Extra Place may not be such a quiet place too much longer

Over the years, Momofuku Ko has been the only restaurant to have any success in Extra Place, the pedestrian walkway off First Street between the Bowery and Second Avenue. 

Momofuku Ko closed last November, though the company kept the space as a ghost kitchen (and one of two ghost kitchens back here). The other tenant is the Japanese housewares boutique Nalata Nalata in the corner space at First Street. 

So, ICYMI: Last week, the Times reported that Paul Carmichael, Momofuku's Australia-based chef, will open a new restaurant in the former Ko space focusing on Caribbean cuisine

Ko, which started on First Avenue in 2008, relocated to Extra Place in November 2014 (it increased its EP footprint in 2017).

Over the years, Extra Place, the former alley behind CBGB, has seen a handful of restaurants and businesses come and go, such as Red Hook Lobster Pound, Heidi and the cleverly named Extra Place. (Some music history: Danny Fields photographed the Ramones for their third album, Rocket to Russia, along here in 1977.) 

In January 2007, reps for Avalon Bowery Place unveiled plans to make Extra Place a unique destination, "a slice of the Left Bank, a pedestrian mall lined with interesting boutiques and cafes."

Lately, it has been a pretty quiet place, with just a few local residents using the walkway to exercise their dogs in the evenings.