Butter Lane owner: "We are not turning into a bar!"

Maria Baugh, one of the owners of Butter Lane Cupcakes, sent me an e-mail late yesterday afternoon about my post titled, "Is Butter Lane turning into a bar?"

Here's what she had to say:

Hi E.V. Grieve,

My name is Maria Baugh and I’m one of the owners of Butter Lane. I wanted to introduce myself and try to address your questions/concerns about Butter Lane’s application for a liquor license.

We’re applying for a liquor license because we would like to occasionally offer champagne mostly for events or special promotions. We are also exploring the idea of offering wine pairings with cupcakes. We are not turning into a bar!

Also, just so there’s no confusion, we’ve been open until 11 pm on weeknights and midnight on Friday and Saturday (10 pm on Sunday) since we opened in November. Our hours have not changed.

Our main objective is to offer great-tasting, high-quality cupcakes to residents of the East Village and beyond. We love the neighborhood and our many customers who are also our Butter Lane neighbors.

Butter Lane Cupcakes is under new ownership on East 7th Street

[Photo of new owner Lisa Liu from news release]

From the EVG inbox...

Pam Nelson, Linda Lea and Maria Baugh are excited to announce the sale of Butter Lane to Lisa Liu, an experienced restaurant owner and entrepreneur. Lisa will take over the day-to-day operations of Butter Lane's flagship location in the East Village.

Pam, Linda and Maria retain ownership of the brand and look forward to expanding the wholesale business and launching more cupcake baking classes.

“We’re happy to remain a small-town bakery in a big city,” said founder and co-owner Pam Nelson. “We chose Lisa because she has the same sensibility and commitment to the neighborhood and community that we do."

Baugh told us that they will continue to own the Park Slope location.

Butter Lane opened at 123 E. Seventh St. in November 2008. They combined their classroom annex and bakery last summer. And Butter Lane never turned into a bar like some neighbors feared.

Former Butter Lane Cupcakes classroom on the market

Earlier in the summer, Butter Lane Cupcakes closed for a few days on East Seventh Street to revamp their space... mostly to combine their classroom annex with their retail operation.

Said Butter Lane co-owner Maria Baugh: "It's more authentic (and convenient) to have classes in the shop and people get a feel for what it's like to be in a real, working bakery."

Anyway, that annex space is now on the market... no word on asking rent. But it's a great block.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Butter Lane combines spaces on East Seventh Street

Butter Lane will revisit liquor license application in the fall

As you may know, Butter Lane Cupcakes was looking to apply for a liquor license (beer and wine only). Maria Baugh, one of the shop's owners, discussed Butter Lane's intentions in an e-mail to me back in June. (For special events, promotions, wine pairings with cupcakes, etc.) Anyway, Butter Lane initially appeared on the CB3/SLA docket in June and July, but their name was later scratched.

I asked Maria for an update:

We are postponing the application until fall. We're expanding more quickly than we had anticipated in different areas -- wholesale and catering, for example -- and need to concentrate on those for the moment. But we will pursue in the fall.

Butter Lane combines spaces on East Seventh Street

In early June, Butter Lane Cupcakes closed for a few days for some renovations... and in recent weeks, we noticed that the annex/classroom space next door was no longer in use...

So we asked Butter Lane co-owner Maria Baugh for an explanation.

"Late last year, we set up a classroom within our Park Slope shop and got great feedback. Our setup in the East Village was never ideal — we didn't have an oven in the classroom, etc, and we'd been thinking about combining classes and retail for a while."

So...

"Once we saw how successful it was in Park Slope we decided to use it as a model for the East Village. It's more authentic (and convenient) to have classes in the shop and people get a feel for what it's like to be in a real, working bakery."

Here's a shot of the combined space via the Butter Lane Facebook page...



They opened the annex in 2010.

[UPDATED] Reader report: DOH temporarily closes Butter Lane Cupcakes

Multiple readers have noted this morning that the DOH has temporarily closed Butter Lane Cupcakes on Seventh Street...

[Dave on 7th]

The new inspection report isn't online yet... there were 5 violation points in May; 25 during a Sept. 14 inspection... Meanwhile, BL fans are sad...

[UPDATED] 4:03 p.m. A reader just walked by and reports that Butter Lane in back open. No mention of the closure on their Twitter feed.

"Is Butter Lane turning into a bar?"

Upon hearing the news that Butter Lane Cupcakes is going for a beer and wine license... and that the store is now open to midnight...



...and there has been the recent appearance of a rather harmless looking bench, chair, table and umbrella...



... compelled a Seventh Street resident who lives nearby to ask a simple question via e-mail, "Is Butter Lane turning into a bar?"

