Closings: Broken Coconut, Snowdays, Blockheads, By Name

A roundup of some recent restaurant-cafe closings during the COVID-19 crisis...

• Broken Coconut, 15 E. Fourth St. between Lafayette and Broadway

For-rent signs are now in the window of the Instagram-friendly (#EatPretty) health-focused cafe that served items like quinoa parfaits and coconut chia. Broken Coconut opened in September 2017 in the storefront that was Other Music for 20 years.

Scott Sartiano, the nightlife impresario who founded 1Oak and Butter, is behind the venture. The BC outpost in Equinox Hudson Yards is open.


[Snowdays photos by Steven]

• Snowdays, 241 E. 10th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue

The dessert shop specializing in Asian-inspired shaved frozen cream (aka snow cream) has been cleared out...



The business, originally called Snowdays Shavery, opened here in August 2014. While there hasn't been any official notice of this closure, the storefront is on the rental market. (H/T Upper West Sider!)



• Blockheads, 60 Third Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street.

That's all for the East Village location of the big burrito specialists from the folks who launched Benny's. As the above photo shows, someone has painted over the Blockheads signage on the now-empty storefront.

And as we've seen with other restaurants with multiple NYC locations (Mermaid Inn, 99 Favor Taste, Oddfellows, Ravagh Persian Grill), the East Village has been scratched in favor of outposts in other neighborhoods. Blockheads is running operations on the Upper West Side, Midtown East, Midtown West and in White Plains.

Blockheads opened on Third Avenue in July 2015. Blockheads did not respond to queries about this location.



• By Name, 324 Bowery near Bleecker Street

The "art-inspired cafe concept" sold a variety of fruit-milk teas and bento boxes, opening in the summer of 2019.

There wasn't any notice of the closure, with the By Name website going offline.

This space was once Agozar!, the Cuban bistro-bar that closed in November 2017. The other part of the former Agozar! is now Codex, which sells used and new books with a focus on literary fiction and art.

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There are at least a dozen other spaces that are dormant... spaces that readers-residents wonder if they will reopen. Waiting for confirmation on these — from either ownership or in some cases a for-rent sign. Some places that were shutdown the past six months are returning. Ainsworth, the high-end sports bar on Third Avenue at 11th Street, looked permanently shuttered with St. Patrick's Day notices on the doors. However, they are reopening later this week.

The Other Music Documentary is now available on streaming services

The Other Music documentary makes its digital-platform debut today, streaming now on iTunes and Prime Video.

The film chronicles the 20-year history and legacy of Other Music, the shop on Fourth Street between Lafayette and Broadway, its influence on music in New York City and its closure in June 2016.

It was originally scheduled to have its theatrical debut in April at the IFC Center on Sixth Avenue.



Other Music's owners cited rising rents and the growing hardship of selling music out of a physical store as reasons behind the closure.

You can now rent the Other Music documentary

The Other Music documentary is having a virtual cinema release starting today.

The film chronicles the 20-year history and legacy of Other Music, the shop on Fourth Street between Lafayette and Broadway, its influence on music in New York City and its closure in June 2016.



It was originally scheduled to debut Wednesday at the IFC Center on Sixth Avenue. Instead, for a limited time, you may stream it via our friends at Academy Records at 12th Street. (Link here.) Find other rental options here.

Here's an explanation of how it works via the film's website:

A film is offered online, for around the price of a movie ticket, to watch at home. The film will be available via over 50 record shops and theaters across the U.S., who will keep 50% of the net profits to help them get through this incredibly challenging time for small businesses. The rental process will be easy for the viewer. Once the customer purchases the film from the record shop or theater starting April 17 they will be instantly issued a rental via email. The film is viewable for 72 hours once you choose to start playing it on any internet-connected device, including laptops, tablets and smartphones.

Other Music's owners cited rising rents and the growing hardship of selling music out of a physical store as reasons behind the closure.

Tickets for the 'Other Music' documentary screening at Village East go on sale today

The "Other Music" documentary makes its world premiere at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.

And tickets for screenings at the Village East, Second Avenue at 12th Street, and Regal Cinemas Battery Park, go on sale this morning at 11 via this link.

