Showing posts with label Empire Biscuit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Empire Biscuit. Show all posts

Monday, June 10, 2019

Signage is up for Auriga Cafe on Avenue A



Auriga Cafe took another step toward an opening date with the arrival this past week of their storefront signage here at 198 Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street.

As previously noted, David Duran, who runs El Camion a storefront away on the corner at 12th Street, is behind this new venture.

No word just yet on particulars, such as menu items. (The website doesn't appear to be up and running yet.)

Previously on EV Grieve:
Auriga Cafe announces itself on Avenue A

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

A diner for the former Empire Biscuit space on Avenue A?



Workers removed the paper that was covering the front windows at 198 Avenue A yesterday (thanks to Lola Sāenz for the photos!) ...

A tipster told us earlier that a diner was coming to what was previously Empire Biscuit here between 12th Street and 13th Street. (That diner rumor has not been confirmed.)

In any event, something is coming to the space... as renovations continue inside.



The storefront hasn't been in use since Empire Biscuit started peelin' potatoes in January 2016.

Monday, February 13, 2017

The Empire has officially fallen: Former Biscuit shop for rent on Avenue A



A for rent sign arrived on Friday at 198 Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street, marking the official end of Empire Biscuit.

The quick-serve biscuiteers were only open a few days in 2016. They announced reduced hours in January 2016, and then never reopened. Empire Biscuit owner Jonathan Price promised a return in March. That same month, someone there posted a disposable plate on the front window noting that they were peelin' potatoes.



Legal documents from the landlord arrived on the front door back in the fall. According to that paperwork, the Biscuit owner was in arrears on rent and back taxes to the sum of $106,000.

Meanwhile, the for rent sign stipulates no bars or restaurants.

Empire Biscuit opened, originally 24/7, to some fanfare in the fall of 2013. Several near-by residents were turned off by their slogan — Breakfast Lunch Dinner Drunk.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Incoming Empire Biscuit on Avenue A launches Kickstarter campaign (122 comments)

Report: Empire Biscuit opens today (65 comments)

Monday, November 7, 2016

Storefronts and signage: Kati Roll awning is here; more legal papers for Empire Biscuit



The sign for the incoming Kati Roll Company went up back on Thursday at 128 Second Ave. near St. Mark's Place. This will be the fourth Manhattan location for the kati roll specialists (there's one in London too). There hasn't been an opening date announced yet. Find more background on all this here.

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A sign for Odd Eye NYC recently arrived at 524 E. Fifth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B... a nearby resident said that it will be a multimedia studio...



The previous tenant here, the designers Heights + Kenchi, moved to Ninth Street.

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[Photo from Friday]

Several EVG readers shared the latest stack of legalese affixed to the Empire Biscuit front door of the storefront at 198 Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street... a final judgement of eviction...







According to the legal documents (the most recent batch to arrive here), the owner is in arrears on rent and back taxes to the sum of $106,000.

Empire Biscuit, which opened in the fall of 2013, was only open a few days this year back in January.

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Empire Biscuit has until Tuesday to pay the back rent or surrender their Avenue A storefront



Over at Empire Biscuit, the 7-month-old disposable plate posted to the window notes that they are (still) peeling' potatoes here at 198 Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street.

The quick-serve biscuiteers have only been open a few days this year. They announced reduced hours in January, and then never reopened. Empire Biscuit owner Jonathan Price promised a return in March. That never happened.

Meanwhile, there's rent to pay.

Yesterday, several pages of legalese arrived on the front door...



According to the paperwork, it appears the biscuiteers haven't paid the rent — a little more than $6,000 a month — dating back to the summer of 2015. (There are also some early unpaid real-estate taxes.) Not sure what the total bill is. The front page has $29k and change through November 2015. The rest of the paperwork is taped pretty well to the door.

Anyway, ownership has until Tuesday to pay up or surrender the possession of the property, per the paperwork.

Back in the summer, the City Waste Services of New York dropped some legal papers off here to collect a debt.

Empire Biscuit opened to some fanfare in the fall of 2013.