On East Seventh Street: Dessert Row seems a little deserted -- Chocolate Bar has closed

Wow. East Seventh Street, particularly on the north side of the street closer to Avenue A, seemed to be booming there for a bit. No more. Well, first, Locks 'n' Lads, the kiddie hair salon, has closed. Their outgoing message on their answering machine confirms it. Meanwhile, farther east, there's activity next to Butter Lane Cupcakes. A neighbor said this vacant space may just become a ground-floor apartment. Then! The Chocolate Bar has been shuttered the last few days. And don't expect to see it open again. I have it on very good authority that this location is officially closed. (And they just opened to so much hoopla in June.) Finally, the signs for the forthcoming East Village Pie Lounge at 131 E. Seventh St. are gone. Maybe that doesn't mean anything, though the spot has seemingly been dormant. The Pie Lounge was to take over the space that previously housed the short-lived Italian cafe Affettati. What gives here? Recession? Stupidly high rents (still)? The East Village wasn't ready for/didn't want/need more high-end dessert places?

The Chocolate Bar yesterday.




Construction next to Butter Lane Cupcakes.



Locks 'N' Lads no more.



P.S.

Oddly enough, the Chocolate Bar's new Egg Cream was just featured in this week's Page Six Magazine.

Butter Lane leaves 7th Street for a new home in the American Dream Mall

Photos by Steven

Butter Lane has closed its East Village outpost here at 123 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

The small bakery, which offered a variety of cupcakes, baking classes and catering, winded down operations this past weekend... ahead of a move to the American Dream Mall (located across from the Angry Bird Mini Golf ticket booth) in East Rutherford, N.J.

Butter Lane debuted here in late 2008 ... with new ownership taking over in 2014.

On the liquor license docket: Butter Lane Cupcakes

Here's what's on tap for the next Community Board 3's SLA & DCA Licensing Committee meeting on June 15:




Of interest: Butter Lane is going for a liquor license. Beer and cupcakes anyone?

Butter Lane Cupcakes is expanding

On Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue... Butter Lane is taking over the vacant space next door... I asked Maria Baugh, one of the owners, for the details...



"We just took the space last week. We plan to use it for classes and events -- birthday parties, kids birthday parties, wedding showers, etc. Classes are very popular so we're expanding those. And we get a lot of requests to do parties -- now we finally have space."

Butter Lane gets the neon treatment

A new sign for Butter Lane Cupcakes on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue. Makes it a little easier to spot coming from Avenue B.

Something else to threaten the very soul of the East Village: Cupcakes

Yes, indeed! Just a little frosty something for you to enjoy during the economic meltdown! As Eater has noted, Butter Lane Cupcakes will soon call 123 E. Seventh Street home. According to their Web site, "We think of it as cupcakes for grownups."

Previously, the nonprofit Bodanna Studio & Gallery was here. They were dedicated to helping inner-city youth...and before that, the Theo Wolinnin funeral home.





Let's just hope the Cupcakers keep the historic "Licensed Undertaker" sign on the building.



For further reading, all you cupmudgeons:
Cupcake trash (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

A list of East Village crowdfunding campaigns

In recent weeks, many East Village merchants — or their patrons — have established GoFundMe pages to help them stay in business or compensate employees during the COVID-19 crisis.

What follows is an alphabetical list of the crowdfunding campaigns that we've received. Let us know in either the comments or via email of other East Village businesses who are crowdsourcing right now...

• Ace Bar

• Amor Y Amargo; Honeybee's and Mother of Pearl

• Anyway Cafe

• Avant Garden

• B&H Dairy Cafe

• Barcade St. Mark's

• Beauty Bar

• Bibi Wine Bar

• Big Bar

• Bite

• Black & White

• Boilermaker

• Bowery Ballroom/Mercury Lounge

• Brindle Room

• Butter Lane Cupcakes

• C&B Cafe

• Cafe Mogador

• Cooper Still

• dba

• Dlala Salon

• Death & Co.

• Double Down Saloon

• Dream Baby Dream

• Factory Tamal

• Gem Spa

• Gnocco

• Gray Mare

• Holiday Cocktail Lounge

• The Izakaya NYC

• Jane's Exchange

• Jeepney

• Josie’s, Mona's and Sophie’s

• KGB Bar

• Kafana

• Khiladi (The Indian restaurant on 11th and B is collecting money to deliver meals to hospital workers.)

• La Sirena Mexican folk art

• Lavagna

• The Library

• Limited to One Records (via Patreon)

• Lucien

• Lucky

• Maiden Lane

• Mary O's

• Mimi Cheng's (specifically for their Dumpling for Doctors plan)

• Mochii

• Niagara, Lovers Of Today, Tompkins Square bar, Cabin Down Below

• Nomad

• Nowhere Bar

• Nublu

• Otto's Shrunken Head

• Pangea

• Paradise Hospitality (the parent company of East Village bars Boulton & Watt, Drexler's, Mister Paradise, Paper Daisy)

• Parkside Lounge

• The Phoenix

• Pink Olive

• Pinks

• Planet Rose

• Porsena

• Raclette

• The Roost

• 787 Coffee

• The Roost

• Sake Bar Satsko

• Scratcher

• Shampoo

• Sing Sing Avenue A

• SOMA Cakes (for hospital workers)

• Spiegel

• Standings

• Superiority Burger

• Swift Hibernian Lounge

• 2A/Treehouse ... as well as Berlin Under A

• Takahachi

• Think Coffee

• Third Rail Coffee

• Three Jewels

• TIC Restaurant Group (includes Sobaya, Rai Rai Ken, Hi-Collar, Sakagura, Decibel, Curry-Ya, Otafuku, Shabu Tatsu, Hasaki, and Cha An)

• Tile Bar (along with Magician)

• Tompkins Square Bagels (All donations to this fund will be used to support the hospitals, first responders and homeless shelters in New York.)

