Where will 'modern Australian' call home on Second Avenue?

Yesterday, Grub Street reported that Morgan McGlone, once a private chef and caterer on the Upper East Side who has been working in Australia, is opening a “45-seat restaurant that’ll serve modern Australian food” in September ... And, per the article, this restaurant will be at (or around!) Second Avenue and East Fifth Street.

So where could this "modern Australian" call home?

There are several empty restaurants right along this stretch of Second Avenue, including:

The old Sin Sin space!



The former Mission Cafe!

Kurve/Rhong Tiam!



The former Sea Salt! (Closer to Sixth Street, but...)



Or, if someone has their streets wrong, how about the Matsukado space just north of Sixth Street?



And what, exactly, is modern Australian? I'm sure it's good. But I can't help but think of the drink-and-drown crowds hitting the Sunburnt Cow weekends ... which leaves me with a different perception of Australian cuisine.

Australian Homemade shuttered and seized

The Australian Homemade ice cream/candy shop on St. Mark's Place near Avenue A abruptly closed down. It was open as of yesterday...and today:




According to the sign, the business was seized...



As you may recall, the St. Mark's shop was "temporarily closed for construction" back in January.

Perhaps it had something to do with this... on Jan. 22, Australian Homemade was inspected by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH)...and promptly shut down. According to city records, nine violations were cited, resulting in 93 violation points. (Anything more than 27 violation points means they will conduct a follow-up inspection.) As the DOHMH noted, the violations included "expired milk," "not vermin proof," "personal cleanliness inadequate" and "evidence of mice or live mice present in facility's food and/or non-food areas."

The Australian Homemade at 33 E. Eighth St. remains open.

Saltwater now serving on 12th Street

[Image via the Saltwater website]

Saltwater is now open at 345 E. 12th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. The Australian-style cafe had its grand opening yesterday.

The venture is via Lee and Sid, a couple who grew up in Sydney. Per the Saltwater website: "They missed the Australian-styled coffee reflective of the lifestyle back home; where it is a way of life and is uniquely intertwined with leisure rather than a fuel for work."

Saltwater's hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

No. 345 previously served as a to-go spot for S'Mac.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Saltwater bringing Australian coffee to 12th Street

Australian shoppers (Updated: Is this the new home for Baorrito?)

A tipster notes that several real-estate types have been coming in and out of the former Australian Homemade ice cream/candy shop on St. Mark's Place near Avenue A of late...



The storefront has remained empty since July. Perhaps something new and horrible is imminent for this space...? Perhaps!...the "for rent" signs have been removed...



UPDATE: Oops. Missed this news yesterday afternoon on Eater:

Michael Huyh, the Conquistador of 2009 and new king of St. Mark's Place, confirms that he has just taken over the Austrailian space right next to Crif Dogs on St. Mark's near Avenue A. When asked whether or not that would be the location of his future Asian-Taco joint, Huynh said he wasn't sure, that he has three leases on St. Mark's Place to play with (Cherries is one of the others). However, if he does put the tacos here, he's considering calling it Baorrito.

'Modern Australian' in the works for The Beagle space on Avenue A

More details are emerging about applicants on this month's CB3/SLA Licensing Committee meeting agenda. According to paperwork (PDF!) filed ahead of the meeting on the CB3 website, there's a sale of assets at the Beagle, 162 Avenue A.



There's not a lot of information. The new applicant goes by the name Flinders Lane LLC and describes itself as "modern Australian." (Flinders Lane is a street in the central business district of Melbourne, Wikipedia helpfully pointed out.) The proposed hours are 11 a.m.-2 a.m. daily. The forms do not include any names of the new principals, though none of them have previously held a license for alcohol.

The Beagle, which remains open, first debuted here in the former Orologio space between 10th Street and 11th Street in May 2011. The Beagle's initial "pairing boards" included items such as Pressed Pig Head and Rum, Lamb Neck and Rye, and Scallop and Mezcal. The Beagle closed for part of last summer to rework their menu and cocktails.

Ruby’s Cafe bringing its Australian vibes to the former Martina space on 11th Street

Ruby's, the popular all-day café with two NYC outposts, will open a new location at 198 E. 11th St. at Third Avenue — in the former Martina space.