H/T Greg Masters!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Incoming Empire Biscuit on Avenue A launches Kickstarter campaign (122 comments)

Report: Empire Biscuit opens today (65 comments)

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Empire Biscuit appears to be toast on Avenue A



The rather chipper "peelin' potatoes" signage on a paper plate has remained up in the papered-over Empire Biscuit window since early March.

The quick-serve biscuiteers at 198 Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street have only been open a few days this year... dating back to January when ownership announced reduced hours.

Empire Biscuit owner Jonathan Price told us that they would reopen in March after doing some maintenance work. That never happened. (The reopening — not sure about the maintenance.)

The storefront remains dormant... on July 1, a reader thought that the space had been emptied out...



...but it was a false alarm...



And now, a summons appeared on the front door yesterday (but dated from May) ... from the Civil Court of the City of New York ... looks as if the plaintiff, City Waste Services of New York, is looking to collect a debt...


[Photo via @urbanmyths]

...apparently there was legalese from Con Ed on the door last week.

Empire Biscuit opened in the fall of 2013.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Incoming Empire Biscuit on Avenue A launches Kickstarter campaign (122 comments)

Report: Empire Biscuit opens today (65 comments)

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Empire Biscuit is now 'peelin' potatoes'


[Photo from Jan. 30 via dwg]

At the end of January, Empire Biscuit announced that they were taking a sabbatical until March...

Being officially March now, we thought we'd check in here at 198 Avenue A between East 12th Street and East 13th Street.

The plate-shaped signage now notes that they are "peelin' potatoes" ... (new menu item?)





Recent tweets point to a reopening sometime soon...


The quick-serve biscuit emporium cut back its hours during January. At the time, Empire Biscuit owner Jonathan Price told us that they were just taking a break for parts of this month. "It's a slow time of year," he said a few weeks ago. "We're doing some housekeeping. We refinished the floors in the kitchen ... for example."

Monday, February 1, 2016

Empire Biscuit is taking a sabbatical for the month of February; will retool for the apocalypse


[Photo via dwg]

That's what the plate-shaped signage says here at Empire Biscuit at 198 Avenue A between East 12th Street and East 13th Street.

Here's the word from their Twitter account...


The quick-serve biscuit emporium cut back its hours during January. At the time, Empire Biscuit owner Jonathan Price told us that they were just taking a break for parts of this month. "It's a slow time of year," he said a few weeks ago. "We're doing some housekeeping. We refinished the floors in the kitchen ... for example."

Empire Biscuit opened on Oct. 30, 2013.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Empire Biscuit is taking time for housekeeping this month; will open for limited hours


[Reader photo from last week]

As a follow-up to our post from yesterday, Empire Biscuit owner Jonathan Price (he recently bought out his partner Yonadav Tsuna, who moved to the West Coast) assured us in an email yesterday that the quick-serve restaurant at 198 Avenue A is just taking a break for parts of this month.

"It's a slow time of year," he said. "We're doing some housekeeping. We refinished the floors in the kitchen Tuesday, for example. It's been over two years and there's just a lot of maintenance to do."

The restaurant has posted two "closed for brief winter break" signs on the front door so far this month.

Starting tonight, EB will be open Thursday night through Sunday night during January here between East 12th Street and East 13th Street.

As for the Empire Biscuit website that was offline, the domain issue is being resolved and they should be back live soon... online and behind the counter.

Previously on EV Grieve:
What's going on at Empire Biscuit?

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

[Updated] What's going on at Empire Biscuit?


[Reader photo from last week]

That's the question an Avenue A resident asked after noticing that the biscuit purveyors at 198 Avenue A between East 12th Street and East 13th Street have closed for a "brief winter break" for the second time this month.

Last week...



But then they did reopen...


... and as of yesterday... another sign appeared, noting that they'd be back open on Jan. 14...



There isn't any mention of this second winter closure on the Biscuit's social media properties.

The quick-serve restaurant's website is also down for the count...



Empire Biscuit opened in the fall of 2013.

Updated 5:53 p.m.

Empire Biscuit assured us that they will reopening... Here's a new post with comments from owner Jonathan Price. "It's a slow time of year," he said. "We're doing some housekeeping. We refinished the floors in the kitchen Tuesday, for example. It's been over two years and there's just a lot of maintenance to do."


