El Churro for Allen and Houston?

Renovations continue at 200 Allen St., that thin strip of a storefront on the SE corner of Houston. 

Back in February, workers at the scene told EVG contributor Stacie Joy that a cafe-coffee shop was in the works for the space, though they didn't have the business name. 

Well, based on recent façade additions, 200 Allen St. Watchers© figure the business name will be El Churro...

We'll see!

As for the past, Eastanbul Gyro Kebab and Smyrna Bakery closed here last fall. Empire Gyro, with a 24/7 schedule, opened here in February 2019 ... with the conversion to Eastanbul (and Smyrna) in the summer of 2020. The space was previously Sugar Cafe for 10 years. 

And because someone will mention it! Economy Foam (and later, & Futon) anchored the corner from 1937 to 2003.

[Updated] Show your support for Ukraine on this Lower East Side storefront

Yesterday we mentioned that workers painted the plywood on the under-renovation storefront at 200 Allen St. at Houston the colors of the Ukrainian flag. 

As EVG correspondent Stacie Joy notes, there are now markers attached to the plywood for passersby to leave messages of support for the besieged country...

Updated 7:30 p.m.

A reader shared these photos from today... the space is filling up with messages...

Plywood solidarity

This morning, on the SE corner of Houston and Allen, a worker painted the plywood on the under-renovation storefront the colors of the Ukrainian flag. 

As noted back on Monday, a coffee chop-cafe is in the works for this sliver of a space.

A cafe-coffee shop in the works for Houston and Allen

Photos by Stacie Joy

Renovations continue behind the plywood at 200 Allen St., that thin strip of a storefront on the SE corner of Houston...

Workers at the scene told EVG contributor Stacie Joy that a cafe-coffee shop was in the works for the space, though they didn't have the name of the business...

Eastanbul Gyro Kebab and Smyrna Bakery closed here last fall. Empire Gyro, with a 24/7 schedule, opened here in February 2019 ... with the conversion to Eastanbul (and Smyrna) in the summer of 2020. The space was previously Sugar Cafe for 10 years. 

And once upon a time! Economy Foam (and later, & Futon) anchored the corner from 1937 to 2003...

'Mediterranean fusion' for the former Sugar Cafe on Houston and Allen

[Photos from Aug. 14]

The Times has more details in its real-estate transactions about the new venture coming to 200 Allen St. at East Houston, where workers have been renovating the space since the late summer.

Per the Times:

A Mediterranean fusion casual restaurant, to feature soups, salads, kebabs and shawarma, has signed a 10-year lease for a 500-square-foot corner space ... A city sidewalk permit for a glass-enclosed space would add another 500 square feet. (The former tenant, Sugar Cafe, had such a permit in place over the years.)

The tenant is listed as OYA, with principals Orhan Albayrak and Yigit Ozcelik.



No word on the restaurant's name in the Times piece. "Mediterranean fusion" sounds pretty fancy. BoweryBoogie heard it was going to be called a less-fancy sounding Empire Gyro Kebab.

The annual rent on the space, which includes a 1,000-square-foot basement, is $180,000 ($15k a month), per the Times.

The Sugar Cafe closed here in February 2017 after 10-plus years in business. A rent increase — perhaps as much as double the previous ask — was reportedly behind the closing.