Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Storefronts and signage: Top A Nail makes the move next door; Bahr Ché closes on Astor Place


It's another exciting edition of storefronts and signage... a few items to note from recent days and weeks...

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Top A Nails opened Monday in their new home on Avenue A ... right next door to their former shop here between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street... According to the listing for the old space at No. 137, the storefront has already been rented.

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[Photo by Steven]

The signage is up at 440 E. Ninth St. near Avenue A for Confectionery, a vegan chocolate shop and bakery. As we first reported, the retail shop will be a collaboration between the New Paltz-based vegan chocolate company Lagusta’s Luscious and bakery Sweet Maresa's.

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Workers recently cleaned out the remainder of the former Sounds space at 20 St. Mark's Place...taking with them the last traces of the record store that closed last October...the asking rent is $22,000...



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The broker brandage has been removed from the former Chase branch at 20 Avenue A and Second Street...



The marketing copy read: "Your corner. Your brand. Your town." So perhaps there is a taker for this (your!) corner...

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A for rent sign arrived the other day at the former Verizon Wireless on Second Avenue at St. Mark's Place...


[Photo by Steven]

We didn't spot a listing for the space online just yet.

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An EVG reader told us that Bahr Ché, a wine-tapas bar at 26 Astor Place, has been closed for weeks now... it looks as if black trash bags cover the front door... their phone goes unanswered and the website is now offline...



Bahr Ché opened in late 2010.

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And workers yesterday cleaned out the East Village Tobacco & Variety Shop at 350 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.... the space is for rent...


[Photo by Steven]

The shop opened just eight months ago... taking over the former A.K. Shoe Repair.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://nypost.com/2014/04/26/the-hidden-proof-the-economy-is-still-awful/

"Why a Booming Manhattan Is Full of Empty Store Fronts"

How long will the former Sounds space stay vacant? One year? Five years? The Winick spaces down the block are mostly unrented after several years. Why doesn't supply and demand work in the commercial market? The article gives some reasons. Note it doesn't mention tax abatements.

Keeping these spaces vacant makes NYC less interesting and less attractive. And more dangerous at night?

Anonymous said...

I wonder what the average life span of a new EV business is these days?

Anonymous said...

When banks and national brands vacate store fronts you know something's up. This unrealistic 'bottom line' mentality of this city has all but destroyed the culture and lifestyle that New York has been known for. It's not just us whiny locals talking about it. Journalists, celebrities...the ones who have spent a significant amount of time here all know what's going on. I've been here 30 years, over 20 of those in the East Village and I'm planning on leaving.

Gojira said...

"The (East Village Tobacco & Variety Shop) opened just eight months ago...taking over the former A.K. Shoe Repair" - a shop which had been around for decades, having been handed down, in ancient tradition, from father to son. Sums it all up right there.

And no, Confectionary, I have no intentions whatsoever of becoming "really really excited" over either your inane sign or the thought of still more useless dessert crap being foisted onto the neighborhood.

Anonymous said...

That vegan chocolate signage looks like a wind-up and something written by The Onion.

Anonymous said...

while we're at it, what's up with all the gas stations disappearing, hospitals closing and grocery stores getting priced out by exorbitant rents?!

Anonymous said...

Wow

organic +
fair trade +
vegan +
handmade

Too much good stuff. Somebody pick me up off the floor.

Anonymous said...

Gojira wrote about " more useless dessert crap "...
but I beg to differ!

Dessert is never useless. To me, it is the most important part of the meal. In fact, I'm quite happy if dessert is the entirety of the meal!

So I'm all for more dessert options. And being vegan, it's been more desert than dessert recently...so...bring it on!

- East Villager

Gojira said...

Yeah because there are so many more unnecessary shoe repair shops than vital dessert places in the EV. No, truly, I get it.

Anonymous said...

East Villager just because you are a dessert monster does not mean the entire population of the East Village needs to lose important services so you can have sweets. Jesus.