[Reader photo from last week]
That's the question an Avenue A resident asked after noticing that the biscuit purveyors at 198 Avenue A between East 12th Street and East 13th Street have closed for a "brief winter break" for the second time this month.
Last week...
But then they did reopen...
Closing for two days felt like a year. Hello, EVill.
— Empire Biscuit (@empirebiscuit) January 9, 2016... and as of yesterday... another sign appeared, noting that they'd be back open on Jan. 14...
There isn't any mention of this second winter closure on the Biscuit's social media properties.
The quick-serve restaurant's website is also down for the count...
Empire Biscuit opened in the fall of 2013.
Updated 5:53 p.m.
Empire Biscuit assured us that they will reopening... Here's a new post with comments from owner Jonathan Price. "It's a slow time of year," he said. "We're doing some housekeeping. We refinished the floors in the kitchen Tuesday, for example. It's been over two years and there's just a lot of maintenance to do."
H/T dwg
"EVill"
ReplyDeleteJesus, even when I shouldn't kick them when they are possibly down, they manage to annoy the shit out of me. $10 lard cakes: Much evil. Such badass.
yeah, it's hard out there for a pimp.
ReplyDeleteHello "Evill!" damn that's some corny, collegiate speak.
ReplyDeleteNot a favorite place nor a go-to place. Too precious for me. I never understood those doors. Perhaps the same designer who gave similar doors to the now closed Spice on East 10th Street and Fourth Avenue? Not very inviting.
ReplyDelete"DRUNK"
ReplyDeleteBye.
And what's with the 11 PM opening? I think the Evill bar crowd is still away on winter break.
ReplyDeleteI could count on two hands the number of times I saw more than one customer in it; walk by it several times a day going to/from the bus, and my vet is right next door, so I am often in the vicinity, and just as often it was totally devoid of clientele. When EVG first wrote this place up, as a biscuit-lover I was thrilled, assumed I'd be there weekly. Then grim reality set it (Drunk!), and I have yet to set foot in the place. I'm assuming that now I will never get the chance - oh well. (Anon. 10:58, you're so right about those doors - is it a store or a castle keep, for Godssake?)
ReplyDeleteBTW, Seamless says "Looks like this restaurant is closed".
ReplyDeleteMenu Hack: Ask for a fried egg in the cheddar grits. $5 breakfast on the go.
ReplyDeleteTo answer the question- Who cares? Not this guy.
ReplyDeleteCMON WHERE MY FROYO-IN-A-HOOF SCHADENFREUDE HOMIES AT
ReplyDeleteYeah ... this isn't really a "menu hack" crowd. Try Buzzfeed.
ReplyDeleteDang I was just starting to warm up to this place.
ReplyDeletePeople complained that this place attracts some drunks that need to scoff something down to stop their heads from spinning, I still prefer that over a place that creates those drunks, i.e. another fucking sports bar.
ReplyDeleteI think Empire Biscuit made a big mistake catering to "drunks."
ReplyDeleteUnless you own a bar, you can't count on "drunks" to keep you in business.
From the start, they should have catered to the neighborhood. I would have designed the space to have seating--there is barely any now because they obviously figured the "drunks" would be a grab and go customer base--and advertised biscuit breakfast sandwiches.
Look at the breakfast business Tompkins Square Bagels does.
If Empire Biscuit had more seating, they could have also created a cafe atmosphere. Cafe Bene, right on the corner, is always full. People are looking for a space to sit during the day to drink a coffee and have a snack.
I don't know if it is too late for Empire Biscuit to change their strategy. They didn't engender much good will at the start by advertising how they wanted to serve the bar crowd that tortures the neighborhood.
But I don't see how they can remain viable the way they operate now.
I know the business was started by a couple of young guys who probably knew food, but they didn't go into this with a smart, sensible business strategy.
Foodie hipsters forget that restaurants don't exist as an exercise in didactic living for Instagram. They're for people to share a meal and companionship with friends. When places like this cater to a single generation, one that's connected to the virtual world via Apple product while simultaneously being isolated from actual reality, they turn off everyone else. This isn't an inclusive restaurant. If you could even call it a restaurant. They put more effort into their wood oil than they did creating a space for people to come together in a comfortable, welcoming setting.
ReplyDeleteCan you say Kickstarter? Save The Biscuits.
ReplyDeleteBeer store!
ReplyDeleteThey are a stone's throw away from me. I love biscuits. And yet somehow I've never wanted to go in and try one of theirs. Meh.
ReplyDeleteIf they are making some changes to better serve customers, and that's what I heard they are doing because business isn't good, they should be honest and post a sign out front instead of pretending they are on a winter break. I think people would appreciate knowing they are making an effort to bring more to the table.
ReplyDeleteComing Soon: Empire Dollar Pizza Biscuits and Wine Bar
ReplyDeleteTSB caters to drunks as well, just the morning after. Check out the lines on the weekends, bunch of bros and sorority types in their pajamas shaking off hangovers.
ReplyDeleteBiscuits in a hoof, in a dumpling, in an Acai bowl.
ReplyDeleteBiscuit pizza cones.
ReplyDeleteTheir whole existence was taken right out of the pages of the "Gentrification Mad Libs" and the Brooklyn bar menu generator, albeit not being a bar but did aim to cater to the drunks, esp. the
ReplyDelete"The space is beautifully done, with reclaimed wood siding and antique light fixtures...".