Here are the dates and times for the various screenings:

• April 26, 9 p.m. — Village East
• April 27, 8:45 p.m. — Regal Cinemas Battery Park
• April 28, 12:15 p.m. — Regal Cinemas Battery Park
• May 5, 8:45 p.m. — Village East

The film chronicles the 20-year history and legacy of Other Music, 15 E. Fourth St. between Lafayette and Broadway, its influence on music in New York City and its closure in June 2016.



Other Music's owners cited rising rents and the growing hardship of selling music out of a physical store as reasons behind the closure.

Art and signage arrive at future home of Broken Coconut on 4th Street

Interior renovations continue at 15 E. Fourth St., where Broken Coconut will soon be offering ways to "eat pretty," as the new signage notes...



As previously reported (first by BoweryBoogie), nightlife impresario Scott Sartiano is behind this venture, a quick-serve healthy restaurant serving items such as quinoa parfaits and coconut chia here between Broadway and Lafayette. (Some competition for the nearby Honeybrains?)

Before opening, Broken Coconut is displaying work by Peter Riezebos, a Shanghai-based artist from the Netherlands...



Other Music closed at this location in June 2016 after 20-plus years in business.

Checking in on the former Other Music space, soon to be a health-focused restaurant

Renovations continue behind the papered-over storefront at 15 E. Fourth St. between Lafayette and Broadway, the former home of Other Music.

The incoming establishment is called Broken Coconut, a quick-serve healthy restaurant serving items such as quinoa parfaits and coconut chia.

BoweryBoogie first reported on this last month, with Eater getting further details, including that the venture is via Scott Sartiano, the nightlife impresario who was one of the founders of both 1Oak and Butter.

You can see the progress from a gap in the papered windows...



Broken Coconut is currently hiring. The Craigslist ad doesn't have many details about the venture: "Full and part time jobs available for new quick service concept serving healthy, delicious meals on the go. We value hard working employees with a great attitude over experience. Competitive hourly wage plus tips."

Other Music closed in June 2016 after 20-plus years in business. The store's owners cited rising rents and the changing face of the music industry as reasons behind the closure.

The filmmakers behind the documentary on Other Music successfully raised the necessary funds last month to complete the project.

We made our goal! Thanks to our backers & to @mollydneuman & everyone at @kickstarter. We're so humbled & can't wait to show you the film. #othermusicforever

A post shared by Other Music Documentary (@othermusicdoc) on Jul 27, 2017 at 12:14am PDT

1st look at the Other Music documentary

The first trailer for the Other Music documentary premiered this morning... the film aspires to chronicle the 20-year history and legacy of Other Music, its influence on music in New York City and its closure last June.

The clip features a variety of musicians (Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields and Daniel Kessler of Interpol, among others) and a few actors (Jason Schwartzman and ... Benicio Del Toro?!) talking about what the place meant to them as well as an array of footage from the many in-store performances through the years.

The production is still in the Kickstarter phase, with a way to go before reaching the $70,000 production goal.

The store on Fourth Street between Lafayette and Broadway closed last June 25 after 20-plus years in business. Other Music's owners cited rising rents and the changing face of the music industry as reasons behind the closure. According to The New York Times, the rent more than doubled from the $6,000 a month the store paid in 1995 while its annual share of the building’s property tax bill has also increased.

Meanwhile, someone has removed the for rent signs at the former storefront. There isn't any sign of a new tenant yet — just the brown paper on the windows...


[Photo from Sunday]

The retail listing for the space includes a bland rendering of the storefront's potential...

Come Together with Other Music (and others) this Sunday at MoMA PS1

Other Music is back ... at least for one day. Here's part of an email we received the other day...

It’s been too long since we last hung out together in a record-filled room talking about music, but we'll have that chance at an exciting event happening here on Sunday, March 26! Other Music has been collaborating with our friends at MoMA PS1, organizing a record fair and festival in the Long Island City museum that will be celebrating vinyl culture and the interconnecting music communities of NYC and beyond.

It’s been quite an undertaking, but we've put together a huge record market featuring over 60 of our favorite labels from around the world selling music, merchandise and much more. Add to this so many other inspirational people, with live performances inside MoMA PS1's VW Dome, thought-provoking panels and workshops, film, and plenty of other surprises.

