[Photo by Vinny & O]
Workers hoisted the 'Merica NYC signage yesterday at 320 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue...
[V&O]
A commenter on the previous 'Merica post said that this is just for a pop-up event. It does sound temporary.
According to the 'Merica NYC Facebook page, the restaurant will serve food that "laughs in the face of caution and holds two middle fingers way up high, cause guess what? This is America and we eat what we want!"
Menu items include The Kanye: "Fried breast of chicken tossed in a creamy rich Alfredo sause served over mashed potatoes, then drizzled with a balsamic glaze. This meal will make you into a famous rapper and a narcissistic asshole. Ask the public to loan you the money for it. $18."
[Reader submitted photo]
This block of Sixth Street, previously known for plentiful Indian restaurants with inexpensive menu items and BYOB, is getting awfully gimmicky with 'Merica NYC (temporary or not) and the recently opened Beetle House with its Tim Burton theme.
Updated Oct. 1
Here's the latest description via Facebook...
Previously on EV Grieve:
Zerza has closed on 6th Street; Merica NYC coming soon?
67 comments:
I have to admit, I've never been one to buy into the opinion that the EV was becoming 'fratty', but this one is a little too much for me.
And I loved Zerza!
If this is a joke, it's getting to be a fairly pricey one, which is starting to make me think this is real. My prediction? It will be a smash with the bro-ho crowd for whom it's intended, and thus be around for decades. And so it goes.
I plan to VOMIT on that sign and SOON!
Sad.
...oh, and Rose of India is gone, but we have this.
Disgrace
Unlikely a pop up and if consumed it will bring long lasting ill affects.... Sorry I thought we were talking about Trump.
Gojira, I hadn't even considered this being an ironic artistic performance piece, along the lines of Banksy's pet shop and grill on Seventh Ave many years ago. Yikes. The neighborhood HAS changed.
If this is ironic art, it is the laziest and dumbest ironic art imaginable.
Basically, no matter what this shitshow turns out to actually be, it's a fucking embarrassment.
What happened to zoning laws and respecting the neighbors? The block is now filled with Times Sq like tourists hanging out all hours of the day in front of the theme trashy Beetle House. And now we have a restaurant that celebrates RACISM and disrespectful obnoxious behavior???! We can't have this in the east village. This is still a neighborhood where people live, and we are paying pretty high rent nowadays as it is.
So glad I'm living on a Disneyland block now.
this place makes superdive look like abc no rio
The only racism I've seen here is on the part of the posters on this thread. These east village kings dictating what type of people can or can't be allowed into a neighborhood. That sounds all too familiar to the old days on New York. It looks like it's going to be a satirical fun place where young people will go. Get over yourselves
Was just walking by the place and met the owner or at least the guy claiming to be the owner. John Stewart and Steven Colbert are apparently silent partners on this place. I don't have too much of an opinion as I've only lived here for a year. But I do think from what I heard today this place is going to be very busy and get a lot of media. Maybe that will help the other places on the block that are dropping like flys because no one goes to them?
Horribly offensive. Looks like it's designed to attract a specifically young, drunk crowd. Hope the restaurant starves.
That logo needs a fatter apostrophe on the 'MERICA, don't you think? Kinda gets lost, like a Trump voter in NYC.
@11:26 AM Take your themepark bars/restaurants and shove them up your ass, moron.
A piece of chicken breast for $18.
FUCK YOU!!!
The whole neighborhood has been turned into a "satirical fun place" I guess?? Oh, lucky us! Please...
This establishment's concept is silly, in my opinion; but I also agree with Anon 11:26am to some extent. There are a good number of people who post on this sight who make broad generalizations about groups of people quite regularly...however they deem it ok and justify it because it's legitimate in their view to make broad generalizations about groups of people BUT as long as it's only CERTAIN groups of people.
Worrying about this place has killed my erection.
grand opening, grand closing.
this place makes superdive look like abc no rio
Marry me
The only racism I've seen here is on the part of the posters on this thread
Ah yes, the old "you're a racist for calling people racist" chestnut. GTFO of here (and look up the definition of satire while you're at it). Guess the owner/friends-of-owner trolls are finally here.
John [sic] Stewart and Steven [sic] Colbert are apparently silent partners on this place.
Dear turnip truck fall-er: You don't need to have ever watched Daily Show/Colbert to know this is grade-A horseshit. These two have a *slightly* more advanced sense of humor than "This is America and we eat what we want!"
