And now the space is on the market. Here's the Streeteasy listing via No Fee Rentals:
BRAND NEW TRIPLEX APARTMENT located on a tree lined street in the heart of the East Village, steps to TOMPKINS SQUARE PARK. This gut renovated 3 bedroom convertible 5 apartment features a large kitchen with breakfast bar, dishwasher and microwave, two spacious bedrooms and a full bath on the main level, a large bedroom and full bath on the upper level, and a large living room and/or bedrooms with an additional half bath on the lower level.
We're noting all this for a few reasons. For starters, the space used to be Cafe Gigi, which closed in, what, the summer of 2008?
It was a pleasant enough place. We don't recall liking the food. But I was always a sucker for thrift-store interiors that are really out of fashion these days (apparently).
Also, we can't recall too many recent examples of a bar-cafe that became residential ... rather than the other way around... can you think of any from just the last few years?
[Cafe Gigi photos by Photo by Youngna Park via New York magazine]
