers. Yesterday he told The Local that it would seat around 70 people and serve small plates. It was expected to open last month, but that has been pushed back: the bar’s basement, said the designer, saw some flooding during Sandy, though it fared better than Edi & the Wolf did, a block away.

In its fall restaurant preview, The Times wrote that The Third Man was “inspired by the noir film of the same name, with décor reminiscent of the Loos Bar in Vienna, including a floating steel bar suspended from the ceiling. There will be Austrian-influenced small plates, wine, beer, Champagne and cocktails created with house-made ingredients.”

Update | 12:17 p.m. Speaking of Edi & the Wolf, the restaurant has sent over its Thanksgiving prix-fixe menu. Check it out here, and see the menus for 28 more Thanksgiving feasts here.

Suzanne Rozdeba

A block and a half from where Nino’s recently got a makeover, Mamani Pizza is up for sale.

The owner of the 99-cent-slice joint at 151 Avenue A, who didn’t want to be named, confirmed it’s on the market for $129,000. “We’d like to keep it private why it’s for sale,” she said, “but you can write about how good our pizza is.”

Earlier this week, we noted the closure of 2 Bros. Plus on St. Marks Place and the opening of another Joey Pepperoni’s on East 14th Street. Nearby on East 14th, Twitter user @THIEVERYCORP72 noted signage going up for yet another cheap-slice joint, Famous 99-Cent Pizza.

Alexa Mae Asperin

Alexa Mae Asperin

While small businesses on Avenue C struggle to become fully operational again, one of the neighborhood’s largest and oldest supermarkets remains completely shuttered during what would’ve been its busiest time of year.

The C-Town at 188 Avenue C, which has served the community for two decades, sustained “significant water damage” during Sandy, according to manager Elio Hernandez. He estimated the store had lost nearly $1.5 million, and said it wouldn’t reopen for another month.

About $100,000 worth of goods had to be thrown out after the 9,000-square-foot basement was submerged in 10 feet of water. On the main floor, which was flooded with two feet of water, new shelves will cost around $3,000, and $130,000 worth of refrigerators and cases will have to be replaced along with the flooring.
Read more…

Alexa Mae Asperin

Alexa Mae Asperin

Artichoke aficionados, rejoice: cousins Francis Garcia and Sal Basille have opened Chubby Mary’s a few steps away from their 14th Street pizzeria. The signage promises “The Best Heros In Town!”

In the space where Led Zeppole once served fried Oreos and cannolis, this new venture offers a variety of sandwiches, all under $8, that can be ordered as heros or small rolls. The menu is below.
Read more…

For every East Village business that’s opening or closing, dozens are quietly making it. Here’s one of them: Peter Jarema Funeral Home.

Alexa Mae Asperin

As an abandoned coffin reminded us this week, the East Village still has its share of funeral parlors, though some have become stores and others have become construction sites. Peter Jarema Funeral Home, on 129 East Seventh Street, is among the remaining ones. Robert Buzzetta bought into the 106-year-old family business back in 1987. In 2010, his son Danny became a partner, after 15 years as a pallbearer. We spoke to the younger Buzzetta, the home’s vice president and managing funeral director, about the business of dying.

How did your family get into the funeral business?

My father was making funeral arrangements for his mother in-law in 1986 and began a relationship Mr. Lou Nigro who was working for the Jarema Family as a funeral director for many years. Mr. Nigro was interested in purchasing the business and building from the Jarema family and needed a financial partner. My father Robert Buzzetta and Lou Nigro purchased the funeral home and building in September 1, 1987. I purchased Lou Nigro’s share on March 1, 2011. Read more…

Annie Fairman Rosa’s Deli and Grocery

At the Rosa Deli and Grocery Corp, handwritten signs greet customers at nearly every turn: “Food stamps out of service.”

Like many other businesses that have reopened in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the bodega’s phone lines remain down, zapping potential revenue from credit card purchases. In addition, it can’t process payment through the government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly referred to as food stamps.

Hector Martinez, a manager at the store on Avenue D, estimates it’s losing thirty percent of its sales each day without phone service. Recipients of SNAP use an Electronic Benefits Transfer card, which functions like a debit card, to purchase items, and the amount is electronically deducted from their account. Retailers are then credited the amount of the purchase within two business days, according to the program’s Website.

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture extended the period in which beneficiaries must recertify their household to continue receiving SNAP benefits, and agreed to automatically credit a half-month’s worth of benefits to those living in New York City’s hardest hit zip codes, including Alphabet City. But many neighborhood retailers who accept this form of payment remain without a functioning phone line to process the transaction.
Read more…

Photos: Suzanne Rozdeba

After a year’s delay, Union Market has opened at the corner of Avenue A and East Houston Street, as anticipated yesterday. Around 2:30 p.m., Marko Lalic, a partner in the operation, made the rounds as shoppers and gawkers taste-tested olive oils, perused the bountiful cheese section, and admired a baked goods area overflowing with rolls and baguettes.

Last night, The Times revealed that the Brooklyn brand’s first Manhattan outpost would feature a prepared-foods department directed by Katy Sparks, the chef of the future Tavern on the Green, with “dishes like Dominican pork roast, porchetta-style leg of lamb, brisket meatloaf, roasted cauliflower and (since this is a market from Brooklyn) sautéed kale.”

Suzanne Rozdeba contributed reporting.

Alexa Mae Asperin A section of AVE C Pharmacy is still blocked off.

