Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
After 10-plus years at 250 E. Houston St. between Avenue A and Avenue B, East Houston Street Wine & Liquor is moving to a larger storefront — directly across the street.
On Monday evening, I stopped by the current shop, which will likely close today, and talked with General Manager Leo Kiteishvili (below left) and Assistant Manager Ryan Tejada. (Store owner Rhea Duggal was not in.)
"We are leaving the East Village for officially the Lower East Side — right across the street," Kiteishvili said.
The new shop at 253 East Houston St. (the former Participant Inc. performance venue, which relocated to Elizabeth Street) is expected to be ready today...
The space is "bigger, brighter, with lots of storage," Kiteishvili said.
The new shop will have tastings, educational sessions and events.
"This is a very welcoming neighborhood," Kiteishvili said. "We've had tremendous growth here."
The lease at East Houston Street Wine & Liquor is up in September, and they hope to sublet the space "to an artist, a gallery or a pop-up shop" for the next few months.
By the way, the lifesize cardboard cutouts seen around the store of George Clooney, the Rock, Kendall Jenner, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, etc., will also be making the move...
You can follow East Houston Street Wine & Liquor on Instagram here.
I found out they moved a few moments ago—I think I was their first customer in the new space lol. I blanked out that this used to be Lia's gallery. I hope they preserve that beautiful, patina-ed old wall in the back.
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