• Tuome

• Turntable Lab

• Village Square Pizza

• The Wayland (plus Goodnight Sonny, The Wild Son and Lost Lady)

A holiday celebration at these East Village businesses on Sunday

[Photo via @evimanyc]

On Sunday, the East Village Independent Merchants Association is hosting a holiday celebration with specials at a handful of local businesses.

Some of the deals kick in after the tree lighting ceremony in Tompkins Square Park from 4-5 p.m. ... others are day-long specials ... here's a list of participating businesses via the EVG inbox (I did not receive specifics about what each business was offering as a special) ...

• Eleven B
• Ace Bar
• Anthony Aiden Opticians — offering 15 percent off all in stock eyewear plus a free eye exam.
• Barnyard Cheese
• Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks — 10 percent off all purchases, all day.
• Brix Wines
• Butter Lane Cupcakes
• Club Cumming
• Dream Baby — All day & all night $4 beer and $4 well liquors
• East Village Vintage Collective — 20 percent off everything store wide
• Exit 9 — 20 percent off everything storewide
• Jane's Exchange — will offer cookies and juice for kids visiting the store.
• La Sirena — will offer 20 percent off with the mention of EVIMA before check out, and gift of Mexican chili candy with every purchase
• Lucky — Free drink with any receipt of $50 spent at (one or a combination of) participating merchants
• Maiden Lane
• Ninth Street Espresso
• Pageant
• Random Accessories — 20 percent off ALL accessories
• Red Baron Ink
• Rue St. Denis Clothier
• Spotted Owl
• Swing Organic Salon — Swing into the holiday season with a glass of organic wine, a complimentary consultation, and 20 percent off gift certificates Dec. 10 to Dec. 17.
• Veselka

Here's a map with the businesses taking part on Sunday...


[Click on map to go big]

EV Eatery Etc.: Dutch gin on Second Avenue; iPad at Butter Lane

Here at the former Bounce Deuce space on Second Avenue and Sixth Street...someone sunk a fortune into renovating the space... Per Diner's Journal in the Times:

With interest in the ancient Dutch style of gin known as genever growing in cocktail circles, it was only a matter of time before a genever bar opened in New York. Vandaag, near the northeast corner of Second Avenue and Sixth Street in the East Village, will be the first when it has its soft opening on Tuesday.

As I noted in the spring, a pizza joint was taking over the former Cafe Brama space... Eater has the story of Plum here.



Cafe Hanover in the old Mondo Kim's space is still closed...



Life Cafe reopened this past Thursday after a temporary closure for renovations....



A reader passed along a photo of the iPad in Butter Lane where you can look at cupcakes and stuff. Do with this information as you please.

Celebrating Labor Day by standing in line to eat roast beef sandwiches, cupcakes

There was some kind of line today for Butter Lane Cupcakes on Seventh Street....



Meanwhile, EV Grieve Correspondent Blue Glass noted the crowd waiting here on First Avenue and Ninth Street for This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef... (In the background, the usual sidewalk shed denizens....)

What's new on Lard Street?

Was on Dessert Row the other...er, Seventh Street...the Butter Lane Cupcakes store is now open for business.



Some good news: The historic "Licensed Undertaker" sign is still intact on the building. Of course, the other half of this space is still for rent...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Something else to threaten the very soul of the East Village: Cupcakes

A krazy few days for the former Kurve!

Kurve, the favored spot for privileged teens to prowl, had a krazy few days... So for those keeping track of the komical thai eatery at Second Avenue at Fifth Street, here's a recap...

Tuesday!



Wednesday-Thursday!




Friday!



Sunday! The buffet is back! And Kurve is now known as Rhong Tiam East.



And there's now wi-fi and Butter Lane cupcakes...



Top photo via Eater.

Oaxaca Taqueria opening a new location on East Seventh Street

Based on the new signage here along East Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue... it appears that the fifth NYC location of Oaxaca Taqueria is coming soon...



Oaxaca Taqueria expanded from Brooklyn into the East Village and Extra Place in December 2010... This space was previously home to the Butter Lane cupcakes classroom.

...and the taco revolution continues in the East Village... with the recent arrivals of Tacos Moreles on East Ninth Street... Sembrado’s Tacos al Pastor on East 13th Street ... Taqueria Diana on Second Avenue ... El Diablito Taqueria on East Third Street... and the incoming Otto's Tacos on Second Avenue...