As we reported back on Friday, the owners of the Kati Roll Company are looking to open their fourth Manhattan location at 128 Second Ave., former home of the Stage, according to preliminary paperwork filed ahead of this month's CB3-SLA committee meeting.
This spray-painted message arrived overnight here between St. Mark's Place and Seventh Street...
The Stage, the 35-year-old lunch counter, closed March 30, 2015. Stage owner Roman Diakun had been involved in an ongoing legal/eviction battle with landlord Icon Realty. (You can read that background here.)
Reps for the the well-liked Kati Roll Company will be seeking a beer-wine license during the CB3-SLA committee meeting next Monday, July 11.
I bet Icon and Kati Roll Company have an arrangement whereby Icon will pay a buyout to Kati Roll Company once beer and wine is approved. Kati Roll Company may be well liked but who you do business with is also a reflection of you.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm afraid that I could just never bring myself to darken the doorway there ever again.
ReplyDeleteI've tried the Kati Roll on McDougal St and not only was the service slow but the roll was greasy. It's basically an Indian Taco Bell. Masala Times which is a block away on Bleecker St. is ten times better and they also make real food, complete meal boxes with curry, rice, dal, onions, and paratha, plus their Kati rolls aren't greasy at all. And they don't serve liquor, just mango lassis and soft drinks, Too bad Masala Time isn't taking the space instead.
ReplyDeleteHow can this person say a boycott is in effect? Was there a meeting about this? Did people discuss it and decide to proceed with a boycott?
ReplyDeleteIf you want a boycott IMO you oughta get out there, show your face, put your body on the line. None of this fly by night spray paint vandalism kiddie stuff. Give people facts, legit reasons, tell them why they should boycott. I am old fashioned like that.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that the 'graffiti' is on the sidewalk and not on the building. That is where graffiti belongs!
ReplyDeletep.s. By that, I mean not that graffiti should be walked on, but that it will get the most attention when seen underfoot.
I know how beloved the Stage is/was, but this seems unfair to Kati Roll. It's not their fault what happened to the Stage, and if the idea is that no one should rent from Icon then maybe the boycott should be against ALL retail tenants who rent from Icon, excepting the ones who were already tenants when Icon bought their buildings.
ReplyDeleteGrieve, Not sure which "spray-painted message" you're referring to. Could we get some arrows to clarify?
ReplyDeleteThe spray-painter must be an EV Grieve reader!
ReplyDeleteThere could be a group/groups of people meeting to organize a BOYCOTT, or it could be individual people who feel the same way, each doing something about it in their own way. Whatever it takes, as long as it leads to a positive collective result.
As we say in the editorial in the current SHADOW, "NOTHING will happen if you sit on your asses and wait for someone to do your activism for you."
BOYCOTTING should be extended to ALL of the real estate parasites destroying our community. Not just Icon Realty (run by Terrence Lowenberg and Todd Cohen), but also 9300 Realty (run by Steve Croman), Magnum Real Estate (run by Ben Shaoul) and Westminster Management (fronted by Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, whose father is also a dirty real estate dealer).
Potential renters (commercial and residential) need to be wised up about these bastards. Without renters' money, they will all go belly-up....
I approve this message. How is it parasitic landlords and businesses seeking liquor licenses always manage to find each other?
ReplyDeleteSorry, but the Kati Roll Company does not deserve the benefit of the doubt with respect to the beer and wine application. Empellon al Pastor claimed that its liquor license was about pairing tequila with food but then they added a partition to the interior to separate the bar area from the taco area. Not to mention that they agreed that they would not operate sidewalk seating then sought to add it anyway. Jane's Sweet Buns applied for beer and wine to pair with its desserts and then they turned in to a bar less than a year later.
ReplyDelete"NOTHING will happen if you sit on your asses and wait for someone to do your activism for you."
ReplyDeleteDefinitely agree with that, but I still can't say "I approve this message." It's unfair to Kati Roll Company in that it was walking into this situation blindly. Approaching Kati Roll so aggressively will inevitably lead to a defiant response and an acrimonious relationship with the community. It benefits nobody, and doesn't harm Icon.
A more productive approach would be for this graffiti 'artist' to draft a letter to Kati Roll Company explaining the situation and why so much of the neighborhood wants that storefront to remain empty, and wants to boycott Icon. Spend a week gathering signatures and then send it to Kati Roll.
Hopefully that prompts Kati Roll to bring the letter to Icon's attention, and it will be evidence to Icon of how its policies in the East Village are directly impacting its bottom line -- just about the only thing that resonates with Icon.
Does anyone know if the MacDougal Street location is licensed? BTW got two carryout rolls from Desi Galli on Avenue B this weekend and they were good.
ReplyDelete@Abfus
ReplyDeleteWhy would Icon care that one of its tenants passed on a letter from community activists? The principals know they are hated, and do not care a whit. The graffiti would be more effective if it was placed before the space was rented, because it might scare off potential tenants. If Kati Roll's business was adversely affected (not necessarily by this graffiti but by other actions) and they ended up folding quickly AND there was media attention about it, then it might hurt Icon's bottom line if the space became difficult to rent.
Let's be honest here. This graffiti won't affect sales. It will be power-washed away long before the space opens for business. The most effective way to impart change is through REASONABLE and ENFORCEABLE regulation and civil procedures.
ReplyDeleteI will gladly boycott whoever rents this space, and anything I come upon in other bad developers buildings too. I see it as a kind of vote.
ReplyDeletethis is stupid
ReplyDeleteKati roll is the new "____ in a hoof" fad. One can get those at street food carts. Yet another ordinary or street food elevated to sumptuousness to please and hoodwink the rubes and bourgees.
ReplyDeleteKati Roll, as I understand it, was originally thinking of renting the space formerly occupied by Sounds (20 St. Marks Place). I don't know what happened to that deal--perhaps it was felt that street traffic wouldn't mount the steps. The people who own Kati Roll are not responsible for what happened to The Stage, and threats to punish them or anyone who ever rents the space of a beloved EV business is ridiculous. I am amazed at the number of food stores that have become part of 2nd Avenue from St Marks to 7th Street. Good luck to all of them--may they live long and prosper--and continue to provide employment to many fine people who may take the plunge themselves into opening their own businesses.
ReplyDelete