Friday, January 14, 2011

[Updated] Mercadito Cantina closing Jan. 30


Staffers at Mercadito Cantina on Avenue B have begun telling regulars that the offshoot of the flagship eatery across the street will close on Jan. 30.

One source said that a lack of a liquor license doomed the cantina. (Beer and wine are available. However, otherwise, the bar serves "tric-quila.") CB3 turned twice turned down their request for a full liquor license, citing an oversaturation of bars in the area.

Without being able to offer margaritas, Mercadito Cantina had to charge more for their food.

The flagship Mercadito across the street will remain open.

Update:
Eater has more details ...

They are turning their space . . . into an event space where they'll offer "innovative cooking demonstrations by Chef Sandoval, beverage classes by Tippling Bros., private party packages and more."

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good! Lousy food and the most obnoxious people eat there. Also Rue St. Dennis apparently lost a lot of business because of their crowd taking over the whole sidewalk. Good! Let these predatory landlords come down on their rent. Ugly fucking market rate building too.

Anonymous said...

It's sad - it was actually a quieter business than a full on bar. Now this will sit empty, people will have lost their jobs.

Does the liquor board realize that people can get drunk off of Beer & Wine?

And now that this empty - what will move in? A loud bar that people complain even MORE about? or is it big enough for the impending 7-11 that's sure to come to our neighborhood.

Anonymous said...

yeah right Mercadito Cantina woo! I remember this one at the community board getting knocked down for a full liquor. Bravo to Alex Militano and Beth of CB3. Of course Ariel voted it in, Ariel Palitz. She needs to go. She will vote anything in.
Here's an old quote from an EVGrieve blogger.
"This woman on the community board, Ariel is a real sour puss. She will support anyone who wants a liquor license. I'm convinced that if Bernie Madoff proposed to open a lounge in a resolution area and offered as the public benefit free investment advice to local residents she would support him."

And furthermore for her for her to use the word douchebag at the community board meeting. How unprofessional is that, and we're putting our quality of life in their hands. The blogs are one thing but there needs to be some professionalism on the community board.

Anonymous said...

Your an idiot anon 11:23. It can't make it because the rent is too high. We can't conform to these landlords anymore. Let the space remain empty. There are empty spaces all over the fucking city. Avenue B is also in a resolution area so what ever is going to go there will at this point not get a full liquor license.
You must be one of these people who eats there and likes shit like this.

Anonymous said...

IS it TRUE that CHEZ JEWELS will open here on March first? real home cookin and watered down beer? Invite's only

Anonymous said...

'They are turning their space . . . into an event space where they'll offer "innovative cooking demonstrations by Chef Sandoval, beverage classes by Tippling Bros., private party packages and more."'

In other words, it will be a party space.

Anonymous said...

I find it telling that all of the comments with name calling and swearing are coming from one side . Shows you what kind of folks Cantina was up against .

Anonymous said...

I am a server at Mercadito Cantina. I'm 22 years old and I grew up here. I find it incredibly insensitive and offensive that people would cheer the fact that we are closing . 25 people, myself included will now be out of jobs. I'm a student and wasn't planning on staying past the summer anyway but some of my co-workers, especially the chefs , have responsibilities and families to support. Mercadito Cantina was a great place to work. Our staff was mostly from the area and we are like family. My manager is also from the neighborhood. I am puzzled about some of the comments about our guests being 'D-Bags' since the majority of the ones I served were from the 'hood. Friday and Saturday we could get some B&T but that's everywhere.
I feel it's very wrong to wish us gone or to say we were bad for the community. I know for a fact that Cantina donated both food and money to several local causes over the years. I know 'cause I served some of those events.
Two summers ago we had a group of kids running around Ave B pretty much making it their mission to cause trouble and be as obnoxious as possible. They would run around flipping the news paper machines over, throwing stuff, knocking restaurants special boards over , etc. They really gave the guy at 11 B a hard time. Two of these kids now work at Cantina. One as a busser and one started as a busser and moved up to a food runner. I consider myself liberal and an activist when it comes to my community but I thought my boss was out of his mind/had a death wish when he told me he was going to befriend these kids and do that. He had a staff meeting around that time and basically said he was doing what he felt it was his responsibility to do. The Frank Sinatra looking dude at 11 B thought he was nuts! Anyway, he did it. Who does that !? I wanted to tell this story because I feel the people on this site and CB3 as well, can be way off base at times. You can't lump everyone together and label them bad for the 'hood. We were a real restaurant . We were never loud and we never made trouble and I always thought people from the are liked us . Also , I feel there are people in the EV who just want to bitch and complain all the time about what's wrong but never do anything positive , and then there are people like my soon to be ex boss who actually step up and do the right thing without expecting a thank you or even any recognition . CB3 you are the real losers wether you realize it or not .

Jill W. said...

So they can't make money selling food and beer/wine, but somehow cooking classes and events are going to rake in the profits? Hmmm, we'll see.

Melanie said...

Thanks for the info anon 5:12PM..I had no idea. Getting factual input is very important. Neighborhood establishments are lovely and have been a treasure in NYC for years. So many of them closing has had a very direct impact on the community.

Anonymous said...

The reason they couldn't make it was the place across the street sold virtually identical food- and "the rent is too damn high", as my favorite perenial candidate for mayor has been saying for many years. Those of us who are trying to maintain a quality of life on this block by fighting additional liquor licenses( we live here, you don't)aren't just sourpusses- we like to be able to sleep at night. Seems like a pretty bsic right to me.