EVG photo from early 2022
Renovations are taking inside the former coffee shop at 442 E. 14th St., just west of Avenue A. Two EVG readers/tipsters reported that workers at the scene said the incoming tenant is — Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen.
Haven't received any other confirmation of this at the moment. (And if this is true, hopefully the restaurant will have a better exhaust system than the Wing Stop several storefronts away.)
This would also make the second EV Popeyes: an outpost opened in October 2020 at 39 First Ave. between Second Street and Third Street.
No. 442 was previously the Lower East Side Coffee Shop, which closed here after 13 years in February 2021. Next door, New Herbal World, which offered a variety of herbs, teas and tonics as well as acupuncture, moved to Lafayette Street in September 2019.
It was a tough time for all the businesses on this corner in recent years. For nearly three years, this side of 14th Street was an active construction zone for L-train repairs and Avenue A entrance construction ... with various trucks, drill rigs, pile drivers, compressors and generators.
Several businesses were forced to shut down due to limited access to their storefronts. Outside the now-shuttered Dion and the Coffee Shop, customer access included only 28 inches of sidewalk space — not big enough for a wheelchair in spots.
Took a peak inside the other day. They have knocked down the wall and Popeyes is taking over that space* as well. This is good news since having both of those storefronts as vacant caused illegal peddler and homeless encampment issues in front of them.
ReplyDelete*New Herbal World
sadly an expected development on E "Chain" street.
ReplyDeleteBut they won't sell booze
DeleteI miss not having a place to stop for a cup of tea and an English Muffin!
DeleteREBNY is going to turn this place into franchise-chain alley. I can hear them just licking their lips for higher rents on blocks of empty store fronts that have been that way for months/years.
ReplyDeleteOh crap, there goes my diet.
ReplyDeleteThey should just set up a Narcan station right there, to save the cops time running in and out of the Panda Express, McD's, and now Popeye's bathrooms.
ReplyDeleteWasn't there a Popeye's just down the block on Ave A long ago? Or was that 1st Ave? Either way, there was one in this immediate area before.
ReplyDeleteMight you be remembering Kennedy Fried Chicken? (They had great ice cream!)
Delete"Wasn't there a Popeye's just down the block on Ave A long ago? Or was that 1st Ave?"
ReplyDelete1st Ave and 13th Street as I recall.
Papa John’s?
DeleteI love Popeyes chicken, but the last time I had their biscuits they were terrible. That was at their location on 1st avenue by 3rd street. Years ago, when I used to get their biscuits in midtown, they were fluffy & moist. But my most recent at 1st avenue they were dense and dry. Maybe it was just that batch. Have to try again.
ReplyDeleteAny takers for the vertical coffee shop sign?
ReplyDeleteThis reminded me to have lunch at Bobwhite Counter today. Thanks Grieve!
ReplyDeleteThere was a Kennedy Fried Chicken for many years on 14th between A and B, I don't ever recall a Popeye's in the area.
ReplyDeleteI don't know who else might remember this, but there was quite a scandal with the Times Square Popeye's in the early 1980s; their sign during the day showed an image of Popeye as the white cartoon character we all knew, but for some reason, when they turned on the sign at night, Popeye's "skin" turned very dark brown. It was in the papers and everything; I went up to see if it was true, and damn, it was. They took that sign down not long after, and I still can't figure out how they did that.
One of the very last diners leaves us. There are now almost none in our neighborhood. That’s a real loss.
ReplyDeleteNothing against Popeyes, they’re the best of the fried chicken chains. But the loss of two unique mom and pop shops for a chain of any kind is regrettable. Especially the diner. They had actually freshly made food. An elderly woman in my building used to go in there for a coffee and pastry. Now the only thing she can walk to is the McDonalds. Very sad.
ReplyDeleteA Popeye's on Ave.A and 14th Street not a good idea. That place is terrible.
ReplyDelete