In the days following Sandy, restaurant owners along Avenue C told us they were hurting (today, DNA Info checks in with some of those same restaurateurs). But what about dry businesses that haven’t been championed by the likes of the Eat Up Tip Down movement? A brief survey of neighborhood mom-and-pop operations, including a few veterans of our Making It column, revealed that many are still without telephone, Internet and credit card services. (The Times reported today that 100,000 throughout the state are still without landlines.) Several of them reported tens of thousands of dollars in losses.

Alexa Mae Asperin

Urban Vets
163 Avenue C, near East 10th Street
Estimated Losses: At least $21,000
Days Closed: 7
Structural Damage: Basement flooding, slight flooding on ground level
Other Losses: Ultrasound and Dentistry machines, benches
“Right now I’m using my cell phone and iPad for a hotspot. I’m calling in credit cards but the credit card companies are giving me problems. It’s a headache, it’s really hard. I can’t get my lab results because we don’t have a fax line; I can’t give customers receipts because I can’t connect to a printer. The biggest challenge has been fighting off the cold. We are also a small rescue so we aren’t taking in too many animals because we don’t have heat. Now we don’t have much business.” –Jessica Martinez, receptionist Read more…

Lauren Carol Smith Wendy Barrett last year.

If Village Scandal doesn’t pay almost $22,000 in back rent today, the hat shop will get the boot.

Thursday, a civil court judge ordered Wendy Barrett, the embattled owner of the East Seventh Street store, to pay the sum by 5 p.m. today, or face eviction.

But Ms. Barrett insists she already paid it – or that she tried to, anyway. “Rent was deliberately sent back to me by A.J. Clarke,” she said, referring to the management company she believes has unfairly kept her in delinquency.

“I’ve been running around, trying to get the money. I haven’t slept since last week,” she said through tears this afternoon. “I have to have the money today.”

In response to the potential eviction, Ms. Barrett is suing her landlord and the management company for $10 million. Read more…

Sixth Street Specials wasn’t the only bike shop hit by Hurricane Sandy.

On Avenue C, Recycle-a-Bicycle lost power, but it was up and running during the blackout, and doing swift business. Without reliable public transportation, locals dusted off their Schwinns and Treks and brought them to the non-profit’s storefront for a tune-up.

“A lot of people are coming in for flat fixes, because they’re just pulling their bike out of the basement,” said shop manager Patrick Tomeny last Thursday.

It’s no secret that bikes (and bicycle-powered generators) came in handy during the storm. Watch our video to find out why Mr. Tomeny thinks they’re the way of the future.

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

Courtesy Peter McCaffrey.

Thirty years ago, artist Peter McCaffrey transitioned from painting his own pieces in a subterranean studio to operating a retail store. Mascot Studio, at 328 East Ninth Street, isn’t just any old frame shop: Mr. McCaffrey pays expert attention to the array of materials and textures that can enhance fine art. Add to that an annual dog show and you can see why the 250-square-foot space is such a little gem. We spoke to the owner about how the business is holding up post-Sandy.

How did Sandy affect things?

I am feeling extremely lucky I didn’t suffer any physical damage or flooding. There is a concern about starting up and getting going again. My business deals with aesthetic and not necessary goods and services, which is not at the top of people’s priority list. I find myself asking how I will keep the ball rolling, but I think my saving grace will be the coming holidays. Read more…

Suzanne Rozdeba Michael Spitz

Yes, that’s Michael Jordan posting up on East Ninth Street.

He’s part of the display window at Mr. Throwback, a “funky little crazy store in the East Village” that may soft-open tomorrow, according to its owner.

Michael Spitz, a 30-year-old Murray Hill resident with a background in sports management, said his shop at 428 East Ninth Street is inspired by his childhood in Bellmore, Long Island.

In January, he began peddling some of his old clothing, which he had been selling online, at the Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market, and then at the Dekalb Market in Brooklyn.

At the storefront, between First Avenue and Avenue A, he’ll sell vintage Starter jackets, acid-wash Levis jeans, concert tees, army jackets, and vintage toys and video games. Read more…

East Yoga/Facebook

A fire devastated East Yoga, a small, popular neighborhood yoga studio, on Sunday afternoon.

About 12 units and 60 firefighters rushed to 212 Avenue B after a call came in at 3:14 p.m., the fire department said. The fire was under control 30 minutes later, and there were no reported injuries. The cause of the blaze has not yet been determined.

The studio, which opened on Avenue B, near 13th Street, over six years ago, posted a note on its Website: “No one was in the studio and the surrounding businesses and people living in the building are all okay. So we are counting our blessings that the extent of the damage is limited to our physical space. While the damage is extensive, we are hopeful that we will be up and running again in a few weeks time.”

Students sent condolences and offers to help rebuild the studio via Facebook and Twitter. “I was there this morning for a great first post-hurricane-darkness class with Shevy,” wrote one. “This makes me very sad, please let us know how we can help!” And @KBorg Tweeted, “It breaks my heart that @eastyoga had a terrible fire today. That yoga studio forever changed who I am. So sad.”

The studio is currently looking for a space to hold classes while it rebuilds. “This has been a humbling experience. We have appreciated everyone who has reached out with their love and support,” it wrote. “We will need help as we recover and will be taking many of you up on your very generous offers – whether it is helping us clean up, donating to our renovation efforts or attending our interim classes to stay connected.”