Monday, December 19, 2022

Storefront renovations and reveals on 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place

Many readers pointed out the storefront renovations underway now at 132 Second Ave. at the SW corner of St. Mark's Place (top photo via Steven; shot below by Derek Berg from Friday)...
As EVG contributor Stacie Joy first reported on Oct. 3, an outpost of the Brooklyn-based Poetica Coffee will be opening here in the months ahead. This will be the second Manhattan location for the brand, which has seven spots in Brooklyn.

And on Friday, owner Parviz Mukhamadkulov sent us this photo of some local music ephemera that was uncovered on one of the storefront pillars... a band flyer for a show on May 7, 1974, at the long-defunct Brandy's II on the Upper East Side. (Brandy's Piano Bar is still there.)

Not sure who these lads are at the moment... the band's name is MIA here...
The retail space was the longtime home of Gem Spa, the iconic newsstand-candy shop. Gem Spa officially closed in May 2020 amid ongoing financial challenges worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mukhamadkulov previously told us that he would honor the memory of the decades-spanning former occupant in this renovated space. 

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

oh god i'm going to waste so much time looking for this band today

Anonymous said...

Not nearly as fun or exciting, but some nice brickwork arches have been uncovered during what looks like building work on the southwest corner of Ave C and 12th St.

Anonymous said...

Powerhouse Rock n roll ! Love it

XTC said...

!974, when Glam Rock ruled the world. Two shows at 8 and 11 pm was normal back in the day.

Exterminator said...

1:23 pm, speaking of Glam Rock, Gary Glitter is soon
to be released from prison.