Changes are afoot at 95 Avenue A, East Village restaurateur Ravi DeRossi's complex of eating and dining establishments in the corner space on Sixth Street.
No. 95 housed three businesses: Honey Bee's, Amor y Amargo and Mother of Pearl. However, according to materials on file with Community Board 3, the spaces will be converted to accommodate a larger Amor y Amargo.
DeRossi is on CB3's SLA virtual docket tonight for the following changes at No. 95:
• Honey Bee's, Amor y Amargo and Mother of Pearl Room (Cien Fuegos LLC), 95 Ave A (op/alt/change method of operation: change current concepts of Honeybee's, a vegan Texas barbeque whiskey bar, and Mother of Pearl, a vegan tiki bar, to Amor y Amargo, a bitters bar).
A rep for Derossi Global confirmed the restructuring, and confirmed that Mother of Pearl and Honey Bee's have closed.
The expanded Amor y Amargo operation will now also include a full food menu.
Amor y Amargo debuted in 2011 with just a handful of seats, and quickly became celebrated as the country's first bitters-based bar.
Mother of Pearl opened here in July 2015, replacing another DeRossi venture, Gin Palace. Honey Bee's opened in May 2019 in the space that was Cienfuegos for 10 years.
DeRossi is known for switching up concepts in his restaurants either after a successful run or more quickly if the space doesn't pan out. In this case, the DeRossi rep said that the restructuring was "in response to COVID-19 and the new world we’re entering."
And 95 Avenue A is not the only DeRossi restaurant on tonight's CB3 agenda: He's changing the menu at Night Music:
• Night Music (Derossi Asia LLC), 111 E 7th St (b/alt/change method of operation: from a vegan Indian restaurant to a vegan Mexican restaurant)
Night Music, on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue, opened last September.
At the beginning of the pandemic in NYC, Mother of Pearl distributed free school lunches during the week. DeRossi also distributed free vegan meals from Avant Garden on Seventh Street.
I miss Cienfuegos (never made it to Honey Bee) and had fun nights at Mother of Pearl. But I still see this as good news for the neighborhood -- Amor y Amargo is a world class bar. It's only flaw is that it's too popular -- it was always packed. This should help relieve some of that pressure and make it more comfortable. That'd also be a pre-requisite for indoor drinking int this new day and age. Good luck to them!
ReplyDeleteNooooo! This is tragic. Both HoneyBee's and Mother of Pearl were so unique and offered such delicious menus. This is tough to hear :(
ReplyDeleteThese themes change more than Cher changes her wardrobe!
ReplyDeleteSOOO very sad to lose HoneyBee's. It was utterly fabulous in every way...
ReplyDeleteUnfortunate but understandable; is there any near future where Amor y Amargo would be able have any more than 1 or 2 people inside? It had to expand to survive.
ReplyDeleteI loved Night Music's Indian menu - there was nothing like it anywhere else. I hope they don't completely remodel the interior too - it's truly one of a kind. I loved the direction they were going with it. Also just bring back Cienfuegos - another one of a kind place I had very fond memories.
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