Goodbye Dojo

That's it for Dojo on West Fourth Street at Mercer... it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that the restaurant was not going to reopen after sitting vacant following a Sept. 13 DOH inspection that closed its doors. (You can read the previous post here.)

The inspection turned up 62 violation points, which appeared to be correctable items before any follow-up visit.

In any event, the contents of Dojo have been removed ... and the signage has come down.

And a little cut-and-paste Dojo history:

Dojo began in the East Village, first with the Ice Cream Connection on St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue in March 1970. Tony Yoshida's Japanese-inspired vegetarian cuisine came along in 1974. And via the Dojo website:

In 1982, Dojo took over the space next door and expanded even more. Then in 1991, Dojo in the West Village was created – both Dojo East and Dojo West were favorite local gems. Unfortunately in 2007, Dojo East was closed down due to high rent. BUT Dojo West is still going strong!

I posted the news on Twitter yesterday. Seems as if a lot of people have Dojo memories.

Wow. I have been eating here for nearly 30 years. (Always the soy burger with that amazing carrot ginger dressing) Went here the night of our jr prom rather than do whatever kids usually do. And when I was most poor, it was so affordable. https://t.co/9VCCtv4aLm

— Dusty Rebel (@TheDustyRebel) October 25, 2018

My heart will weep for carrot ginger dressing and cold sesame noodles forever. https://t.co/UgOUuLvv7l

— Morgue Shanahan (@the818) October 25, 2018

Sending thoughts and prayers to all my NYU History peeps. https://t.co/xQSybpplit

— Thomas Fleischman (@TomFleischman) October 25, 2018

RIP the one place in NY that catered to both my brokeness and my vegan-ness at age 17 in the summer of 2002. https://t.co/tTR3Ymde5Y

— Judy Berman (@judyberman) October 25, 2018

Today in my-city-is-gone, the closure of a signature Gen-X first-date emporium. As @mehpatrol put it, "Pour out some carrot-ginger dressing." https://t.co/NRbWeOzyJJ

— Sam Sifton (@SamSifton) October 25, 2018

...and even if you frequented the place...

the number of mediocre meals i had here with TISCH friends right after moving to NY. incalculable. https://t.co/VqwLTaBBfS

— w.e.b. da boyyy (@rodb) October 25, 2018

Carrot ginger dressing on every fucking thing on the menu. RIP. Also, it was gross. https://t.co/DrGyJuV9W4

— gabe mckinley (@gabejamckinley) October 25, 2018

I ate here every week for 3 years. The food was awful. https://t.co/9voja5F7S2

— Charlie Lait (@charlielait) October 25, 2018

Previously on EV Grieve:
Dojo looks to have closed for good

Concern for Dojo, which has now been closed for 2 weeks

Dojo looks to have closed for good

It looks like Dojo has called it quits here on West Fourth Street and Mercer.

As I reported last month, the Department of Health closed the restaurant following an inspection on Sept. 13. (You can read the previous post here.) The inspection turned up 62 violation points, which appeared to be correctable items before any follow-up visit.

However, Dojo has sat empty with the yellow DOH sticked affixed to the front door these past four weeks.

Now, workers have removed everything that wasn't bolted down in the dining room...



... and the bar is packed up...



Yelp and Google both list the restaurant as closed.

Attempts to reach anyone at Dojo (via email, Facebook Messenger and the phone) were unsuccessful.

Perhaps there is some renovation afoot. There were rumors in 2013 that this place had closed, though there were renovation signs for customers then.

Dojo began in the East Village... first with the Ice Cream Connection on St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue in March 1970. Tony Yoshida's Japanese-inspired vegetarian cuisine came along in 1974. And via the Dojo website:

In 1982, Dojo took over the space next door and expanded even more. Then in 1991, Dojo in the West Village was created – both Dojo East and Dojo West were favorite local gems. Unfortunately in 2007, Dojo East was closed down due to high rent. BUT Dojo West is still going strong!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Concern for Dojo, which has now been closed for 2 weeks

Dojo remains closed, 3 weeks on from failed health inspection

Nothing new to report on the Dojo Restaurant front... other than that the place remains closed here on West Fourth Street and Mercer since a failed Department of Health inspection on Sept. 13. (My previous post has more details.)

The restaurant opened in this spot in 1991 ... a sibling to the Dojo that was on St. Mark's Place for 30-plus years.

The Dojo faithful I've talked to remain hopeful that the restaurant will return. So far Dojo has yet to note any closure on its website, and its Facebook page hasn't been updated in almost a year.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Concern for Dojo, which has now been closed for 2 weeks

Concern for Dojo, which has now been closed for 2 weeks

Dojo Restaurant on West Fourth Street at Mercer has been closed since a visit by the Department of Health on Sept. 13...



The DOH closure notice has remained in full view on the front door without any accompanying note. There's no mention of a closure on Dojo's website or social media.

And now few regulars are starting to worry that Dojo won't be coming back at all. (An email to Dojo was not returned; the phone goes to a message about a Time Warner Cable phone customer that hasn't set up a voice mailbox.)

According to the DOH website, Dojo's received 62 violation points during the visit on Sept. 13, including for:

1) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F.
2) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.
3) Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan.
4) Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

So the Dojo faithful remain hopeful that ownership just hasn't thrown in the towel. (In May 2013 there were reports that Dojo was shutting down due to a rent hike.)

Dojo, of course, got its start in the East Village... beginning with the Ice Cream Connection on St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue in March 1970. Dojo's Japanese-inspired vegetarian cuisine came along in 1974. And via the Dojo website:

In 1982, Dojo took over the space next door and expanded even more. Then in 1991, Dojo in the West Village was created – both Dojo East and Dojo West were favorite local gems. Unfortunately in 2007, Dojo East was closed down due to high rent. BUT Dojo West is still going strong!

The rent is due at Dojo Noodle House

Dojo Noodle House has been closed since mid-August here on Avenue B near Third Street. At the time, a sign on the door noted a September return. That never happened.

This past week, the landlord taped some legal documents to the front door for ownership ... with the notice that the restaurant owes some recent base rent and an assortment of legal fees that add up to $18,903.32 ...

The small restaurant opened as Dojo Izakaya in November 2014 and received positive notices. This Dojo was an offshoot of chef David Bouhadana's Sushi Dojo on First Avenue between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. (Bouhadana reportedly parted ways with the Dojo camp the following year.)

Here's the sign for Dojo, David Bouhadana's new sushi restaurant on First Avenue

The new sign is up now at 110 First Avenue, former home of the dearly departed Polonia, the homey Polish diner that closed in December 2011.

The new space is Dojo, a sushi restaurant by David Bouhadana (the "twentysomething sushi wunderkind" per Grub Street) that is expected to open this spring.

Crain's reported in January that Bouhadana signed a 15-year lease for the space.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Looking at the former Polonia space, soon to be home to David Bouhadana's sushi restaurant Dojo

Looking at the former Polonia space, soon to be home to David Bouhadana's sushi restaurant Dojo

Just noting some recent activity at 110 First Avenue, former home of the dearly departed Polonia, the homey Polish diner that closed in December 2011.

As we noted last October, 25-year-old David Bouhadana, the onetime executive chef of the former Sushi Uo on Rivington Street, was looking to open a sushi restaurant here in the shadows of Subway's big new sign.

CB3 OK'd the liquor license in October... And Crain's reported last month that Bouhadana signed a 15-year lease to open what will be called Dojo... opening this spring...

Per the building's broker: "This is a continuance of strong chefs and entrepreneurial restaurant groups coming to the neighborhood. We've seen over the years just an influx of great concepts coming to the East Village."

Previously.