[Photo from Sunday by Steven]
As noted on Monday, a gelato shop called Gelarto has opened at 145 Avenue A at Ninth Street. (They are still officially in soft-open mode.)
Several commenters noted what they perceived to be an "ugly brick façade" here.
Anyway, as multiple EVG readers pointed out, workers painted the storefront yesterday...
And, as we understand it, Gelarto signage will be arriving in the next 10 days to give it that finished look.
H/T Steven and Bobby Williams
34 comments:
People on this place are going to hate it because the previous tenant was forced out, but I tried the gelato and it was delicious.
That's not a facade, it's a canvas for graffiti just like the black wall right next to it. They really should get a local artist to paint it like the Donald at Mikey's, but since the building owner is doing all they can to whitewash the EV I'm not holding my breath.
Should've left the brick exposed. Also sick of hearing about "soft opens."
Can't businesses just "open"?
It's not their fault Cafe Pick Me Up was forced out. I will try the gelato. I don't know how popular this place is going to be once summer ends though. Maybe they will add other desserts to the menu.
@2:16 Same thing with the Kati Roll placebthat opened in the old Stage. The food is great, the pricing is reasonable but it's not super busy because of the stigma of doing nothing more than choosing an available store front.
So they covered the buildings original brick with what looked like real new brick and NOT a brick veneer, then proceeded to paint it white? Someone got a clue to what is going on here?
The bricks are old news! Bring on the sign...people need something new to criticize!
@4:29 PM I went to Kati Roll a couple of times. Everything tastes reheated including the wraps.
I suppose everyone makes their own decisions but i personally won't shop at one of the places that launch in spaces where long term tenants were summarily priced out of the market for no reason other than real estate greed - particularly icon. so forget the new flower shop on and forget this new gelato spot. ain't happening. at least not for me and mine. and there are plenty of options for both in the immediate area. g'night all.
Best of luck to these guys :-)
Tired of people complaining about we complainers. If you don't like it move to a blog in the mid-west.
The white looks way better, I think it's a great storefront, fits in nicely - save for the generic yuppie lights.
The exposed brick looked fine. The white painted brick does take it up a notch.
Cafe Pick Me Up is a thing of the past. As much as people loved and adored that spot, people need to move on, put it in the past, and embrace the present. Let's wish this new tenant of our hood the very best and hope they do well all year long.
I visited the shop the other day and the Icon Construction noise going on in the building above was so loud. Not a pleasant experience. I guess the minute they signed the lease, Icon started thinking of ways to bother and annoy them. Good luck, but probably within a year they will wish they would have picked a better landlord.
OK all you people who complained about the brick, this is on you.
Notorious, I agree with you about Kati Roll. I would just say that it's not quiet because of people boycotting it. Stage was never crowded either.
Kati Roll is overpriced, bland, and their rolls are luke warm and undercooked. Try the Kati rolls at Desi Galli which are served hot, spicy and delicious. Their grilled paneer roll is amazing and their sauce is really great too.
@1:22 - The Stage was often so crowded, I had to leave and come back later. This actually made me happy as I knew they were doing good business. I always ate there at off times for this reason. Never setting foot in the new place. They knew who they were doing business with when they opened.
"I suppose everyone makes their own decisions but i personally won't shop at one of the places that launch in spaces where long term tenants were summarily priced out of the market" - so I guess you'll be doing all of your shopping in Montana soon.
Greed is good, didn't you hear? Darwinian survival of the fittest is woven into the warp and weft of humanity, and "fittest" ain't got scratch to do with 'good' or 'nice'. It's just business. Stop whining.
My name is OTTO and I like the GELATO!
Gelato might sell well for now, but come December/January...
Hi everyone
Thanks for all the posts - good or bad - at least you noticed us!
My name is Nigel and I guess its my fault our delicious Italian gelato has now come to the East Village. I was so excited to find an empty spot by the park for our first gelato store in the US, and was told it had been empty for over a year - in fact I've since become friends with the lovely people at Gnocchi (who aparently used to own Cafe Pick me Up), and they have been very generous in their good wishes to us. I wish we could be fully open right now, but things are never quite as straightforward as you hope, so please bear with us until our proper opening in a week or so. We always wanted to paint the front white too, but also want to blend with the rest of the building, hence the brickwork first. Yes - we will have a more varied menu for the winter and of course, I hope you will all try and enjoy our menu offer as we want our store to be a local store you can be proud of as much as anything!
One more thing - we would love to do something with the 9/11 mural that has now been graffitied over on our black wall and it would be great to get some local feedback or suggestions for this? What would everyone like to see - the same but cleaned up, or a new 9/11 commemorative mural?
I think that's a good idea, Nigel. And haters gonna hate. Good luck.
Hi Nigel,
Thanks for leaving the comments!
I was curious about the wall with the 9/11 mural. Though it has been tagged several times, I was glad that you left it intact... I can do a separate post on this...
And good luck with the opening...
The owner, Nigel, sounds like a gentleman. Let's all give him the chance to integrate into our community. It looks like a beautiful spot. And honestly, our hood could use a nice gelato shop. I will definitely pay a visit once things are up and running. Good luck to this business!
Hi Nigel, a new mural would be nice. Something that celebrates the neighborhood would be appreciated. You are occupying a storefront that many of us have fond memories of. Many of those places are sadly gone forever, so a tribute to the history of the East Village would not only be appreciated but would make your store an instant destination for many Instagram and Facebook moments.
Great idea. I will see what we can come up with re- EV mural. I think we need to keep the 9/11 reference though.
@Nigel Yes, keeping the 9/11 reference would be appropriate, maybe something about honoring all the heroes and people who were lost. That could be woven into a mosaic of other images that define the East Village like CBGBs, the Ukrainian, Jewish, Russian, Black, Latino and immigrants who built the neighborhood, Zoltan and Gem Spa, egg creams, The Beatniks, Punks ad Hippies, NYU, Loisida, Alphabet City, etc. Theres plenty of material to work with. It could be done like a quilt, a mosaic like Jm the Mosaic Man has done on many lampposts, or a map. Thanks for your reply and I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
Don't worry Nigel, those complaining were never going to be your customers in the first place. See you this weekend!
Good luck with your new place. I love gelato..will come by.
Thans to everyone for your supportive feedback. I wanted to apologise that the store is currently closed but thats why we have soft openings & training sessions - to iron our any problems. We are moving things around a little in the store, ready for our proper official opening (no more test runs), with full menu and all staff up to speed. I will post on this blog when I am 100% certain of the opening day and we will advertise in the area, but I hope you will all be able to make it as it will be a great opportunity to try our gelato for free. I look forward to meeting you all, Nigel.
For the first time ever I have to disagree with Giovanni. Painting over the 9/11 mural is symbolically a really bad move. The events of that day are still effecting the world to this day. Although it is not an "official" memorial that tourists gawk at and take selfies in front of for many of us who witnessed the towers burning and heard their crashing collapse from our East Village apartments this mural is one of the few remaining tribes left in the neighborhood. To Nigel, for many that have been victims of Icon Realty whose reputation you unfortunately did not know of I assume, renting that storefront is considered a bad move. Wiping out the 9/11 mural will not win you friends or customers.
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