Also, Anon. 2:30, Jon Stewart is a vegan, I doubt he would support a place that so proudly supports the selling of massive quantities of meat. I mean, after he left his show he and his wife started an animal sanctuary in NJ.
http://www.care2.com/causes/jon-stewart-talks-veganism-and-how-it-can-help-the-world.html
@11:26. Did you READ the description of the food? There's your racism, Donnie.
My name is Hamad and I am one of the owners. I don't seek to offend any person only to have a fun place to enjoy and laugh about all things for America. I have lived here on 9th street for 22 years and I have also own other place. This for me is a dream to celebrate America the land of opportunity. I do not wish to be condemned by racists who will try to run me out. Please be respectful we are having a good time
Hi Hamad,
As disgusted as I am by your restaurant concept, I won't be getting the pitchforks out for you -- I'm a New Yorker, WTF would I be doing with a pitchfork? -- so do whatever you want, man.
That said, it's hilarious that you are calling US racists for judging you on your own words. YOU named a fried chicken sandwich after a black man. And I think you know you said some fucked-up shit, because your offensive menu no longer seems to appear on your Facebook page.
You're not taking to children here. Please find some self-awareness.
Please tell me this isn't some sort of a prank. After Empire Biscuit I don't think I can take any more retail-themed jokes.
I have been living in the EV since 2005 and I can say that although I will miss Zerza on 6th street, i think Merica's concept actually sounds refreshing and exciting. Can't wait to visit the place and eat a good burger.
Best of luck to you!
S
I never even cross my mind that a chicken sandwhich has anything to do with a persons race. I would never thought to be so shallow of a person to think a chicken sandwich with Alfredo sauce that is Italian would be part of anyone's race. But I do understand why it could be taken that way. The intention is to celebrate all things American from the funny and insane to to modern and pop cukture. Every person likes to laugh and have a fun time and with the politicians so bad as they are now why not have a place to debate things as friends, enjoy America food and beer? Also the menu was changed drastically the original one was just really a joke for attention some of the items aren't even going to be on that. We will also have vegan versions of most of the things and vegan desserts as well. Something for everyone just like America is.
Best of luck, Hamad. It's not easy to open a business anywhere, let alone NYC.
I suspect that everyone who has posted in favor of this--this what? must somehow be connected to whatever this is. I can't believe that this is for real. I wouldn't eat there if it is--it sounds like a horror story. Some very wealthy kids?? who are having a fling with their parents' money about which they will laugh about for years when they return to Gross Point or Grand Rapids and spend the rest of their lives recalling how they once had an experience in the East Village. Spunky? As Lou Grant once quipped, "I hate spunk."
I have made myself known as one of the owners I am Hamad and I am not from a far place or making a joke. The food will be very good in all seriousness the original menu was just a joke the real one will wil out soon with much variety. Thank you for those who have been kind and had a gentle words.
Somehow, I think this is going to pan out very differently than you all think. I'm seeing a Punk'd kinda vibe with this, and the restaurant and the fools that eat there is the setting for the big reveal.
So the menu was a joke. Okay. Then there are the prices. That's no joke. But whatever. Best of luck to the new business and owners.
But I STILL miss Rose of India, and I guess I always will...and all the other places that were just places, little beloved places where...
oh whatever. Who cares. I'm just some old fuddy duddy. I need to GTFO of the EV and leave it to the true __________ generation.
the original menu was just a joke
Sure it was. And you know what is the best way to start a new business, especially a restaurant, in the brutal climate of 2016 New York City, where many places can't even last six months? With terrible jokes.
Before I was angry about this, but now I just feel pity. At least when the Empire Biscuit crew had no idea what they were doing, it could be blamed on their (relative) youth and yokel-ness, but the people running this place are grown-ass New Yorkers.
Besides just another way to make money on the pop-up wave in retail and dining now, is this thing satire or homage? Mocking or deifying Kanye? An actual place to dine or a interactive comedy bit? Ironic or idiotic (Irondiotic, there's a freebie Colbert). Whatever this bullshit is, in my opinion, America's cultural, mental and political malaise has been so ubiquitously dire in the last decade and especially with one month till election day (the purge of the White House) to be funny anymore.
this thing is just designed to get the instagrams and all that other social media attention. Since this place is crude and crudeness as a whole has become a virtue, it should not have a problem getting the tourists and generation gentrification to stop by and have a laugh and good times at the shitty state we're in.
Have fun Hassid. It's just one month to go...
Sorry Hamad, I think you've lost the EVG vibe of good will. Whatever the joke you thought you were making, it came off as a stupid insult to people in the neighborhood. I don't like when small businesses fail, but I wouldn't go anywhere near whatever it is you are doing here.
