Monday, May 18, 2026

The 3rd Avenue outpost of the Bean has closed

Photos by Stacie Joy 
H/T William Klayer 

Several EVG readers were surprised to find the Third Avenue outpost of the Bean closed for good this past Friday morning. 

Closure notices directed patrons to visit the Bean locations on Second Avenue and Third Street, or on Broadway and Ninth Street. 

There was also an equipment auction here on Saturday...
This branch at 31 Third Ave. at Stuyvesant Street opened in September 2017... taking over the space from St. Mark's Bookshop, which moved out in 2014 after struggling to stay in business here. 

At one point, the coffee shop/cafe had five NYC locations.

13 comments:

bill said...

Someone at their 2nd Avenue location said they had a big rent increase.

#DONTEVERCALLMEBRO said...

"Someone at their 2nd Avenue location said they had a big rent increase."

And the The Small Business Jobs Survival Act (SBJSA) was never given a full vote by the NYC Council. And to those REBNY trolls getting ready to pouce, the SBJSA is not commercial rent control.

"1. The Small Business Jobs Survival Act (SBJSA)

What it does: This long-standing City Council proposal does not strictly cap rent, but it forces landlords to undergo binding arbitration if they and the tenant cannot agree on renewal terms. It also guarantees qualifying small business tenants the right to a 10-year lease extension.

Status: It remains in the City Council’s Committee on Small Business, pending the necessary majority of co-sponsors to move to a vote."

Anonymous said...

Seems like they’ve been emptying out the block on that side of the triangle for years; I suspect someone must have a plan for it — maybe another cooper union tower or large condo construction?

Anonymous said...

Well that sucks. They were overpriced but they had a lot of seats.

Carol from East 5th Street said...

REBNY probably has a team of lobbyists that are assigned full time to the City Council.. Keeping this proposal in limbo has REBNY stamped all over it,

------m said...

yes - contact your councilmember and tell that person to push jbjsa to a VOTE!!!

Anonymous said...

I don't think rent is an issue - there are many vacant stores around and landlords want to get them rented. The comment above about the rent being the cause of the empty store was speculation and not fair to put it on the landlord when facts are not known. If you notice, there are many coffee shops around - so it may simply be competition. It could be higher minimum wage or a number of other factors, such as NY becoming more and more business unfriendly. To always blame "the Landlord for charging too much rent" when a store becomes vacant is not very thoughtful and unfair to landlords that are trying to rent their vacant stores. The problem with vacant stores and high residential rents is much more complicated than simply "its the Landlord's fault". To solve these problems we need to stop the rhetoric and think more intelligently on what the issues are and how to solve them.

Shadowwhispers said...

Maybe a TJ Max to match the Sephora.

Anonymous said...

“The comment above about the rent being the cause of the empty store was speculation and not fair to put it on the landlord when facts are not known.”

Yes somewhat agree. I’ve been going to this Bean location since it opened. Liked the big space to work out of and hang. Early on it was very busy but over the past year it’s been virtually empty in the afternoons. Had wondered how they sustain the business. Sadly they couldn’t. Will definitely be missed.

Annie said...

Very sad. No one can survive in this economic climate.

Anonymous said...

maybe they'll bring back the $4 bukowski books at st marks bookshop that used to be here

#DONTEVERCALLMEBRO said...

"The problem with vacant stores and high residential rents is much more complicated than simply "its the Landlord's fault". To solve these problems we need to stop the rhetoric and think more intelligently on what the issues are and how to solve them."

So what's your take on the SBJSA? Yes? No?

Anonymous said...

Yeah this is happening too often for a reason. Tent is ridiculous. And if social media doesn’t hype you up for a few months you’re essentially cooked in 2026. Really unfortunate.