Dessert Row lives: Here comes the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop to Seventh Street

Xoom, the nearly 18-month-old smoothie shop, moved out from its Seventh Street location in March. (Jennifer at Xoom is planning to open in another East Village location.)

Meanwhile! Serious Eats (via Eater) reports that the folks behind the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck are opening a shop in the former Xoom space. And this will likely happen next month or so.

Meanwhile! (Again!) Big Gay Ice Cream is the second trucker to open an ice cream shop on Seventh Street. We expect to find Van Leeuwen open soon near Second Avenue.

Previously on EV Grieve:
On East Seventh Street: Dessert Row seems a little deserted -- Chocolate Bar has closed

Keep on truckin': Van Leeuwen opening dessert shop on Seventh Street

On East Seventh Street: Dessert Row seems a little deserted -- Chocolate Bar has closed

Wow. East Seventh Street, particularly on the north side of the street closer to Avenue A, seemed to be booming there for a bit. No more. Well, first, Locks 'n' Lads, the kiddie hair salon, has closed. Their outgoing message on their answering machine confirms it. Meanwhile, farther east, there's activity next to Butter Lane Cupcakes. A neighbor said this vacant space may just become a ground-floor apartment. Then! The Chocolate Bar has been shuttered the last few days. And don't expect to see it open again. I have it on very good authority that this location is officially closed. (And they just opened to so much hoopla in June.) Finally, the signs for the forthcoming East Village Pie Lounge at 131 E. Seventh St. are gone. Maybe that doesn't mean anything, though the spot has seemingly been dormant. The Pie Lounge was to take over the space that previously housed the short-lived Italian cafe Affettati. What gives here? Recession? Stupidly high rents (still)? The East Village wasn't ready for/didn't want/need more high-end dessert places?

The Chocolate Bar yesterday.




Construction next to Butter Lane Cupcakes.



Locks 'N' Lads no more.



P.S.

Oddly enough, the Chocolate Bar's new Egg Cream was just featured in this week's Page Six Magazine.