Sorry but this whole thing reeks of an Ali G/Borat/Sacha Baron Cohen stunt, even the broken English being used to make this seem authentic sounds like Ali G. Now prove us wrong and open a decent restaurant without the offensive joke menu items, or go away and stop trolling us. The decimation that has already happened to Indian Row is sad enough.
I find this comment to be extremely hurtful. You have reduced a thousand years of my cukture to borat and made fun of my English which I work very hard for many years to perfect. As I suspected there is so much racist in this place that hide behind computers and call people "time square people, or fraternity boys or tourists" when all I see is people and people helping me and others like me to stay afloat and pay for the family and the food. You have no idea what I am opening or what benefit it will bring to the neighborhood yet you have judge me. Judge me as a God judges on my English, my cukture my family and my business menu. I pray for all of you to find love and peace and laughter which is what I hope to bring Hamad
Let me get this straight: So some guy named Hamad wants to open a place that makes fun of American culture, and even includes a somewhat racist chicken menu item named after Kanye West, but HE gets offended when someone points out his broken English? Now THAT is funny!
Cukture.
That's a good name for the bastardizing and decline of actual cultures.
To quote Bender:
b-o-o-h-o-o
Quit while your ahead.
Hamad, I nor anyone else had any idea of your name, your race, or your "cukture" when we first commented about Merica and called it racist and/or offensive, so top being willfully obtuse and derailing the conversation with your personal woes. At this point I'm less offended by your racist menu than I am by your whininess.
Re the updated Face Book page description: The volley of mostly negative comments posted on EVG should have alerted the owners (Hamad + others) that something is wrong (we don't know about the food yet) with their marketing. The new Face Book comment only adds to what I think is a bad roll out. Sorry, when I go into a restaurant to eat (or to get take out), I don't want to make it into a quasi political occasion. Nor do I want to participate in what you think is entertaining. I want the food to be good (forth-right--honest), the price to be in accord with the quality and the surroundings. $18 for a sandwich may sound all right to Hamad and cohorts, but I think for most of us that is steep. I notice that the updated face book page doesn't have the deliberately made English errors and spellings!! Whatever this place is / is trying to be--I hope it goes away quickly--this stream of comments is indicative of what an annoying bunch the owners must be.
Seems to me the marketing is doing exactly what they intended unless they are actually retarded... more comments on this thread than literally any other on this blog, just saying
They have a Michelin star chef... seriously I know that for fact. I think we are being punked.
I care about the community so much. I support the family here and this is why I reply to this page. This business will do very great and will be supprise for many. Hamad
Another local business which I shall not name (hint: they sold biscuits ) started with the same kind of PR hype. They also received much of the same kind of backlash on this blog and elsewhere. They also loudly complained that they were being mistreated. And they quickly flamed out. The lesson here is to spend less time on hype and more time on delivering a great product, or else one day you too will find yourself peelin' potatoes.
What we need is a one-way shuttle service to pick up people from these theme bars/restaurants and drop them off in Times Square where they belong.
Hamad doesn't sound real or authentic. Trying to give a sob story and trying to pull heartstrings is not going to work when what you're pushing is a nasty piece of garbage theme restaurant that's going to destroy the fabric of the neighborhood and the block. Every day now we have to deal with the obnoxious tourists who stand loitering outside for hours talking at the top of their voices in front the existing theme restaurant Beetle House. That is NOT ok for the people living on the block. We used to have a nice quiet decent block, we didn't sign expensive leases to live in theme park land. And what restaurants are dropping like flies? The Eddy is doing well, Mayahuel is doing well, the Japanese places are doing well. Go open your racist restaurant (nothing racist about associating fried chicken with black people??) someplace else. And starting false rumors about celebrity association is not going to work with us, we're not brainless idiots.
Time for e 6th street habitants to start protesting against Zach Neil and Brian Link. Nice try in trying to get us to believe some poor immigrant guy called Hamad is starting this terrible theme restaurant. SHADY from the start. These are the same men who own Beetle House, the horrible loud noisy tourist trap also on the same block. And the same businessmen who started the frat boy laden Will Ferrell-themed restaurant in LES. Their greed to expand their themepark empire clearly has no bounds, now they're coming in from New Jersey to ruin an entire neighborhood block in the east village. Beetle House is bad enough, but another awful themed place on the same block? And this is definitely not a pop-up, they are here to stay as long as they can get the tourists to keep coming. These men are making this block unlivable. The greed of businessmen needs to be balanced against the rights of people who live in the neighborhood. Why don't you find a place in Hoboken or somewhere else in New Jersey where you live Zach Neil?