There's a Community Board 3 notice on the door now for an upcoming SLA committee meeting (no date has been released for the August meeting). The Australian-inspired Ruby's Cafe is applying for a beer-wine license for the space. (Martina also had a similar license)...



A rep for Ruby's confirmed their arrival here in an email to me, noting: "We can't wait."

Ruby's first opened in 2003 on Mulberry Street between Prince and Spring (they expanded next door in 2014) ... with an additional cafe on Third Avenue between 30th Street and 31st Street arriving in 2016.

Martina opened in August 2017 in this newly created space at 55 Third Ave., aka Eleventh and Third, the 12-floor residential building on the corner. The pizzeria, from Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group, never caught on, and closed this past March.

Thanks to the anonymous reader who shared the news of the Ruby's CB3 notice!

Two places temporarily closed for renovation/construction

First, as of last night, the Australian Homemade candy shop on St. Mark's Place near Avenue A was closed...seems as if they'd want to be open leading up to Valentine's Day...




(Hasn't been a good week for Australian places on St. Mark's Place, by the way...)

Meanwhile, over on Seventh Street between Second Avenue and First Avenue, Klimat, the Eastern European beer joint, remains closed. Haven't been here myself (a little clean and suburbany for my tastes), but a friend of EV Grieve's is bummed this place has been closed for several weeks...



At least it looks as if they'll be back in time for your Valentine's Day.

Out and About in the East Village

In this weekly feature, East Village-based photographer James Maher provides us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village.



By James Maher

Name: Niall Grant
Occupation: Owner, Tuck Shop
Location: 1st Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue
Time: 2 p.m. on Monday, Feb 1

I’m from the center of Dublin. I was 22 when I came to New York in 1993. I was kind of messing around after dropping out of high school and then I came home one day and my mother was smiling strangely at me. There was a big envelope from the U.S. government on the counter. I had won the Green Card Lottery. My brother, who was here at the time, entered me and it was one of those where you were allowed to send as many entries as you’d like. I sent about 40, but it happened to be the one that my brother sent off because he got my middle name wrong.

Back then a lot of people won the Green Card Lottery. We all wanted to get out of Ireland. I was always going to get out, whether it was London or Australia. A lot of my close friends did as well. I’ve had friends here who I’ve known since age 7. We all came here and lived together and went into different fields. It certainly made it easier.

My brother was living in Williamsburg at the time. So I lived with him for a couple of months, and then I came to the East Village. It was still nice and affordable back then. The bars and the music scene and the restaurants drew me here — everything. It was full of great fun.

I had been working in restaurants since pretty much dropping out of high school. I just started working in restaurants because I needed to pay the rent. I worked at Elephant & Castle in Greenwich Village, which is still there. From there, I went to another part of that restaurant family, which was Keens Steakhouse. I spent about eight years working there in the 1990s. It was very lucrative and lots of fun. You finished work at 11 at night and started at 11 a.m. the next day. Then I opened a bar and a nightclub with my roommates on East Third Street ... before opening up this place in 2005.

I used to have an Australian business partner and we worked very well together. We started the business on a handshake and ended on a handshake three or four years ago. After Sandy, he didn’t want to bother taking the business out of debt again and he wanted to move to California. That’s where the Australian side came from. My side was that I’m Irish but I didn’t want to open an Irish bar. I wanted to do something different. The pies are international. We have a Thai chicken pie, which you might not get in Ireland, but you would get in Australia. And in Ireland and England there’s a meat pie culture.

I love this street. After 11 years here, I know everybody’s face. There are still a lot of the same old faces. All these guys hang out in front of the place. Some have been here for maybe 30 years. You see people grow up. It’s great to be part of a community like that. It’s nice seeing the whole family grow up upstairs. The street hasn’t changed that much, although it has gotten more quiet since we moved in. There’s less nightlife but we’re doing more lunch business and we’re focused on that more.

