Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
The team behind Joyface is opening a new lounge-restaurant this week at 102 Avenue C between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.
HiLot is the name of the cozy and well-appointed space that will serve various drinks and shareable plates (the cold spinach dip in a pumpernickel bread bowl is said to be quite good).
The place is named for Joyface co-owner Jennifer Shorr’s uncle, a prominent figure in the San Fransisco Jewish gay liberation movement of the 1960s through the 80s. His drag name was Lottie, and his nickname was HiLot, short for HI LOTTIE!, which his friends would yell when he walked into a room.
The HiLot team includes (from left) Shorr, bartender Carter Wilsford and Joyface co-owner Brian Powell ...
HiLot takes over from the rather generic Avenue C Restaurant, which went dark in late 2019. Joyface, with the 1970s vintage decor on the SE corner of Avenue C and Seventh Street, opened in December 2018.
17 comments:
I wonder how many bars are in the East Village these days? My guess 30% of all storefronts are bars.
What a great looking space! Best of luck to them.
Beautiful space.
What a beautiful space. As someone who lives near the corner of Joyface, on 7th and C, I am dreading this. The obscene amount of noise and disrespect from many patrons on Friday and Saturday is insufferable including how many block the sidewalk where I am unable to gain access to my apartment building each week. I was a kid once. I get it. They wish to have fun. But at who's expense? This is a residential area where grown adults such as myself pay a lot of rent to live here.
Check out the 60s/70s groovy pink toilet and vanity. Can you dig it?
That's a really beautiful space, good luck to the team! I'm happy the hours of operation seem to be leaning into food more than bar/clubb-y spot. Joyface's design is really fun, little touches like the phone and waterbed put a smile on everyone's face when they first walk in the door. Keep the smiles coming on that stretch of Ave C!
That tub looks like trouble.
Better than Duane reade or Starbucks
Wow !! Looks gorgeous!!! Cannot wait to try
If the owners of Joyface are reading this, albeit I doubt they are, they need to dismantle their abandoned plywood shed on E 7th St! It's rotting away, filled with trash, only serving as a parking lot for motorcycles, as well as blocking proper drainage from the street into the storm drain on the corner.
I concur with 1:50 pm. My building faces the shed on 7th and C. It is an eyesore and hasn't been in use for a long time. People will randomly come in there, light a joint, listen to loud music, and socialize till late at night. What is the point? If Joyface has enough funds to open a new space, surely they can pay to have this shed dismantled.
I won the bet on this being the first comment. Easy one too.
Call 311 to report the shed as a unkept and a hazard. The city has a program now to force owners to remove them or removed abandoned ones from restaurants that closed, etc.
Hi! Brian here from joyface/hilot. Sorry for the delayed response - I’m not sure anyone will even see this since it’s been a few weeks but I’ve had Covid since Halloween. The commenters are correct we no longer need the 7th street seating area and are removing it next week. Took a few weeks to track down all the neighbors who decided to make it motorcycle parking and have them move them. I’d really love to spruce it up and find some off-label use that serves the community, but I don’t think I’d realistically be able to settle on a use the whole neighborhood could agree on, so down it comes! Thanks for the well wishes with hilot hope to see you all there.
Would have been catchier to just name it Lottie's.
The entire neighborhood is trash on the weekends. I still party like an Animal but not in the EV on weekends good god. I live a block from here myself. We used to be safe on Ave C ha not anymore.
Are you new in town?
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