Seems to be true, what's up with the fake immigrant story, Zack?
https://mobile.twitter.com/zachneil
Zach Neil @zachneil
#merica #mericanyc #cominginseptember https://www.instagram.com/p/BJO9Xd0BVp0/
Zach Neil
Aug 15
Zach Neil @zachneil
#merica #mericanyc #america #magnum #usa #eagle #redwhiteandblue #trump #clinton https://www.instagram.com/p/
Zach Neil
Aug 15
Zach Neil @zachneil
#mericanyc #merica #caitlynjenner #cominginseptember #makingfunofamerica #celebratemerica… https://www.instagram.com/p/BJI4k8Uhkn
Zach Neil @zachneil
#mericanyc #merica #cominginseptember #hillaryclinton #celebratemerica #politicsandfood… https://www.instagram.com/p/BJE61P0h0MP/
Zach Neil
Aug 13
Zach Neil @zachneil
#mericanyc #cominginseptember #makefunofeverything #stephencolbert #fauxnews #clintonnewsnetwork… https://www.instagram.com/p/BJEM8ksB22O/
Zach Neil
Aug 13
Zach Neil @zachneil
#mericanyc #cominginseptember #merica #celebratemerica 🇺🇸
Dear EV Grieve commentators,
Since I came across this Thread about couple of days ago, I decided I needed make time to sit down and post a message.
First let me introduce myself, my name is Radouane, I have been part of the east village since I opened ZErza in June of 2003,
I have always put my heart and soul in my business and I have made many great acquaintances and friendships from this great neighborhood. It starts with customers then turns to friendships. I had been operating Zerza for many years, I m sure you ll understand the need for change after 12 years.
One of the customers that I met is Zach. On a slow night, Zach walked and to have something to eat. I had no idea who he was, we just chatted and talked and enjoyed a great discussion about many things that really had nothing to do with business. It was mostly about current affairs and politics and yes even religion. All the things you are not supposed to discuss with your customers! Rights? (And i usually don't do that except when I find it appropriate that the guest is mature and the guest himself likes to engage in the same discussion).
Zach s visits to Zerza increased and we started to look forward to these discussions. (And there are a few of Zerza s customers who know this very well about me and they do enjoy coming to the bar to discuss the latest in the news) please don't judge me for this.
Yes I am a restaurateur but I have great interests in other things as well and like many of you, I enjoy debates and politics.
And being an American Muslim from Morocco, i found myself on many occasions to be a link to explain a few questions about my culture and religion, and so many times and to my delight, I find great pleasure in clarifying a few false clichés.
Back to Zach, the idea to start something together came into discussion one night, first i was surprised since we didn't agree on a number of issues but at the same time, there was great mutual respect to each other's views (the thing that I love most about living in New York and makes living in the city great that you can be friends with people even though you disagree with them) I have always said, for the world to reach peace other countries should just copy tNew York s mentality! (Wouldn't that be great?)
The idea challenged both of us and as I said earlier after more than 12 years of Zerza the urge for a change made it easy for me to make that decision.
I m not really familiar with Zach s other businesses, but here I m going to be the manager and i intend to be running a restaurant where you get good QUALITY food with fresh ingredients at a reasonable price.
I ve known Zach for just a few months, and It s not hard for me to see that he is an earnest person, a great dad and a family man who cares a lot about so many good issues.
I understand your displeasure with some customers of some of his establishments and I can not talk on their behalf, but I can talk on this business s behalf, since I m going to be on site and I m going to manage it with respect to our beloved neighborhood.
At the end of the day, it is going to be a restaurant, that will sell two main items: Food and Beverages. It is going to be a business that will provide a few job opportunities to a few students and a few kitchen staff, like us, individuals with families that have obligations to pay their bills. We are all looking forward to succeeding.
Please be patient and give it a chance before you give your verdicts and most importantly wish us luck
Sincerely yours,
Radouane Eljaouhari
PS:
I have no idea who posted the comments above including " Hamad"
Zach Neil, eh? That explains everything about this shitshow -- it is being driven by the living embodiment of ye olde proverb "May you carry yourself with the confidence of a mediocre white man."
Great, so Zack Neil is going around to failing bars/restaurants and turning them into shitty theme venues. Can't wait to see the entire EV as a "satirical fun zone" for millennials, what intellectual properties will you rip off next?