We’ve also had a place in Chelsea Market for about five years. We’re planning to expand that soon. We’re hoping to sign a new deal with Chelsea Market next week and then we’ll knock that out pretty quickly because the rent is massive. We’re going to have to turn it around quickly and start making money. We’re about to open in a big space across from us, which will allow us to have a second kitchen, which will produce vegetables for here and there. Here we’re bursting at the seams. We can’t do anything more.

I married a girl from the Lower East Side. We met in a bar on Orchard Street eight years ago and had a son a few years later. She’s a New York Times bestselling chef, Doris Choi. She’s taking over part of the vegetable menu and is going to put her influences on it. She’s very healthy. So we’ll have the good and the bad of my pies and her veggie, raw foods. So that’s what we’re going to do in Chelsea and we’re bringing that over here too.

James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.

Ruby's Café debuts on 11th Street

Ruby's, the popular all-day café with two NYC outposts, debuted over the weekend at 198 E. 11th St. at Third Avenue.

The East Village outpost was open for dinner on Friday and Saturday. Now, moving forward, the restaurant is open daily from 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. The Australian-influenced bistro fare includes a variety of salads, pastas and burgers as well as breakfast items all day.

Ruby's first opened in 2003 on Mulberry Street between Prince and Spring (they expanded next door in 2014) ... with an additional cafe on Third Avenue between 30th Street and 31st Street arriving in 2016.

The space was previously Martina, which opened in August 2017 in 55 Third Ave., aka Eleventh and Third, the 12-floor residential building on the corner. The pizzeria, from Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group, never caught on, closing this past March.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Ruby’s Cafe bringing its Australian vibes to the former Martina space on 11th Street

Saltwater NYC bringing Australian coffee to 12th Street

[Image via @Saltwaternyc]

A coffee shop called Saltwater NYC is coming soon to 345 E. 12th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue... adjacent to Pata Negra.

The teaser site for the shop simply notes "Australian Coffee Culture." The window signage notes an August opening.

No. 345 previously served as a to-go spot for S'Mac two storefronts away.

[Updated] Sunburnt Cow closing for renovations; going gourmet, bye-bye drunken brunch

[File photo]

We just received a news release about "a restructuring of the Moo Life Group brand that will return the restaurant group to its original mission — to develop gourmet Australian concepts in the United States and abroad."

Basically Bondi Road has been sold and the Sunburnt Cow will undergo a major transformation.

Let's get right to it, per the release:

The sale of Bondi Road was precipitated by a dramatic increase in rent for the space located at 153 Rivington Street ... The Sunburnt Cow, the first restaurant concept developed by the Moo Life Group at 137 Avenue C (between 8th and 9th Streets) will not only undergo a physical transformation, but will also shift focus to more gourmet oriented food and drink as opposed to its current deal-driven status.

"We are very excited about these changes and what they mean to the future of the Moo Life Group," says founder and owner Heathe St. Clair. "I want to thank all of our loyal customers who have made Bondi Road and the Sunburnt Cow so successful throughout the years. It was not an easy decision, but although Bondi Road will be gone, we look forward to the reopening of the Sunburnt Cow and introducing a new approach to Australian dining in New York City."

No date set for the renovations ... or what will become of the Moo Mobile.

The Sunburnt Cow just reopened for seven-days-a-week service on June 1.

Updated July 6:

A Sunburnt Cow rep says that the "Endless Brunch" on weekends will continue in the new-look eatery.

Adam Purple's legacy

[Photo via BoweryBoogie]

There were three articles published during the last week of 2015 related to Adam Purple's legacy, including the new bar operated by the Gerber Group that bears his name at the Hotel Indigo on Ludlow Street.

Purple, aka David Wilkie, was an environmentalist and activist known for his elaborate Garden of Eden on the Lower East Side. He died on Sept. 15 at age 84.

---

1) On Dec. 26, The New York Times published an article titled "Meant as Homage, Bar’s Naming for Downtown Squatter Is Perceived as a Slight."

Per the article:

By nearly any measure, Mr. Purple — a dedicated ascetic who lived in an abandoned tenement, got water from a hydrant, read by candlelight and kept warm with a wood-burning stove — is an odd symbol for a 24-story hotel with “spalike bathrooms” and a terrace swimming pool.

