Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Poco, the longtime brunch hotspot and bar on the SE corner of Avenue B and Third Street, will close next month after 16 years in business.
Owner Sara Grizzle (pictured below) confirmed the news, telling EVG that after more than a decade and a half in the East Village, "it's time."
She plans to relocate to Cape Cod, where she also owns another restaurant (currently closed for the season), and said the decision to move on feels right.
The last day for Poco will be on or before Nov. 23. Grizzle said there may be a closing party and other celebrations before the restaurant shutters for good.
Poco, which opened in 2009, built a devoted following for its boozy weekend brunches and lively crowds that often spilled onto the corner of 3rd and B.
No word yet on what's next for the space.
4 comments:
Poco will be missed!
Never went here but it was nice to always have a lively place during the day that was quiet at night. Bet it becomes the opposite now!
Maybe carnitas Ramirez will take over the space?
Mixed emotions here. As per the various past threads at this blog, they were not exactly good neighbors:
"CB3 voted to deny the renewal of a sidewalk cafe permit for Poco, who advertises having a "legendary boozy brunch," in December 2015. Neighbors have described Poco as being a "horror show," particularly during the brunch hours."
"CB3 recommended to deny Poco's liquor license renewal back in July. You can find the minutes of the meeting here.
From those minutes:
Community Board 3 has now received complaints from residents from April of 2014 through July of 2015, about the failure of the business to oversee the sidewalk, unruly drunk patrons from the business blocking the sidewalk, excessive noise from patrons and music emanating from the sidewalk café, which has an open façade, all you can drink brunch specials, the sidewalk café operating past its permitted time of 10:00 P.M., the service of alcohol at the sidewalk café after its permitted closing time and the café taking up too much of the sidewalk;
...and, in May of 2015, the Department of Consumer Affairs issued two (2) violations against this business for its sidewalk café exceeding its permitted footprint on the sidewalk and having ten (10) too many tables when it was permitted for ten (10) tables and twenty (20) seats with a closing time of 10:00 P.M. every day; and, this business has received eight (8) 311 commercial noise complaints between April 13, 2014 and June 25, 2015, between 3:30 P.M. and 1:00 A.M., six (6) of which resulted in police reporting that they took action to correct a nonprime ..."
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