Find all the details at the MoMa site here. Tickets are $15 for the day, which includes the panels, performances and film, the NYC premiere of "A Life in Waves," which follows the life and innovations of composer and electronic music pioneer Suzanne Ciani.

Other Music closed last June on Fourth Street after 20 years in business. Other Music's owners cited rising rents and the changing face of the music industry as reasons behind the closure. The storefront remains on the market.

Other Music alum will be part of the Brooklyn Flea Record Fair tomorrow (Saturday!)

Fans of the late Other Music take note...

A photo posted by Other Music (@other_music) on Sep 23, 2016 at 10:38am PDT

The Brooklyn Flea Record Fair is tomorrow (Saturday) from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in East River Park. Details here.

Other Music storefront is for rent

thank you to everyone in NYC & around the world who supported us over the past 20 years #othermusicforever

A photo posted by Other Music (@other_music) on Jun 25, 2016 at 5:37pm PDT

As you probably know, Other Music closed its doors for good at the end of the business day on Saturday.

Leading up to the close last week, the landlord placed a small "for rent" sign on the storefront here at 15 E. Fourth St. between Lafayette and Broadway...



According to the listing at Winick Real Estate:

• Prime Noho storefront with tremendous frontage/visibility and outstanding co-tenancy
• Incredible & Rare Flagpole Signage Opportunity
• Soaring 15’8” Ceilings
• No Food/Cooking Uses Accepted

And the listing includes a fairly soulless rendering of the storefront's potential...



There isn't any mention of the asking rent.

Other Music's owners have cited rising rents and the changing face of the music industry as reasons behind the closure. According to The New York Times, the rent has more than doubled from the $6,000 a month the store paid in 1995 while its annual share of the building’s property tax bill has also increased.

Meanwhile, there's still one more in-store event ... 75 Dollar Bill performs here tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. leading up to the sold-out farewell concert at Bowery Ballroom.

And what's going to happen with the rest of the music? Here's how it looked yesterday morning...

1 more in-store concert for Other Music

As you might expect, the selection at Other Music is starting to thin out a bit leading up to its last call on Saturday after 20 years in business.

However, there are still a lot of new releases available. (I like the new Psychic Ills ... I also picked up Thee Oh Sees: Singles Collection Volume Three.)

Despite the impending closure, there's still a relatively upbeat feel to the store, that it still has a purpose... unlike, say, Kim's Video & Music on First Avenue, which plodded along on a death march in the summer of 2014. A fixed closing date would have helped. (Add St. Mark's Bookshop to the slow, painful death march list.)

Meanwhile, there's one more just-announced, in-store performance on Tuesday, ahead of its farewell show at the Bowery Ballroom.

Here are details via the EVG inbox:

The final Other Music in-store performance will be with our good friends 75 Dollar Bill, at 5:30 on the 28th. One of our very favorite NYC bands, with a beautiful new album just out, we can't think of any better artist to bring to a close our 20-year in-store series.

And then we take our music to the streets! After the in-store, 75 Dollar Bill and the incredible Matana Roberts will lead us on a march from Other Music, across 4th Street, down the Bowery, to the Bowery Ballroom on Delancey. We want to celebrate 20 years of New York City music and arts culture with all of you, and we hope that whether or not you have tickets to the Bowery show, you will join us for this free event — let’s show NYC that music still matters! We will start gathering at Other Music at 5:30, and the parade will begin moving at 6:30, with Matana’s crew taking the lead, and 75 Dollar Bill bringing up the rear guard after their in-store performance.

The owners of the store at 15 E. Fourth St. between Lafayette and Broadway have cited rising rents and the changing face of the music industry as reasons behind the closure.

MSNBC has a report from Tuesday on Other Music here.

And at The New Yorker, Amanda Petrusich files an appreciation titled Why Record Stores Mattered.

An excerpt!

The store’s stock has always tended toward the abstruse. For many years, it was the only place in the city (and maybe on the East Coast) where you could find copies of great but commercially unpopular records: free jazz, certain strains of world music, Krautrock, long forgotten folk balladry. I bought my first albums by otherwise-unclassifiable artists like Arthur Russell and John Fahey at Other Music. I later read from my book about obscure 78 r.p.m. records there. Uncommon but extraordinary records were offered prominent shelf space, and serendipity was always in the air. Station yourself before the bins labelled “Out”—“Out” in the context of Other Music implied either intrepid or foolhardy experimentation, or maybe both—and see what calls to you.

