Workers removed the plywood from around the northwest corner space on Avenue A and Ninth Street back on Friday. (Thanks to EVG regular Daniel for the photos.)
As previously noted, a gelato shop is opening here... the place is called Gelarto ... (it appears to be the first U.S. outpost of this Italian brand)...
Gelarto opened on Sunday afternoon ... an EVG reader said they have a variety of gelato flavors as well as milkshakes and cappuccinos.
[Photo by Steven]
A help-wanted ad for the place describes it like this: "We are a Gelato Café in the east village of Manhattan. Think sophisticated flavors, italian cafe and the Italian lifestyle our product hails from. We handcraft all of our gelato from scratch in Italy. We also prepare gelato creations."
Previously here ... Cafe Pick Me Up moved out in May 2015 after 20 years in business. They were housed at 145 and 147 Avenue A, and had two different landlords — Icon on the left, Steve Croman on the right. Café manager Rossella Palazzo told DNAinfo in March 2015 that a rent hike from No. 145 landlord Icon Realty was the reason for the closure.
Updated 6/21
The bricks were painted white out front.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Rent hike forcing Cafe Pick Me Up into its smaller space next door on Avenue A (59 comments)
[Updated] Cafe Pick Me Up expected to close for good after May 31
Ghost signage and (eventually) gelato at 9th Street and Avenue A
22 comments:
Welcome to East Bleecker Stret. Or is this the East West Village? I'm confused. I think I'll go across the street to Tompkins-Washington Square Park with my handcrafted gelato to find a corporate sponsored entertaininment experience and bubble-making class
Another sweet shop for the kidult who either was denied sweets or was given them upon request when he was an actual kid.
I was stunned that Icon had found a sucker to pay whatever ridiculous rent they must have ask. Then it turns out to be yet another frozen treat business which anyone who lives here can tell you has about 10% chance of surviving past 6 months. Tip to owners, get the Food Channel to do segment on your business to at least get midwest tourist trade like Big Gay Ice cream has.
when will they visit the cb#3 sla committee?
Handcrafted from scratch (how else?) in Italy because no one knows how to work an ice-cream maker here. And then they make that most sophisticated of Italian delicacies, the milk shake.
I will forever hate whatever comes to this location until they bring Pick Me Up back.
Just what we need next to Starbucks on Avenue A. I'm still going to Ray's.
10:16 I agree! There is nothing welcoming or attractive about that ugly brick façade.
This shop is mainly for tourists (and probably wont last)but businesses who choose to rent from Icon should be boycotted by the community! Send a message. With all the empty retail space; why would anyone choose Icon Realty as their landlord. It's no secret; they are horrible.
Everyone needs to remember the pain and hardship Icon has inflicted on countless people all over NYC not to mention this building alone. Bloated with greed!
It won't last. Nobody buys Gelato. Well, not enough people to pay their rent.
There are too many dessert places in the area but I will try it anyway. I'm just glad the storefront is no longer empty. It was such an eyesore.
While there are far too many dessert places opening up and replacing old,well-loved established businesses, I do remember when Veniero's and DeRoberti's were the only ones and were also well-loved. if Gelarto carries out the tradition of DeRoberti's and the pre-gentrified Veniero's, I welcome them to the babe.
Nabe.
Unless I'm missing something, the facade is brick...so people are complaining about BRICK now?
@2:20 PM. No one is complaining about bricks now. We are complaining about THOSE bricks. Maybe over time they will stop looking like a rush job by Garden State Brickface and Stucco, but right now they stick out like a sore thumb.
Agree on boycotts but it can't be indiscriminate. When a beloved place like Stage is battling to hang on we need to let it be known that whoever comes next will face a neighborhood boycott, then up the volume while the place is vacant and scare off potential tenants.
I assume if they stay in business long enough some signage will arrive and hopefully make the design look less like a loading dock.
To the person calling out all the haters this is my perspective.... every time someone rents an Icon commercial space it proves their despicable real estate formula really works and is encouragement to all the other landlords to get their greed on.
@Hit The Bricks:
Those look like used bricks, at least; give them credit for a little sensitivity to the material. (It's still a trashy suburban façade, but it could be worse.)
Maybe they should have called it Big Gay Gelato as that place is empty when i walk by it. I only buy Big Gay Gelato.
How is this stuff shipped from Italy so that it doesn't melt????
I stopped in yesterday...not impressed. It was hot as hell in there, with big piles of colorful gelato but no signs to tell you what the flavors were. The sign on the wall was written in Italian, which I didn't have the patience to decipher. The were 3 workers behind the counter yet no one could be bothered to wait on me. Why make it so hard to get some damn ice cream?
@Scubba Diva. Those are brand new bricks, they look used because they did such a sloppy mortar job on them. They were obviously in a rush to open, and yesterday they were doing more grouting work on the entrance. Hope no one trips on their way to gelato heaven!
It certainly is a boring douche type of brick, with those suburban "fancy" yuppie lights, but it's better than an all glass folding door monstrosity!
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