“The gentrification, the consumerism, it’s the opposite of everything he stood for,” said the photographer Harvey Wang, who began documenting Mr. Purple, whose birth name was David Wilkie, in 1977. “It’s just appalling.”

---

2) On Dec. 28, BoweryBoogie posted an op-ed written by Purple's grandson, Steve Mason.

Per the post:

“Mr. Purple” is not an honorable tribute. Believe me, I would love for David’s legacy to be memorialized, and I’m happy that he achieved notoriety enough to be considered for exploitation by a midtown corporate property development committee. However, a fancy hotel bar is not the right vehicle. At best, it’s tone deaf.

In an email to us on Dec. 28, Mason wrote, "I only found out about this travesty [on Dec. 27]. He and I were not close, but this is horrifying and I've been sick to my stomach for the last 24 hours over it."

---

3) There's a lengthy investigation in the current issue of The Villager dated Dec. 31 titled "The dark side of Purple." Editor Lincoln Anderson puts together the activist's past through a series of phone conversations and an exchange of documents and letters with Purple's two daughters, step-sisters Jenean and Lenore, who say that their father sexually abused them while growing up in Australia in the 1960s.

Per the article:

Asked what specifically Purple did to them or had them do, [Jenean] said, “Oh, everything — that’s what we were about — our purpose. He trained us, with pornography magazines, films, comics. I read ‘The Kinsey Report’ when I was age 10.”

According to Australian court documents obtained by The Villager, Purple served a two-year prison sentence for the molestation charges at Long Bay Penitentiary in Sydney. (In a letter dated from March 1967, Purple proclaimed his innocence to the children’s maternal grandparents, "asserting that his second wife was not a fit guardian for his daughters.")

One of the daughters, Jenean, told The Villager that Purple himself was sexually abused by his mother as a child ... and that his mother was also a victim of "generational sexual abuse."

As The Villager concludes:

Hopefully, the two narratives can somehow coexist and inform: on the one hand, the story of a family that finally healed from domestic sexual abuse, and, on the other, a man who built a new life for himself — and a glorious garden — on the Lower East Side and left a lasting legacy of environmental consciousness.

You can read the full article here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] The upscale hotel bar with a pool named for the late environmentalist Adam Purple (44 comments)

[Updated] The Gerber Group responds to criticism over Mr. Purple (23 comments)

As the Hotel Indigo and Mr. Purple continue efforts to be part of the LES neighborhood (25 comments)

3 East Village restaurants that are expanding into new neighborhoods

[Image via]

1) Whitmans at 406 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue is opening its second NYC location ... in the Hudson Yards development on 10th Avenue between East 29th Street and East 30th Street, per DNAinfo. Co-owner Larry Kramer said that he hoped to be serving their style of burgers by the end of the summer or early fall.

2) Flinders Lane at 162 Avenue A between East 10th Street and East 11th Street is bringing their Australian cuisine down to West Broadway in Tribeca. CB1 gave them the OK for a liquor license this week, per the Tribeca Citizen.

3) Two Boots, with its flagship location on Avenue A at East Third Street, already has a fairly large pizzeria footprint ... and now they are adding to that. For starters, the 2 Boots in Grand Central is shutting down at the end of the month, as Eater first reported. Founder-owner Phil Hartman is moving nearby to 337 Lexington in the beginning of March. In addition, Eater notes that Hartman and his son Leon are adding locations in Jersey City, Stamford, Conn., Washington, D.C. and in the Financial District. This will up the 2 Boots total to nearly 20 in the United States.

Red Gate Bakery setting up shop at 68 E. 1st St.

Renovations are underway inside 68 E. First St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue, where the proprietors of Red Gate Bakery are preparing to open later this year.

The Red Gate website notes that they sell "small-batch, high-quality, no-frills baked goods." Their menu features a variety of cookies, brownies, cakes and a midnight banana bread. You can see some of these items on the Red Gate Instagram account....

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @redgatebakery on Sep 24, 2019 at 4:03pm PDT

This is the first storefront for the proprietors, who have been taking online orders for a variety of events and special occasions.

No. 68 was previously home to the Tuck Shop, which closed in September 2018 after 13 years of selling Australian meat and vegetable pies on the block.