H/T dwg

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Empire Biscuit is hosting its first-ever comedy festival this August



Via the EVG inbox...

How long have you been waiting to read a press release combining the worlds of stand-up comedy AND biscuits? Because your wait is over. The inaugural Empire Biscuit Comedy Festival (EBCF) will be held in the Lower East Side biscuit restaurant Empire Biscuit (Gothamist’s Top 10 24-Hour Restaurants In NYC), 198 Avenue A between 12th and 13th, on Sunday, August 2 to Tuesday, August 4, 2015.

This year’s performers include Mike Lawrence, Nick Vatterott, Sasheer Zamata, Christian Finnegan, Hasan Minhaj and more. The 2015 festival will be held entirely at Empire Biscuit, which will host 9 shows with over 50 of New York City’s top comedians who have appeared on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, @midnight, CONAN, Comedy Central’s The Half Hour, Last Comic Standing, and more. In addition audience members will receive a free premium biscuit and a beverage with their ticket purchase — $14 online or $16 at the door. A festival pass is also available for $50, which includes admittance to all of the festival shows with a biscuit and beverage per night.

“The Empire Biscuit Comedy Festival is unique in that it features performances by stand-up comedians who normally perform in theaters and comedy clubs across the country, in an intimate 30-seat biscuit shop,” says festival co-producer Tovah Silbermann (Forever Dog Productions). “Also, hosting a festival in a biscuit shop is really funny.” EBCF is also co-produced by stand-up comedians Andrew Tavin (The Peoples Improv Theater) and Brandon Scott Wolf (freelance contributor to SNL's Weekend Update, DateBrandonScottWolf.com).

Go here for tickets and info.

Friday, October 31, 2014

Empire Biscuit turns 1



On this occasion Wednesday night, the owners closed the storefront at 198 Avenue A between East 12th Street and East 13th Street for a celebration …

Previously on EV Grieve:
Incoming Empire Biscuit on Avenue A launches Kickstarter campaign (122 comments)

Report: Empire Biscuit opens today (65 comments)

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Empire Biscuit has to be closed today on National Biscuit Day



Well, that sucks.

In a subsequent Facebook comment, the folks at Empire Biscuit say they will now have to do the cooking for volunteers of AIDS Walk New York from one of their apartments.

And later:

"As far as National Biscuit Day festivities, we'd planned to serve everything on the menu for $1 for 1 hour on Wednesday night. Party, right? (We'lll probably be having a cleaning party instead.) Maybe we'll go ahead with it one day next week, but for now we've got a lot of nonsense to deal with."

Empire Biscuit is at 198 Avenue A.


[Photo by Kristy Splendorio via Facebook]

Monday, November 18, 2013

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Report: The making of Empire Biscuit; plus, people drop biscuits on the floor but eat them anyway



The New York Post features Empire Biscuit co-founders Jonathan Price and Yonadav Tsuna in the paper's @work section this week ... in a piece titled "Birth of an Empire (Biscuit)."

The piece offers some background on the two, who opened the storefront on Avenue A on Oct. 30:

For the fledgling team taking their first foray into restaurant ownership, a single-product restaurant made sense. Price — who cut his teeth at the famous Magnolia Grill in Durham, N.C. — and Tsuna, a Memphis, Tenn., native, both knew the magic of the Southern biscuit and how well it would resonate with New York City’s consumers.

And what else was needed to launch the business?

So the pair surrounded themselves with a team of advisers to make up for the skills they lacked, including design and real estate. To raise funds, Price and Tsuna created a crowd funded Kickstarter campaign page with a video of the enigmatic pair describing the concept.

“Making the video required us to think really hard about articulating our core values — creating high quality food and being part of this great neighborhood,” Tsuna notes.

And?

To build buzz, Price and Tsuna hosted tastings out of Price’s apartment.

Once they secured their storefront, “People around us would come in to chat. We would spend hours everyday chatting with people. We love Avenue A because it’s so neighborly,” says Tsuna, who recently moved into an apartment down the block from the shop.

The piece also touches upon EB's apparent popularity, noting the need for a "biscuit bouncer" to help manage the lines waiting for their product, which people apparently really like.

