Thursday, September 14, 2023

Openings: Motel No Tell on Avenue A

Motel No Tell now has three weekends under its belt here at 210 Avenue A at 13th Street.

The retro-y bar-restaurant serves a variety of pizza and calzones ... not to mention a weekday happy hour from 4-7 p.m.
Our previous post here has more about the ownership and the corner space's recent bar history.

And because people keep bringing this up: No-Tell Motel was a scene-y bar via Deb Parker at 167 Avenue A (now Mama Fina's) between 10th Street and 11th Street that closed in the early 1990s. 

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

The pizza prices look reasonable but a $17 calzone?!

Anonymous said...

Just what our neighborhood DOESN'T need, another frat party "retro-y bar-restaurant". Please, make it stop.

Anonymous said...

Looks different with money invested so that it’s additive to the space. People need to stop complaining if they aren’t opening something themselves

Anonymous said...

This place looks pretty cool. Didn’t realize they had food, so excited to give it a shot. I hear people bitching, but I’m happy to walk by a place with some character that doesn’t smell of rotting spilled beer. And I haven’t yet seen anything out of hand here.

Anonymous said...

It ain’t stopping. So go ahead and move if it’s so unbearable for you.

MrNiceGuy said...

I'd much prefer the Motel No Tell instead of having an empty street corner (which has been a bit dodgy in recent years). Good luck to them, I'm always down to try new pizza, hopefully it's solid!

Anonymous said...

Couldn’t agree more

EV Signage + Font Troll said...

It's real pretty signage—your font troll loves the 80s! It's probably too early to tell if this bar will contribute to the ever-ruination of the Upper East Village, but may I remind everyone that we lived through Superdive. At least someone invested some money in this place (as 10:39 said).

Still, "Motel No Tell" makes no sense, making the correctly named 1990s bar superior. :p

Anonymous said...

"Someone invested" trolls a trolling.....okay dudes......

Anonymous said...

What is with the endless "rather than an empty" store? Good lord oh sweet pickles.....I guess they invest and like pretty pix. Need to read some books though....

EV Signage + Font Troll said...

12:20/12:23, the signage troll is a nondrinker and vegan who has no connection to/interest in this place or its offerings. But I have to look at its exterior every day, and I troll signage. It's really not difficult to understand, but perhaps I'm expecting too much from a person who assumes we're all dudes.

Anonymous said...

First, 12:23pm's post makes zero sense. Zero. Second, they have an employee standing out front pretty much at all times to make sure things aren't getting out of hand and Three, the west side of 13th and A is a complete train wreck with encampments as of this morning so yes, better this than that. Back afta this.

Anonymous said...

went there on first weekend shockingly the pizza is actually very good

Anonymous said...

They went to the SLA committee as an Irish pub-type restaurant a while ago. They were denied so they went straight to the state. They had issues there. They apparently got approval and in the meantime decided to switch up the model and go with a bar flavor. Not even close to Irish. Definitely underhanded.

Anonymous said...

@4:07pm how have you gone from apparently to definitely in the space of one sentence?

Edmund J Dunn said...

"So go ahead and move if it’s so unbearable for you."

The "move to" line. So tired of this rube line that adds nothing to the constructive conversion. 4.07 PM , as you noted not a good way to come into the hood. Anyway, went in the other day and had a Guinness and it was a good pour. Well my bartender and his customer were right off the boat. Good sign, only one small TV at the entrance. But that's the way Percy's opened and eventually over the years they went the whole Bro/Sports bar MO with them designating themselves as the Missouri Tigers NYC home bar so we shall see.

Anonymous said...

You are right. I wish they would remain abandoned havens for the drug use around 14th and A. Gosh the EV is going down hill with all these functioning businesses!

Anonymous said...

I already walk by it and not even notice it. like its been there forever. weird dat.

Anonymous said...

There's a really weird and mean spirited "business" streak in some of these comments--when it is not a matter of more or less businesses, but rather of what kind. There's a real quality of life debate to be had here--what we want and need are businesses that serve those who live in the neighborhood, not simply to line the pockets of investors. Its a sad reality that bit by bit the neighborhood has been eroded of businesses that have character reflecting the area and our history, as opposed to those hoping to cash-in by appealing to "destination party-goers".

Anonymous said...

It’s another liquor license on a block that already has 6- it’s over saturated and in no way improves the neighborhood

Anonymous said...

incredible the amount of hate coming from the older generation in this neighborhood...it seems they would rather see a junkie than a college student walking down the street...people act as if NYU opened last year...

Anonymous said...

I'd rather see a junkie than a pack of drunk 20 somethings screaming and yelling as they stumble up and down Avenue A. It's nothing about older vs younger but instead about respect and how you treat your neighbors and the neighborhood you live in.