Bob Arihood has written about the plight of Ray at Ray's Candy Store, which has been at 113 Avenue A for 35 years. Now Scoopy has more details in his column (last item) in this week's issue of The Villager. Writes Scoopy:
Friends of Ray Alvarez are really getting concerned about his situation. Alvarez has operated his Ray’s Candy Store, on Avenue A at Seventh St., for years, and everyone just assumed he’d saved up a nice nest egg. But it turns out, he’s broke. He needs new glasses and has a bad hernia you don’t want to hear the details of, and his diet is mainly leftover potatoes that he doesn’t make into Belgian fries and maybe some soft ice cream.
Anyway, it's a complicated situation. So, stop by. Or at least visit the MySpace page that Eden Brower created for him. As his bio reads there:
Ray is a lower east side icon who is loved by many...He makes the best belgian fries around and will serve you with love and a smile...Home to old timer regulars, drunks, tourists, wingnuts, political activists and hipsters, Ray's is a unique piece of old new york in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood.. Please come to Ray's and support this beloved treasure!!
Ray's is the best--the fries are fresh and delicious! egg creams are the best! so id the frozen non fat yogurt-at any time of the year!!
ReplyDeleteRay's is the original dessert shop in the EV. Don't forget--the malted miulk shakes and lime rickies.
Love the egg creams, of course, but I have a feeling that these problems have their nucleus in Ray's moving away from being an actual newsstand. What a huge jumble of magazines they had! And, of course, all the dailies. Ray's always seemed a bit unanchored after that.
ReplyDeleteWow, that sounder harsher than I meant it to. I love Ray's, and will certainly make it a point to stop by more often.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Eden...Anything to help. Ray's is a treasure.
ReplyDelete