Thursday, July 15, 2010

We'll always have Le Souk

The last time I looked inside former Avenue B menace Le Souk, the place looked as if it had become a supply closet...



Meanwhile, a tipster notes that work appears to be happening inside and outside the space... though there are no permits on file with the DOB



And! The tipster asks, Why are people always coming out of Le Souk at 4, 5, 6 a.m.?

Just the like good ol' days...

3 comments:

East Village Eats said...

Molotov cocktail anyone??? That place is/was a blight!

Anonymous said...

...Why are people always coming out of Le Souk at 4, 5, 6 a.m.?...

Interesting. Come to think of it, I've seen that happen several times. It seems like an iffy place to cache drugs heading up and down the 5th St. delivery corridor but it might work, esp. if, say, the lease is up and the names on the month-to-month (or whatever) are just there for, oh, convenience. If it is being used as a drug cache, then the owner might find it rewarding to have the space sit "empty." Come to think of it, if the lease is going through a broker, then the owner might even assume that he's somewhat shielded if something goes down. It is interesting that the place is not officially used but it sure ain't locked down and, yup, people come and people go, usually in small furtive groups late at night.

Oh, who knows? Maybe the Souks guys and the owner are just kind hearted folks who realize that sometimes restaurants go wrong and everyone needs time, like a year or two, to sort it all out and, of course, it's hard to pay rent during that time and all. And, the late night traffic is just the same kind and generous folks offering neighborhood kids and local businessmen a quiet place to rest their heads after a long night's work. Maybe, underneath their breathtaking irresponsible and criminal behavior, the Souks people are kind, reasonable, and lovely people once you get to know them.

Dee said...

I HATE That place. I live on that block and could never walk through at night when they were open. I had plenty of arguments with the bouncers for not controlling the crowd. I have lived in the east village all my life, and I honestly have never been so annoyed with a business ever.