Openings: Burgerhead on 2nd Avenue

Burgerhead debuted over the weekend at 145 Second Ave. on the NW corner of Ninth Street. 

This is the second NYC outpost for the quick-serve joint serving charbroiled burgers and beef tallow fries. The menu includes hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, shakes and Mexican Coca-Cola. (There is a meatless "impossible charburger" available, too.) 

Current posted hours are 5-11 p.m., with a 1 a.m. close on Fridays and Saturdays. 

Signage arrived here on Dec. 2, 2024, and there wasn't much activity here earlier in the year. 

A fast-casual restaurant, Balkan StrEAT, was in the works for the corner space. However, the owners closed their Sixth Avenue outpost and pivoted to the burger biz. (Burgerhead took over the former Balkan StrEAT space at 353 Sixth Ave.)

This Second Avenue address was also home to a Starbucks until April 2019. 

And as some long-time residents will recall ... for 37 years the space was the Orchidia, a Ukrainian-Italian restaurant that closed in 1984 after the landlord raised the rent from $950 to $5,000. 

The restaurant's closing was a flashpoint in the early 1980s gentrification of the East Village. 

"Gentrify, they say that's a good thing," [Orchidia owner] Maria Pidhorodecky told the Times in a December 1983 article titled New Prosperity Brings Discord to the East Village. "To me, 'gentrify' means losing the neighborhood, the restaurant, and the feeling we have of being like family."

EVG Etc.: Updates on A10 Kitchen, Burgerhead, Kikoo Sushi, Cafe Skye

A tipster tells us that A10 Kitchen reopened last night. New owners took over the bistro on Avenue A between 10th Street and 11th Street... and closed for renovations for a few weeks.

A10 first opened in the fall of 2020.

Also from the EVG tipline: We're told that the Burgerhead outpost on the NW corner of Second Avenue and Ninth Street will be opening around Labor Day. 

Signage was first spotted last December, and there wasn't a lot of activity here earlier in the year. 

This will be the second Manhattan spot for the brand that sells burgers, chili dogs, fried chicken sandwiches, etc.

A for-lease sign arrived yesterday for a retail space on the lower level of 325 E. 10th St. 

The listing via Meridian Capital Group states it is "perfect for any dry use" here between Avenue A and Avenue B. So you'll need to look elsewhere to open an illegal after-hours joint!

Steven points out that Kikoo Sushi on First Avenue between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street is closed for a "glow up" (aka renovations). Per the signage, they'll reopen in October.

EVG reader Brian Carroll shared the above photo of 520 E. 14th St. 

The owners of Cafe Skye on Clinton Street are seeking a beer-wine license (application here) for the small space between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

They are among just a handful of applicants on a light docket for Community Board 3's SLA committee meeting tonight. Details here. 

No. 520 was previously Dua Kafe.

Signage alert: Burgerhead on 2nd Avenue

Photo by Steven

Signage for Burgerhead went up Monday on the NW corner of Second Avenue and Ninth Street. 

This will be the second Manhattan spot for the brand that sells burgers, chili dogs, fried chicken sandwiches, burgers, etc. (Menu here.)

A fast-casual restaurant, Balkan StrEAT, was in the works for the corner space. However, the owners closed their Sixth Avenue outpost and pivoted to the burger biz. (Burgerhead took over the former Balkan StrEAT space at 353 Sixth Ave.

This Second Avenue address was also home to a Starbucks until April 2019.