There are now Schmuck wheatpaste posters on the plywood...
Reps for Miami-based bar owner Dan Binkiewicz appeared before CB3's SLA committee last November. Binkiewicz teamed up with bartenders Moe Aljaff and Juliette Laroui, late of Two Schmucks in Barcelona.
The World's 50 Best Restaurants site included Schmuck in its list of "11 bar openings to look forward to in 2024."
Following their departure from high-ranking Barcelona bar Two Schmucks in 2022, Moe Aljaff and Juliette Laroui have been roaming the world as cocktail nomads in search of a new home. After a plethora of guest shifts around the world, in late 2023, they announced their new permanent residence in New York's East Village, set to open in partnership with Dan Binkiewicz of Sweet Liberty Drinks in Miami.Since obtaining the keys to the venue, Aljaff and Laroui have been rebuilding the space from the ground up ... to create a cultural hub that extends beyond just a space for great cocktails (of which there will be many).
Schmuck will also offer Middle Eastern-style cuisine. (The CB3 questionnaire includes a sample menu.)
The space is said to open later this summer.
In the years since Banjara moved out in late 2013, the restaurants at 97 First Ave. have gone through multiple name changes/concepts, including, but not limited to, Figaro Villaggio, an Italian bar-restaurant that later changed its name to Figaro Cafe Bistro Bar & Grill.
They eventually gave up part of the space to Apna Masala.
In March 2015, Figaro Cafe Bistro Bar & Grill changed its name/concept to La Esquina Bar & Grill ... then the name evolved to La Esquina Burritos and Bar ... and eventually East Village Burritos & Bar. Then Spicewala Bar Indian Cuisine. And then Mancora moved here from across the street.
12 comments:
Dumbest name ever. Do they even know what a schmuck is? It comes from a Yiddish word that is a vulgar reference to a penis. Contemporary definitions are a foolish person. Yup. Yiu have to be a fool to call your business Schmuck.
regarding the name, this is just another idiot looking for shock value. nothing is shocking anymore. I’m bored
I collect old radios and hi-fi gear. Will the bar be like the picture? Truly would be my happy place!
Thanks for posting that CB3 form. I'd never seen one and found it interesting. I've no problem with the name Schmuck. It's memorable, and also means Jewels. A few years back, when a building was torn down on Eighth Avenue, it revealed signage of a bygone store named Young and Schmuck Cigars. I thought that was pretty descriptive. Although with an owner named Binkiewicz, Binkie's seems like a natural choice.
I live on the block and am dreading this. I really miss Banjara. They were a good neighbor.
Maybe someone will open places nearby named "schlemiel" and "shtup"...
Thank goodness we will finally have a cultural hub in the neighborhood. God bless these young Miamian cocktail nomads.
Seriously, who comes up with this junk?
For me it would be a toss up between "Schmucko" or "Plotsz."
"Schamatta" would work too and very fashion forward appropriate.
That seems like a terrible name, similar a short-lived steakhouse uptown called "The Bum Steer." People don't want to go to a place with a negative-sounding name.
So much for the SLA 500 foot rule that says there can't be 3 Licensed establishments within 500 feet of each other. This stretch of 1st ave has I think 5 in a row on the same side of the street, one after another.
I wish someone valued our neighborhood as something other than a cash cow for their "theme" bars. It's really sad.
sounds like it could end up being interesting? certainly better than a string of un-memorable restaurants morphing constantly from one to the other.
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