Black Market continues to look less forbidding

The specialties of the house were added to Black Market's front window on Avenue A yesterday...



Upon opening in February, the owners reportedly planned to keep the iron gates down even when they were open... And last month, the gates were raised... So maybe they want to be a neighborhood joint after all?

Previously on EV Grieve:
So Bono, Michael Stipe, Natalie Portman, Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Spike Jonze and the Olsen twins walk into a bar on Avenue A...

Black Market opens its gates

Last month, the former Pizza Shop on Avenue A became Black Market... And the owners reportedly planned to keep the iron gates down even when they were open...

Now, though, the gates are up... making it look more inviting for commoners who aren't Bono or Michael Stipe or the Olsen Twins...



Meanwhile, given the recent parade of bold-faced names, a few people wondered if any of them ventured over to Ray's afterwards... perhaps they read about his troubles in the Times and want to help out a neighborhood institution...

So Bono, Michael Stipe, Natalie Portman, Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Spike Jonze and the Olsen twins walk into a bar on Avenue A...

Over at Guest of a Guest, Billy Gray has a report on Black Market, punk veteran Jesse Malin's new nighspot at the former Pizza Shop. All those celebrity types showed up for some party. As Gray notes, "The wingding was in honor of fancy pants clothing line Rodarte and during Fashion Week, which inflated the guest list. But it bodes well for the Avenue A newcomer (and poorly for local peasants hoping to check it out for themselves). It also confirms that Malin has stealthily joined the roster of NYC nightlife heavyweights." Later in the post, Gray wonders:

What's a veteran East Village punk doing hosting a party for Rodarte? As another Fashion Week bites the dust and thankfully takes some star wattage with it, Black Market will hopefully relax into a solid, rock-tinged neighborhood joint. The sweaty, puke-stained ghost of CBGB would not abide another velvet rope.