H/T Vinny & O!

[Updated] Babu Ji opens tonight on Avenue B

We've been writing about Babu Ji, the new restaurant coming to 175 Avenue B at East 11th Street.

The wife-husband team of Jennifer and Jessi Singh, who own a popular spot in Melbourne, Australia, are opening their first U.S. restaurant tonight.

Here is some info that the restaurant's reps sent us via the EVG inbox...

Babu Ji … offers a bright and airy atmosphere, adorned with Hindi proverbs, eclectic Indian photography and Bollywood films projected on the walls. The restaurant will be open for dinner six nights a week (5 PM - late; closed Mondays), as well as for lunch on weekends (11 AM - late), serving the inspired and unexpected dishes that have earned Jessi an avid following in Australia.

Incorporating outstanding, fresh ingredients, including aromatic herbs, chickpeas, scallops, yogurt, pork belly and goat, sourced from local farmers markets and specialty purveyors, Jessi's menu at Babu Ji NYC will showcase his motherland's cuisine through thoughtfully prepared, aromatic and colorful dishes.

Some highlights from the new restaurant’s menu include:

• Papadi Chaat: a lively Indian dish similar to nachos, topped with chickpea, cucumber, tamarind, mint and yoghurt chutney, and pomegranate seeds

• Gol Gappa: a favorite Indian street snack enjoyed by millions in India every day, but unknown to most Americans, this dish it is a tangy, spicy, sweet and surprising favorite

• Yoghurt Kebab: a house-made hung yoghurt croquette with spiced center, served with a vibrant beetroot ginger sauce boasting the flavors of the Middle East that have influenced Indian culinary tradition

• Scallop Coconut Curry: Blue Moon of Eastern Long Island scallops served raw in a coconut milk based curry with turmeric and mustard seed – a must-try

• Kulfi: a refreshing and delicious dessert, this Indian equivalent to ice cream is house-made from milk, cardamom, pistachio and honey

• Chef’s Table: Eat like a real Babu Ji! Chef’s selection of entrees, curries, naan, rice & kulfi.

Diners can enjoy their food with an extensive and rotating selection of local and imported craft beers from the help yourself beer fridge, an approachable yet interesting wine list and some Australian beverages that have not yet made it state side, as a nod to Babu Ji's beginnings.

Updated 6:54 p.m.

Here's the menu via Gothamist…

Babu Ji Dinner Menu

Previously on EV Grieve:
More about Babu Ji, opening next month on Avenue B

'Hertz' so good

 

The video for "Hertz," the latest single by Amyl and the Sniffers, dropped a few days back... the Australian band just released their latest record, Comfort to Me.

Week in Grieview

[Thursday evening in Tompkins Square Park]

Posts this past week included...

Mount Sinai Beth Israel offers more details on new East Village hospital, plans for the former Rivington House (Tuesday)

Report: Mayor unleashes the "Green Wave Bicycle Plan" to address increase in cycling fatalities, make streets safer (Friday)

Bartender files federal complaint against Bar None for harassment (Thursday)

NYPD looking for suspect who forced his way into woman's apartment near 12th and A (Saturday)

Ruby’s Cafe bringing its Australian vibes to the former Martina space on 11th Street (Monday)

The new fence at La Plaza is officially complete (Friday)

RIP Paul Krassner (Monday)

Curiosity about the anonymous buyer behind the sale of the Boys' Club Harriman Clubhouse (Wednesday)

This week's NY See (Thursday)

The M14A tops the slow-bus charts (Tuesday)

You may now book a room for October at the Moxy East Village (Wednesday)

787 Coffee and Calexico now open on 2nd Avenue (Saturday)

1st of 2 Flamingos Vintage Pound shops has opened in the East Village (Monday)

The Village East screening Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time ... In Hollywood" in 70mm (Wednesday)

Old Fashioned Pizza coming to 13th Street (Thursday)

Soft opening for Craft+Carry on St. Mark's Place (Friday)

Pizza Rollio has closed on 9th Street (Tuesday)

Sorbet Cray Cray debuts on Avenue A (Thursday)

Nolita Pizza now serving up slices on 2nd Avenue (Monday)

That's all for Bruno Pizza, which has been closed fire upstairs last November (Monday)

Chinese Graffiti has not been open lately on Avenue A (Tuesday)

14th St. Candy & Grocery has not been open lately on 14th Street (Monday)

... and thanks to the readers (h/t @Jason_Chatfield!) who pointed out the freshly pained awning at the newish cafe Bin 141 on Avenue A and Third Street...



