Friday, September 10, 2021

Plywood comes down to reveal Xing Fu Tang on 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place

Workers removed the plywood yesterday from the northwest corner of Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place ... providing a FULL reveal of the new tenant, the Taiwan-based Xing Fu Tang, a bubble tea chain specializing in brown sugar boba... (thanks to Steven for the photos!)
No word on an opening date... they are currently hiring...
As noted, bubble tea is rather plentiful already along this corridor. Gong Cha, which describes itself as "one of the most recognized bubble tea brands around the world," recently opened an outpost at 27 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

Nothing has been able to stick in this corner space in recent years. Nobletree Coffee closed here in May 2019 after just five months in business. This storefront previously sat empty for three years — ever since DF Mavens closed in January 2016 ... after a Dec. 26, 2014 debut. (It took the Mavens 14 months to open the space.) Other past tenants include Eastside Bakery (.net?) and Roastown Coffee.

And the only business to last here in the past 30 years: the Gap, from 1988 to 2001.
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10 comments:

  1. Peter CuceSeptember 10, 2021 at 7:50 AM

    There is a branch of Xing Fu Tang on Main Street in Flushing that opened January 2020. It's highly regarded for the quality of their boba, which they make fresh in-store.

    ReplyDelete
  2. JAMESSeptember 10, 2021 at 8:14 AM

    Grieve, please stop the snark about the Gap. They gave me many moments of pure Bathroom relief when I needed it. I tip of the hat to them!

    ReplyDelete
  3. noble neolaniSeptember 10, 2021 at 9:31 AM

    Commercial spaces in the EV have devolved into two habit forming products alcohol and sugar.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousSeptember 10, 2021 at 12:09 PM

    I've never had bubble tea, and this store, despite its lovely reputation, will not change that!

    ReplyDelete
  5. RonnieSeptember 10, 2021 at 1:21 PM

    I remember very well the complete aghast the community had when a corporate entity like the Gap opened in the EV, and now when the neighborhood is all, as noble neolani has stated “alcohol and sugar”, the Gap doesn’t seem so abhorrent

    ReplyDelete
  6. LolaSeptember 10, 2021 at 2:01 PM

    There seems to be a will to transform that stretch of St Mark’s into a “Asia Town!” Just give the old St Mark’s and its glory

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousSeptember 10, 2021 at 2:56 PM

    Bubble Tea? Again? Sigh.

    BTW, can't wait for this comeback:

    "And to head this off at the pass in the comments, Twister does NOT serve anything in a hoof. So no FroHoHo™. (Frozen Hoboken Hoof.)"

    https://evgrieve.com/2013/08/new-business-now-open-on-second-avenue.html

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousSeptember 10, 2021 at 3:25 PM

    I welcome each new business just loathe most of the customers, that said good to see some plywood come down. man remembering the Gap hate but really miss the joy's of the St Marks Cinema..double features...triple features! midnight showings saw a lot of great films there

    ReplyDelete
  9. Peter CuceSeptember 12, 2021 at 9:50 AM

    @Lola The East Village is considered a new Chinatown/Asia Town these days, with a huge number of homegrown places (Ho Foods, Jell & Chill, Hunan Slurp etc.) in addition to the many international chains such as Meet Fresh, growing alongside the 20+ year concentration of Japanese businesses.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Urno TalbotSeptember 14, 2021 at 1:31 PM

    wasnt that just a new Verizon store or Fios, but it was there, what 2 years including covid 2020?

    ReplyDelete

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