After dropping a tiny piece of biscuit, Max Hatfield-Biondo, 28, an engineer from Soho, took a moment to think before declaring, “I’m going to eat that off the floor.”

Eating off the floor is apparently a trend. As noted earlier in the aticle:

At the front wooden counter, a lanky 20-something in a baseball cap is apologizing to his less-than-pleased girlfriend for dropping her biscuit on the floor. She pouts, taking the slightly bruised biscuit from his hands — and eats it anyway.

Meanwhile, via the EB Instagram account, an update on their hours ...



Wednesday, November 6, 2013

[Updated] Today's Empire Biscuit update

The new biscuitery at 198 Avenue A was back open this morning. Via Eater:

Co-owner Yonadav Tsuna says that they've bulked up their production, brought on a professional baker to streamline the biscuit-making, and smoothed out the service to get those biscuit sandwiches out as fast as possible.

Meanwhile, the Empire Biscuit Help Wanted ad remains on Craiglist, if you are qualified:

Empire Biscuit is hiring experienced line and prep cooks
We're looking for experienced line cooks and prep cooks. All shifts are available. You'll work with familiar and exotic, high quality, seasonal ingredients. You'll have the opportunity to smoke, pickle, and cure. You'll make sweet and savory jams and jellies. We're looking for precision, speed and cleanliness. Please see our menu at empirebiscuit.com. If you don't dig it, don't apply. We're a new restaurant. If you kick ass, you'll grow with us. Please send your resume. We hope to hear from you.

And no word just yet when they will remain open 24 hours a day.

Updated:
Gothamist has a feature on the shop today titled "Inside Empire Biscuit, Finally Ready To Meet East Villagers' Drunken Demand."

Per co-owner Yonadav Tsuna:

"We had some people here Saturday night crying outside," he said, when asked about the necessary closure late last week. Tsuna and his business partner Karl Wilder were inundated with so much early business that they were forced to lock up and hire additional staff in order to keep up with demand. "We're doing five times to ten times more than we thought we would," Tsuna said with a nervous grin.

Friday, November 1, 2013

No biscuits from Empire Biscuit until Sunday

Empire Biscuit opened for business Wednesday. And business was apparently good.

A sign on the door yesterday noted that they'd be back at it today.



But! There's a new sign noting that they won't return until Sunday...


[Via Facebook]

Per the sign, they'll need these extra days "to hire and train additional staff and ramp up production." The 24-hour schedule will then go into effect Tuesday.

Eater has more on the opening here ...and as Eater said about this: "Apparently owners Yonadav Tsuna and Jonathan Price were just not prepared for the white hot frenzy that biscuits can incur."

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Report: Empire Biscuit opens today


[Photo from last week]

Empire Biscuit officially opens this morning at 8, according to DNAinfo. (Empire was open last night from 6-10.)

Per DNA:

The flaky Southern favorites will be topped with a selection of gourmet spreads, including goat cheese and black pepper butter, pineapple and thyme jam and pumpkin pie spread, owners Jonathan Price and Yonadav Tsuna said.

Here is their menu:




Starting Friday, Empire — located at 198 Avenue A — will be open 24 hours. The space was previously home to Habibi Lounge.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Incoming Empire Biscuit on Avenue A launches Kickstarter campaign (121 comments)

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Incoming Empire Biscuit on Avenue A launches Kickstarter campaign



Renovations continue at the former Habibi Lounge space on Avenue A near East 12th Street ... where Empire Biscuit will be serving country-style biscuits and biscuit sandwiches 24 hours a day (and no liquor license) ...

Now founders Jonathan Price and Yonadav Tsuna have launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $62,500 by the end of the month to help with the opening costs.

Per the campaign:

Besides potential construction delays, the major risks for our restaurant are post-opening. We have a strong team in place, a carefully developed concept and menu, a great location and space, and a nuanced financial model. So the basic challenges/risks that remain are controlling food cost and labor once we're up and running.

You can find more info here. Or you can watch the above video ... (they discuss the need for $$$ at the 4-minute mark).

Empire Biscuit is expected to open in 6-8 weeks.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Reader report: biscuits and jams for former Habibi Lounge space on Avenue A