---

Follow EVG on Instragram or Twitter

The Tuck Shop is alive and well on East 1st Street

[Image via the Tuck Shop website]

As noted this week, the Australian-based pie and coffee chain closed six out of its seven NYC locations, including the outlet on Fourth Avenue and East 13th Street.

In the comments, several readers noted how much they like the original meat-pie purveyor here — The Tuck Shop at 68 E. First St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Seems like a good time to check in with owner Niall Grant.

We are alive and well and, in fact, had our best month ever in September. October is looking even better so we will be here for a long while to come with the support the community. We've been open for nine years already and will be signing a new lease shortly.

I have been a East Village resident since emigrating from Ireland in 1992 and opened the Tuck Shop in part because I felt there were enough Irish bars in NYC already.

Tuck Shop did close the St. Mark's Place location last July. There is a second Tuck Shop location in the Chelsea Market.

On Lafayette Street, former shelter for homeless women is now Showfields, 'the Most Interesting Store In The World'

[EVG photo from 2015]

Over at 11 Bond St. (aka 343 Lafayette St.), the former shelter for homeless women has been transformed into Showfields, a retail complex focusing on health-and-wellness brands.

Tenants on the ground-floor of Showfields made their debut yesterday.


[11 Bond St. rendering]

According to the headline on the news release yesterday: "The Most Interesting Store In The World Opens Today On Bond Street." The owners call this "a destination for consumers to engage with their favorite brands."

Among what you'll find inside, per the release:

• THRILLS by CHLOE, SHOWFIELDS' signature food and beverage experience where by CHLOE.'s larger-than-life flavors take on fantastical form inside a magical carnival-inspired funhouse.

• A bathroom curated by Babba C. Rivera of bybabba, showcasing her favorite bath and beauty products.

• You've seen the quip electric toothbrush on Instagram and mounted on your friends' bathroom mirrors, and now you can actually try a refreshed oral care routine first-hand (or... first-mouth).

• Get hands on with frank body's Australian natural coffee scrubs. Even sweeter, the first 1K customers will get a free full-size Birthday Cake Scrub.

• The GRAVITY relaxation space, a partnership with sleep application Calm and Beats by Dre to offer a distinct calming experience showcasing the brand's weighted sleep essentials.

• A sensory experience with Function of Beauty that highlights new and limited-edition fragrances, along with the next-level performance of this hyper-customizable hair care range. Customers will have access to gift box discounts not available online.

• Boll & Branch's new mattress inside an interactive billboard emitting different color light depending on the time of day.

The Center of Urban Community Services, who ran the 43-bed shelter for homeless women starting in 1988, sold the property to Aby Rosen's RFR Holding for $26 million in 2015.

The 15,000-square-foot building is in the Noho Historic District. The Landmarks Preservation Commission OK'd the modifications to the building in 2016. It was erected in 1913 for the New York Women’s League for Animals as a veterinary hospital. Find more history here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Shelter for homeless woman on Lafayette sold; retail tenant wanted

Three Seat Espresso increases the seats for espresso on Avenue A

After two-plus years of life as a cafe-barber combo at 137 Avenue A between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street, Three Seat Espresso [and previously & Barber] has expanded its seating for food and drinks and discontinued the hair cuts.

This is their message via Instagram:

Three Seat Espresso is expanding the cafe in place of the barber. Thank you to those who have come in for a chop over the last two years. Please bare with us through the brief refurb. We are super excited to offer more cafe seating, plus more, starting Monday Nov. 19.

The barber shop was in the back in a separate area away from the food and beverage operation. Aside from Australian-style coffee drinks and tea, Three Seat serves several varieties and bagels and light breakfast fare.