Dear Anonymous,
I wouldn't say Zerza was a failing restaurant although I wouldn't deny that more locals support would have been great. Zerza has developed a respectful following in New York City, in addition to a side catering business. Sometimes a change is appealing and perhaps there is something more appealing about sharing running a business (especially a restaurant with someone else, because it can get overwhelming sometimes for just one owner).
Cheers
The East Village is such a fucking joke.
No bookstores and The Strand doesn't count even though it's on the east side of Broadway, sorry. That's The Broadway Corridor.
No record stores which carry music by active underground, unsigned bands (real record stores.)
No live music venues for rock music save crappy Bowery Electric. Pyramid is utterly wasted by a fool of a manager and an even bigger fool of an owner.
No more punks, skins, hardcore kids, goths, greasers, mods, rude boys, etc.
Downtown Columbus, Ohio has to be more hopping than the EV.
Radouane,
and I'm sure you're well aware he's pulling in idiots, sorry clients, with his theme bar in your old space. So if you're not getting enough clientele I suppose it's an attractive concept. Mark up mediocre food and drinks by stealing intellectual property, we'll see how long that goes on for until he's sued out of existance. It is a sad statement of current-day NYC if it takes theme venues to succeed.
Haha this is great the butt hurt is soooooo real.
Good luck working with a guy who pretends to be an immigrant so he can call people racist. I'm sure that bodes well for your business relationship.
Dear Radouane - thanks for sharing your story about Zach Neil. I felt so bad reading about it. How he strategically went after you for months and manipulated you into giving up your restaurant so now you can be a "manager" of a shitty place that he will control, and his sole goal is financial gain. He's a very clever conman. Don't fool yourself, be careful.
Think about how he pretended to the rest of us here that he was a poor immigrant called Hamad. When he's a rich businessman from New Jersey. Who does that? That's stooping so low.
And think about all the poor people on the block who are already having to live in hell for months now since Beetle House opened. They don't contain the noise or the patrons inside the place. There is a man outside in a costume screaming and yelling for hours at the top of his voice Every Single Day. It's torture. We already signed long leases, we are paying hard earned money that we slave over and work very hard for - only to come home and not be able to rest at all because of the shouting and the noise of this guy, plus the noise from the drunken patrons outside his restaurant. Do you think we deserve to never have peace, to have to live in constant hell, just so greedy Zach Neil can keep growing his theme-park empire and multiply his millions of $$$$?
Zach Neil could have opened a nice restaurant that didn't actively encourage this kind of behavior. (We have no objections to all the other decent good restaurants on this nice neighborhood block). But no, he wants the kind of restaurant/bar that will attract the type of clientele that ruins the peace of those living here. And the place you will be "managing" will be just another such establishment. Do not fool yourself. This is a disaster for the east village community and the block.
I knew it, this whole Hamad thing was an act. Just another inartful troll is a sea full of endless, mindless crap. His whole faux-outrage act at us calling him out for the broken English/Borat act was just more bad acting on his part. Whoever did that should be ashamed of themselves but I doubt they are. The whole thing just reeks. I think it's obvious that Zach and Radouanne and whoever else in involved have to work out some serious issues with each other before they try to go into business, because whoever is doing this lame viral marketing for them is not doing them or this neighborhood any favors. And please don't bring in a screaming Unlcle Sam charcter to hustle people into your Brotastic Bar Experience, or whatever this is supposed to be This is a residential neighborhood, not an amusement ride for all yout bridge and tunnel crowd buddies to get drunk on.
I checked out Zach's Intsgram page and he's got some borderline racist stuff up there. He seems to like to make fun of Mike Tyson, but those racist jokes are old. And he is calling other people racists? If he was behind the Hamad act that is really uncool. He needs to speak up and explain what was going on here, or maybe he is only brave enough to pretend to be someone else. Whoever was pretending to be a Muslim opening an offensive restaurant with a racist menu is not doing Muslims any favors.
You can't possibly believe anything you just wrote. And 90% of these posts are from the same 2-3 people. One of which I suspect is a person who worked for the "shitty theme restaurant" nice try L
Zach, why don't you post as yourself and be honest? Instead of now hounding your waitstaff. That's disgusting and scary that you'd intimidate the people who worked under you.
hamad: "Please be respectful we are having a good time."
okay, i'll be respectfl.
can i ask that you be respectful of the neighborhood?
a group of diverse theme-park bars catering to (as stated) "the young" is not a community. a group of diverse humans considering this neighborhood to be their home is.
@Giovanni,
Oh god, that is exactly what is going to happen, isn't it? We already have the one idiot Bettlejuice screaming at everyone walking by on the street.
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