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
Warning: If you didn’t enjoy the “Bodies” exhibit and get queasy at Freemans, you probably won’t dig this slideshow either. Photos: Vivienne Gucwa.
It’s been a real challenge finding shrunken heads, human skulls and mounted piranhas in the neighborhood since Obscura Antiques and Oddities closed in January. But search no more: the store selling all things weird opened in its new location at 207 Avenue A, near East 13th Street, on Saturday.
The new digs are nearly double the size of the previous store, meaning that owners Mike Zohn and Evan Michelson have more room to show off their wacky nicknacks, and fans of their reality show “Oddities” have more room to walk around. 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…
