Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Poetica Coffee is set to officially open next Monday, April 24, on the SW corner of Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place (don't be surprised if the doors open a few days earlier for a sneak preview).
Owner Parviz Mukhamadkulov and his two-and-a-half-year-old son Noor invited me inside to look at the latest location for the Brooklyn-based coffee shop...
As previously reported, Parviz said he was unaware of the previous tenant (there wasn't any mention of the last tenant in the marketing materials) when he signed the lease. Since then, he has studied up on Gem Spa and seemed to be in awe of its long history.
Parviz said he's contacted Parul several times and will try again when they open. His offer to sell Gem Spa merchandise for the family remains open. And he's currently working on selling a Gem Spa-inspired egg cream, which he admitted is a challenge to perfect. He said that he wanted to honor the location's legacy.
Poetica currently has a few photos of Gem Spa on display...
Follow Poetica Coffee on Instagram for updates.
36 comments:
Best of luck. We'll be there on the first day for the Uzbek pierogies.
If he doesn’t have internet and bans laptops he might get enough turnover to survive. If not it will just turn into a coffice… a coffee office.
and . . . this is a place that will be open early for coffee. Not to many places like that in the EV !
He didn't know about the previous tenant but surely he knew the location before he signed his lease, no? People Google who they go on Tinder dates with, did this guy really not Google the location and immediately find out about Gem Spa? Amazing the kind of aloofness you can have and get to run several businesses.
Love the look and the 7am open. If they have good coffee/food it won't matter if tons of people are working there. Plenty of shops nearby are doing great with people at laptops all day long.
@8:25
The marketing materials (linked to in the post) didn't mention the previous tenant and listed the storefront as 36 St. Mark's Place.
Gem Spa's address was 131 Second Ave.
This will likely be a welcome business to those heading for the trains early in the morning. The space looks beautiful and they sound like nice people. I wish them well.
Wow! So pleasantly surprised by the renovation! Looking forward to opening day!
Beautiful!
Oh who cares, that’s not his problem. Stop whining.
Looks great! Time to move on from the nostalgia of the claustrophobic Gem Spa.
Looks lovely. Happy to have this on my block. I'll be there looking for a good coffee and a quiet place to read.
@10:44am: "the nostalgia of claustrophobic Gem Spa" - honey, if you think Gem Spa was "claustrophobic" you must be a new arrival to NYC. Gem Spa had plenty of space and used every square inch of it!
Further, if you can't see the value of Gem Spa (and why it's missed), I guess you don't think much of Ray's Candy Store either.
I believe he owns 10 or 11 other successful coffee locations. Seems like he knows what he is doing. In fact, smart of him, because that neighborhood does really need a new spot where people will be welcomed to work, read, write on their laptops and gadgets, instead of being rushed out.
So very happy to see the corner of St Marks Place and 2nd Ave get a second life! The corner has been in bad shape for a while now, and while it’s sad to see that Gem Spa is gone, I am glad to know that the corner won’t be the wreck that was left behind by Gem Spa anymore. Best of luck!
Thank you for saying it @11:47. Absolutely has to be a new arrival with that snarky comment, with no knowledge or respect for community or history. Obviously not used to multifunctional old school places that have character and don't look like they could be in a mall anywhere.
He might have seen the name Gem Spa and didn't think much about it.
Gem is ancient history, it was just another news stand in its last years, stop romanticize it.
So many assumptions based on that person's 3 words comment... I could've told you what assumptions your comment ignites...
Good luck to him. Looks like a very good guy with a sweet little son for him to take care of!
This place looks gorgeous. As much as I miss Gem Spa in it’s later years it was pretty crummy, not like the good old days when we still read magazines in the back of the store and it had a more homey atmosphere. I’m glad it has a new tenant who has made the space even more homey and usable than before.
Another coffee shop to add to the other many coffee shops in the LES. Can't wait...
Gem Spa is in the rear view mirror. We should move on and wish this nice man the very best in his new venture. It will be a wonderful addition to our neighborhood.
Sounds like @10:44 isn’t happy about the pushback to their ignorant comment and is trying to play it off like they’re someone else
As long as they sell egg creams, I'm good.
@4:48pm: "it was just another news stand in its last years, stop romanticize it."
Yup, you're definitely not from here.
Meanwhile, the rest of us continue to remember & respect Gem Spa for all it meant in this area for so many *decades*, while still wishing the new shop all the best, b/c we have the ability, as it's said, to hold two different ideas in our minds at the same time.
Wow that’s is amazing news 📰 wish will be good place to have a coffee☕️ in the morning ) Welcome to East Village Family . Wish you good luck and friendly customers 😇 And thanks for not stopping to sell egg creams👌 always loved them!
Sometimes usually full length glass just looks bad. This is then.
Gem Spa in the last years wasn't just its history & legacy - which it had in spades & in every perfectly filled out inch. It was Parul, and her passion for her father's business & the community he & the family nurtured for so long. Even in the last few months, you'd find all walks of life at Parul's counter. She is amazing - /AND/ Poetica seems like a wonderful, local spot with a new family at the helm. I wish them the very best & hope to see the Gem Spa merch up soon! <3
Why, looks like some have their panties in a twist about my comment. I’m 57, been living in the LES/EV since 1990 and went to Gem Spa maybe dozens of times. They sold magazines and gum. Get over it.
Since Gem Spa is gone regardless (RIP), people should be DELIGHTED that an attractive coffee shop has moved in here. Have you not noticed the likely alternatives these days???
Seems a hard working guy trying to do business in the here and now... most people lack the time and energy to obsess on the obscure histories of retail storefronts.
The Gem Spa obsessives are like a cult!
By the end - Gem Spa had no cigarettes, no lottery, no magazines and no newspapers - not even mentioning the loss of 24/7 (Veselka, I'm looking at you too). That would've been a herculean task to run a profitable business on fedoras, sunglasses, Juuls and egg creams. They had a hell of run but you can't run anymore when both your feet are cut off. I wish the Patel family well and it was noble what the daughter tried.
That being said - I wish this gent well in his endeavor. Seems like a good guy and bonus points for being Uzbek (maybe we can chat in Russian). I'm happy to see that corner rented out and more coffee is always welcome.
Gem Spa died a long, slow, drawn out, painful death. Let the memories of the 80s stay in the past and let this guy give his coffee shop a shot. If it's un-needed or un-wanted the city will eat him up soon enough.
Another bullshit "expensive coffee" cavernous hangout.Nothing original opens up anymore, Suddenly Starbucks looks original compared to these BS places.
I'll romanticize whatever I want. Stop telling people how to feel about it
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