Finally, some former OM staffers are also filming a documentary of the place... if you have anything to share...

If you want to share stories, photos, video or audio from @othermusic please email us: othermusicdocumentary (at) gmail (dot) com

— Other Music Doc (@OtherMusicDoc) June 14, 2016

A farewell show for Other Music

The owners of Other Music, which is closing for good on June 25, have announced a farewell concert at the Bowery Ballroom.

Here are the details for the show on June 28:

After 20 years, the iconic New York City record shop Other Music will be closing their doors on June 25, and three days later, they are bringing together a broad cross section of NYC artists they love for one last blowout party. Record shops are all about community, and none more so than Other Music, who for two decades created a haven for artists, fans, and music industry to come together for the love of records. Come celebrate 20 years of Other Music at this benefit concert and farewell celebration!

Julianna Barwick, Frankie Cosmos, Helado Negro, Menahan Street Band, Matana Roberts, Sharon Van Etten, Yo La Tengo, John Zorn's Simulacrum (with John Medeski, Matt Hollenberg and Kenny Grohowski) plus more special guests and surprises TBA!!

Tickets are $25 in advance; $30 at the door. They go on sale Friday at the Bowery Ballroom box office and at Other Music on East Fourth Street between Lafayette and Broadway.

Other Music is closing for good next month

Ugh.

Via the Other Music website:

It is with heavy hearts that we share the news that after more than 20 years in New York City, Other Music will be closing our doors on Saturday, June 25th. It’s been an incredible run for us, and we cannot thank you enough for the support and inspiration that you’ve given us over these past two decades. We’ve learned so much from you and are so grateful to have had your trust, curiosity, and passion as we’ve discovered and explored so much great music together since we first opened back in December of 1995. Times have changed, and soon we will be moving on, but in the coming weeks we hope you’ll come by and see us, dig through our racks, and reminisce about what has been a truly special era for all of us. We’ll also be announcing more events and celebrations soon, so stay tuned. Once again, thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.

The store's label, Other Music Recording Co. will continue.

Per The New York Times:

“We still do a ton of business — probably more than most stores in the country,” said Josh Madell, 45, a co-owner of Other Music, from behind the counter last week. “It’s just the economics of it actually supporting us — we don’t see a future in it. We’re trying to step back before it becomes a nightmare.”

Business has dropped by half since the store’s peak in 2000, when it did about $3.1 million in sales, said Chris Vanderloo, who founded the shop with Mr. Madell and Jeff Gibson after the three met as employees at the music spinoff of Kim’s Video in the early ’90s. (Mr. Gibson left Other Music’s day-to-day operations in 2001.)

Rent, on the other hand, has more than doubled from the $6,000 a month the store paid in 1995, while its annual share of the building’s property tax bill has also increased with the local real estate market.

The store is located on East Fourth Street between Lafayette and Broadway.

Learn how to play guitar like Lee Ranaldo tonight at Other Music

Lee Ranaldo, the prolific artist-writer-musician best known as the guitarist for Sonic Youth, is appearing tonight at Other Music...

Per the store's website:

That's right, Lee Ranaldo's going to be taking time out of his busy tour schedule supporting his new album, Last Night on Earth, to stop by Other Music on Monday evening, October 28, to host his first ever Guitar Clinic. Not only will there be a discussion and demonstration from this iconic axe man, but you'll also walk out with a signed poster!

He also has a new album out with Lee Ranaldo and the Dust. Meanwhile, here's something off his "Between The Times and The Tides" record from last year...



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H/T Dangerous Minds

Hey now: Other Music launching its own record label

The Times is reporting this evening that Other Music, the record shop over on East Fourth Street near Broadway, is starting its own record label "with an eye toward showcasing underground music in New York and reissuing albums by foreign artists."

Per the article:

The new label, Other Music Recording Co., will be an imprint of Fat Possum, the Oxford, Miss, record label that has such bands as Youth Lagoon and Smith Westerns in its stable. Its first release will be a 7-inch vinyl record by an obscure Brooklyn indie-pop band called Ex Cops, coming out on April 24.

Read the whole article here.

Oh, wait! Pitchfork broke the news earlier this afternoon.