Building issues temporarily KOs HAGS on 1st Avenue

Photos by Steven

Two-plus months after opening at 163 First Ave., HAGS has temporarily closed due to some issues in the building between 10th Street and 11th Street. 

Owners Telly Justice and Camille Lindsley explained the situation in an Instagram post from Friday: 

We're so grateful for the outpouring of love and support we’ve received in the short time since HAGS opened its doors. Our team and our guests truly mean the world to us. 

Because it's in our nature to be as transparent as humanly possible, we must share the sad news that due to long-standing inherited, unsafe structural damage and plumbing issues in our building, we are temporarily closing HAGS until further notice. Our team and our guests' safety is our utmost priority, so we'll be working with the support of our new landlord to rebuild what needs fixing as quickly as possible. Send us speedy vibes! 

HAGS, described as a restaurant "for Queers and everyone else," opened on July 20 with a variety of tasting menus, including a "pay what you can" option on Sundays. 

You can follow the HAGS Instagram account for updates.

The address is notable to some food aficionados for being where David Chang's Momofuku empire got its start .... first as the home of Noodle Bar (2004) before it moved a few storefronts away... later becoming Momofuku Ko for six years (2008-2014), which moved to a larger space on Extra Place ... and then the first outpost of his Fuku fried chicken sandwich chain (2015-2018).

The retail space had been vacant since Fuku closed in the spring of 2018.