[Updated] Discovery Wines opens today on Avenue B

Back in the late spring, Discovery Wine moved away from its home on Avenue A ... one of the businesses displaced with the arrival of Union Market... Discovery didn't travel too far — just to the southwest corner of Avenue B and Second Street.

According to the Discovery Wines site, the store will open today. (Updated, per a Discovery tweet — they'll open at 5.)

And this closes the chapter on 16 Avenue B...Previously, two different restaurant-club hybrids had tried to open a club restaurant at 14-16 Avenue B since the corner deli closed a few years ago. (As you may recall, one venture called for a 3,000 square foot Italian restaurant, catering company and lounge "with an occasional D.J.")

The stores displaced by Union Market now have new homes ... in addition to Discovery Wines, the Houston Deli & Grocery is opening on Second and A ... and Joyful Nail on Avenue A...

More on 14-16 Avenue B here.

More on Union Market here.

Discovery Wines moving to Avenue B

Discovery Wines is one of the businesses that will be displaced with the arrival of Union Market this fall on Houston and Avenue A. Discovery's lease is up on May 31.

However, we've learned that the store won't be going too far. Tim at Discovery Wines confirmed that they signed a lease for 16 Avenue B at the corner of Second Street.



"We're leaving 10 Avenue A at the end of May and, if all goes as planned, then we'll hit the ground running in June at the 16 Avenue B space," Tim said via email.

And perhaps some neighbors will be relieved to hear this news. Previously, two different restaurant-club hybrids had tried to open another bar at 14-16 Avenue B. (As you may recall, one venture called for a 3,000 square foot Italian restaurant, catering company and lounge "with an occasional D.J.")

The space at 14 Avenue B apparently remains on the market. Nail salon perhaps?

More on 14-16 Avenue B here.

More on Union Market here.

Blockbusters: Union Market coming to 240 East Houston; Discovery Wines looking for new home

240 E. Houston has been on the block now for several months... and there's a taker. EV Grieve reader RyanAvenueA notes that signs just went up here for the Brooklyn-based Union Market.

Meanwhile, Discovery Wines will not be renewing their lease. Their last day is May 31 in this space at 10 Avenue A. Tim at Discovery Wines recently told me this:

"We're not going anywhere — we're staying in this neighborhood for the long haul. And while we have no concrete plans to move into a new space, we are aware of the options in the immediate area. Discovery Wines is a thriving retail shop with an established loyal customer base in the best neighborhood in NYC —" you can count on us to continue to serve our customers on lower Avenue A for many years to come."

Meanwhile, work continues on the upper levels of 240 E. Houston, which caught fire last July.

A quick update on the 240 E. Houston fire

Just a quick update on the fire from last Thursday at 240 E. Houston... As I mentioned, Discovery Wines reopened last Friday... Kelly's is also open, though the Double Down next door is still "closed for renovations" (it was closed even before the fire...)...and the nail salon around the corner on Houston remains closed...

As for Discovery, here are a few shots from the fire's aftermath...



[Top two photos courtesy of Bill Farrington]



The Discovery folks are babysitting the fish for some displaced neighbors from the fifth floor...

Discovery Wines back open

The four-alarm fire at 240 Houston on Thursday evening shuttered several businesses... One of them, Discovery Wines, reopened last night. EV Grieve reader BaHa said that there is a lot of ceiling damage, so the overhead lights are out. They are getting by with clip-on lights. However, the refrigeration is working...

Tim from Discovery Wines left this comment for us:

We feel so very lucky to have only water damage and smoke odor.

We must have dumped over 300 gallons of water between last night and this afternoon -- I've never been so happy about a leaking ceiling in all my life!

We've still got a lot of electrical work to straighten out, but we reopened at 5:30 tonight (Friday).

Best of luck to our displaced friends and neighbors and a big thank you to the firefighters who saved lives last night.

All fire coverage here.