...it's time to look at the fledgling restaurant row here ... in which every corner has, or will have, a bar/restaurant...
Well, you could start at Houston with Pulino's on the corner...
...and, while DBGB, isn't technically on a corner, it is the next closest business to the corner...
...then you have Double Crown on the southwest corner of Bleecker...
with Think Coffee on the north side...
...there's the new Taavo Somer/William Tigertt diner on the northeast corner of Second Street...
...Sala next to the empty lot on Great Jones...
...and Gemma on the east side of the Bowery...
...it's just a matter of time before the former Salvation Army East Village Residence becomes a restaurant... (it almost became a sushi joint last summer...)
...And!... it's just a matter of time before Downtown Auto and Tire becomes a restaurant ... (it almost became a Segafredo Zanetti Espresso Café a few weeks back...)
...and, of course, Bbar and Grill here on Fourth Street across the way from 2 Cooper Square....
...and on the southeast corner of Fourth Street, there's Phebe's...
So! That's nine corner spots... with three on the way... one dozen spots for roughly four blocks...not to mention everything in between...such as the V Bar's new theater/restaurant combo action at the former Amato Opera...
Obviously, they need more banks.
ReplyDeleteit thins out a bit below east houston, but is definitely getting worse.
ReplyDeleteHi EV.
ReplyDeleteThanks for leaving out the Girls Club's Celebrate Cafe at The Bowery Poetry Club. (I mean this un-ironically). We are proud to be the last place on the Bowery where poets and poor people can get a reasonably priced bite to eat. And sit at Dorothy Day's table, no less.
Love the blog!
Why is that blond in photo #2 barefoot? Is she recreating the SATC episode where Carrie gets the shoes stolen off her feet?
ReplyDeleteAnd - is there ANYONE out there besides me older than 30? I mean, really?
Oh for the days of the Half-Moon Bar...
Thanks, Lyn. Indeed!
ReplyDeleteTalk about overkill! How many chi-chi restaurants with clever (only in the minds of the pretentious masses) names can be shoehorned into one area, fer chrissakes?!? Don't you people have anything better to do with your excessive free time besides going someplace that serves whatever passes for food (which is more suitable for display than consumption) and because it happens to be the latest "hip" joint to be seen in?
ReplyDeleteI'd rather have the Bowery, LES and other neighborhoods the way they were before they were invaded. At least, the former denizens were a better class of people when compared to the declasse poseurs of recent vintage.
what happened to the smurf? has he been gentrified out of the neighborhood too?
ReplyDeleteOh, he has been in the Hamptons Esquared. I'm sure he will be back soon.
ReplyDeleteBut yet, if you ask anyone on a community board what is most important to a neighborhood's survival, they will tell you - Diversity. And then the SLA committee keeps approving the same things over and over. How long will the high priced residents continue to pay top dollar to live on these blocks?
ReplyDeleteThe Bowery is there 24/day, it doesn't hide in a coffin during daylight hours, but more and more there's nothing open during the day. If the CB's that split this street don't start acting smarter, the new activity will run it's course, and the Bowery will be back to its seedy best before the next decade ends.
it's interesting to read friends' posts -
ReplyDeletehow about a count of pizza places.
or burger shops.
we have one (of each) on almost every block.
and those ubiquitous delis - at least most offer a great variety of food, real food.
bring back the family stores!
Here's what I don't get: Employment is stagnant, the working and middle classes continue to shrink (i.e., more and more people are just plain poor), and we are still in a recession -- who the fuck is being served by all of this upscale nonsense?
ReplyDeleteIt's fine, even desirable to have a few high-end restaurants/hotels/condo buildings, but there are just so damn many on the Bowery at this point. Who, exactly, is supposed to sustain this? There just aren't enough rich people in the world. They may be getting richer all the time, but their numbers are still relatively few, and they don't all spend their time on the Bowery or even in NYC.
Haven't we reached saturation by now or do these new millionaires all dine out four or more times a day?
The Half Moon! Oh, my, you're taking me back, Lisa. (Although I went to Al's myself.)
ReplyDeleteMay I earnestly ask what else would you propose take over retail space available that offers the diversity so desired yet can draw in a crowd in order to pay rent?
ReplyDeleteMay I earnestly ask what else would you propose take over retail space available that offers the diversity so desired yet can draw in a crowd in order to pay rent?
ReplyDeletewell said. these NIMBYs looooooooove to complain and then when their area has empty storefronts they cry.
Maybe you can do some little bit about the irony of the restaurant supply stores being displaced by restaurants.
ReplyDeleteTo anon. 2:39p and 5:51p
ReplyDeleteHow do these restaurants offer diversity? They only attract the white, rich, yuppies, hedge-fund spoiled brats, frat boys, NYU kids, and Sex and the City gaggling spawns. If that's what you mean by diveristy, then yeah, I suppose it's diversed.
Furthermore, these restaurants will not be here for long. They will be replace by another establishment within 2-3 years.
As for "what else would you propose take over retail space available": it had been said time and time again here that a mom and pop store will be a good choice for those retail spaces; not only will they offer diversity, they will also contribute and be part of a community. But because of the greedy landlords, only the chain stores or high-end establishments can only afford the ever-increasing rents, thus, the mom and pop shops can not take over those retail spaces.
And since when did the NIMBYS cry over an empty storefront? Don't you mean the yunnies and yuppies loooooooove to complain and cry when your Balducci's or Momomofoku, DBGB, Permanent Brunch, etc., all of a sudden close?
Let's boycott all of these places the "real" east villagers hate so they all go out of business! That will show all the yuppies! Yeah, let's do it!
ReplyDeleteIt's most definitely what's best for the neighborhood! Less jobs, more empty storefronts!
To anon 11:22 am,
ReplyDeleteWoooooooo. Yes, boycott the place. Wooooooo Bro. Yes, put in more high-end retail places to attract the rich yupppes. Woooooo Bragh. Yay to the rich. Wooooooo. Screw the middle-class and the poor. Woooooooo. Let them eat cupcakes. Woooooo. Need more places with 54 inches plasma TV's. Woooooooo Bro. Yes, that's the best for the neighborhood, the ones that caters to the rich and white. Wooooooo. Wooooooo. Wooooooo. More low-paying jobs for the poor and undocumented immigrants. Wooooooo. Let's exploit them Bro, hey at least they have a job. Wooooo.Wooooooo. Wooooooo.