On the CB3-SLA docket: A Pig & Butter sibling on Avenue B

Just a handful of applicants will appear before Community Board 3's SLA committee this evening. (See below for info on watching online.)

New Liquor License Applications 

• Pig & Butter Ave B (The SohoPig Collective LLC), 42 Ave B (op)

Pig & Butter, which serves breakfast-inspired dishes all day long from 134 Ludlow St., has plans for a sibling at 42 Avenue B between Third Street and Fourth Street.

Chef-owner Sherry Grimes, a graduate of the French Culinary Institute, will be serving comfort food and cocktails from the small space with six tables and a bar with nine seats.

The proposed hours: Wednesday (2-10 p.m.), Thursday (2-11 p.m.), Friday (2 p.m.-1.am.), Saturday (10 a.m.-2 a.m.), and Sunday (10 a.m.-10 p.m.) You can find the application here.

Looker, which served vegan bar food and cocktails, closed here early last year after nine months in business.

The Pig & Butter outpost would break up five consecutive storefronts that are for lease...

• Cantina Cubana Latin Food (Cantina Cubana LLC), 210 E 2nd St (aka 17 Ave B) (op)

As previously reported, Ricardo Arias and Patricia Valencia, the husband-and-wife owners of the now-closed Café Cortadito on Third Street near Avenue B, plan to open a similar concept here in the former home of the Cornerstone Cafe.

While there won't be a bar on the premises for patrons, Arias and Valencia are applying for a liquor license for their mojitos and other drink specials.

You can read the application here.

• Shiso (Shiso LLC), 214 E 9th St (op)

The owners of Moko on Second Avenue are behind Shiso, a high-end concept featuring a tasting menu of French and Japanese cuisine.

According to the questionnaire on file at the CB3 website, they plan on a daily service from 5-10 p.m. The space on Ninth Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue was previously the Dumpling Lab, which closed last fall after receiving a Michelin Bib Gourmand.

----------

Tonight's meeting starts at 6:30. Find the Zoom link at this link. 

A new home and name for Café Cortadito

Photo and reporting by Stacie Joy

Café Cortadito's new home is very close to its previous home.

Ricardo Arias and Patricia Valencia, the husband-and-wife owners of the Cuban restaurant, confirmed to EVG contributor Stacie Joy that they will be moving to the NE corner of Avenue B at Second Street (17 Avenue B) — the former Cornerstone Cafe.

In addition, Cafe Cortadito will be going as Cantina Cubana. They plan to be open six days a week, dark on Mondays with an 11 p.m. close on weekends. While there won't be a bar on the premises for patrons, Arias and Valencia will be applying for a liquor license in April for their mojitos and other drink specials. 

No word yet on an opening date, though renovations have started behind the papered-up front windows...

As previously reported, Café Cortadito closed 210 E. Third St., just east of Avenue B, at the end of January after 18 years in business. The landlord increased the rent from $8,000 to $15,000 monthly.

The Cornerstone Cafe closed in December 2021 after 10-plus years in business. In an Instagram post, the Cornerstone cited the ongoing pandemic and the city's related mandates and restrictions for the closure. 

A for-rent sign arrives at the former Café Cortadito as the curbside dining structure exits

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Workers yesterday removed the remains of the curbside dining structure from the now-closed Café Cortadito at 210 E. Third St., just east of Avenue B. 

The Cuban restaurant closed at the end of January after 18 years in business following a rent increase from $8,000 to $15,000 per month. 

Ricardo Arias and Patricia Valencia, the husband-and-wife owners, said they would be dismantling the curbside dining structure. Before workers hauled off the remains of the structure, the owners had donated some salvageable parts to the nearby community garden and given away remnants to patrons who requested a souvenir from the restaurant.

Meanwhile, a for-rent banner arrived on the gate... (perhaps cooling the rumors that next-door neighbor Poco would take over the space)...

The broker is also repping the other available storefront in the building — the former Solo Pizza, which closed last fall on the Avenue B side for unspecified reasons. (Allegedly a rent hike, per sources.) 

As for Café Cortadito, Arias and Valencia hope to relocate nearby.

Noted

As previously reported, a large rent hike forced the closure of Café Cortadito on Third Street just east of Avenue B. (The owners are hoping to reopen in a new space nearby.)

Meanwhile, someone left an In Memoriam behind on the front gate...

Block R.I.P. Cortadito but don't fret!! Coming soon.... BLANK ST COFFEE the hedge-fund sponsored Starbuck's in sheep's clothing where the coffee, atmosphere and philosophy is blah, blah, blah, contributing to the Death of the NYC Mom & Pop...

For starters, there isn't any truth to a Blank Street opening an outpost in this space.

Also, this is not the first time someone has dragged Blank Street, which has multiple EV locations, in a parting sign. (See this post.)

Blank Street, which some residents presume is a mom-and-pop enterprise, the brand raised $67 million in 2021 thanks to high-profile venture capital funds like General Catalyst and Tiger Global, the founders of Allbirds and Warby Parker, and real-estate titan Tishman Speyer, as The New York Times reported this past September.

Thanks to E3CD for the photo!

Packing up Café Cortadito

Café Cortadito has closed its doors at 210 E. Third St., just east of Avenue B, after service this past Saturday. 

As we first reported, Ricardo Arias and Patricia Valencia, the husband-and-wife owners of the popular Cuban restaurant, were facing a rent hike from $8,000 to $15,000 per month. 

On Monday, EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by to find the owners packing up the space. 

On the positive side, they have identified a new location not too far away... though the owners haven't signed a lease just yet. Stay tuned.

Rent hike forcing Café Cortadito to close on 3rd Street

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

After 18 years in business, Café Cortadito (210 E. Third St., just east of Avenue B) is closing at the end of the month. 

Ricardo Arias and Patricia Valencia, the husband-and-wife owners of the popular Cuban restaurant, say they can't afford the landlord's rent hike from $8,000 to $15,000 a month. The last day is this coming Saturday, Jan. 28. (There was also an issue with a large water bill passed along by the landlord during the pandemic. The matter ended up in court, and a judge sided with the landlord.)

The Cortadito team also said that they would be dismantling the curbside dining structure and donating salvageable parts to the nearby community garden and to people who requested a souvenir from the restaurant...

On the positive side, the owners said they would like to stay local and are hoping to relocate elsewhere in the neighborhood — they've already looked at a few available spaces on Second Avenue. 

As for what's next for this space, there's speculation that corner tenant Poco may take over this lease.