Showing posts with label Polonia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Polonia. Show all posts

Friday, May 24, 2013

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

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

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.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Sushi in the works for former Polonia space

[EVG file photo]

We're curious about what will take the place of the dearly departed Polonia, the Polish diner that closed in December on First Avenue near East Seventh Street. We had heard rumors about a big-name suitor...

The address is on the docket for the October CB3/SLA committee meeting. According to documents on file with CB3, the space will become a Japanese restaurant called Sushi Dojo. There's not much information on the CB3 website. Proposed hours are Sunday-Monday from 5 p.m.-1 a.m.

The CB3 documents lists a "David Bouhadona" as an applicant ... maybe that's a typo, and that should be David Bouhadana, the onetime executive chef of the former Sushi Uo on Rivington Street.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Something in the works to take over the former Polonia space on First Avenue

[EVG file photo]

CB3 just sent out the October CB3/SLA docket (meeting is Oct. 15). It hasn't been posted yet online...

One item of particular interest — No. 18, which is the former Polonia space, the Polish diner that closed in December. We heard that a "foodie type" was eyeing the space, which has been on the market. (The ad called for "established food operators.") We'll see if we can track that one down over the weekend.

We'll have more on all this on Monday... but here it is in the meantime:

Renewal with Complaint History

1. One & One Bar (Nexus Lounge), 76 E 1st St aka 12 1st Ave (op)

Applications within Resolution Areas

2. One More Thai Corp, 6 Clinton St (wb)

3. Apartment 13 (115 Avenue C LLC), 115 Ave C (op)

4. Tiny Fork (Project 6 LLC), 167 Orchard St (op/alt/add bar in basement)

5. 106 on the LES LLC, 106 Rivington St (op)

6. Yardbird LLC, 162 Ave B (wb)

7. Nublu, 151 Ave C (op)

Alterations

8. Jane's Sweet Buns (Derossi Chelsea LLC), 102 St Marks Pl (wb/alt/lengthen bar)

9. Parkside Lounge (Sterling Parkside Corp), 317 E Houston St (op/alt/additional bar)

New Liquor License Applications

10. Paulaner Brauhaus Restaurant LLC, 265-267 Bowery (op)

11. Entrez (Entrez Bar & Grill Inc), 162 2nd Ave (op)

12. Sunshine Lounge (Cinema Beverages Holding Company LLC), 143 E Houston St (op)

13. Souvlaki Gr LES (Uber Caffe LLC), 116 Stanton St (change of class from existing wb to op)

14. Shanghai Asian Manor Inc, 21 Mott St (wb)

15. CMH BBQ Holdings LLC, 103 2nd Ave (op)

16. Glaze 4th Ave LLC, 139 4th Ave (b)

17. To be Determined, 269 E Houston St (op)

18. To be Determined, 110 1st Ave (wb)

19. Noodle Bar (One Noodle Bar Inc), 141 1st Ave (wb)

20. La Meridiana I Ltd, 176 2nd Ave (wb)

21. Cowboy Pizza LLC, 201 Clinton St (wb)

22. Seven Spices (Village Grill 82 Inc), 82 2nd Ave (wb)

23. To be Determined, 123 Allen St (op)

24. Organic Grill, 123 1st Ave (wb)

Corporate Change (not heard at committee)

25. Balade (Great Caterers LLC), 208 1st Ave (wb)

26. Hotel Chantelle (The Amber Avalon Corp), 92 Ludlow St (op)

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b=beer only | wb=wine & beer only | op=liquor, wine, & beer | alt=alterations

Thursday, June 14, 2012

'Established food operators' wanted for former Polonia space on First Avenue



Just noting the for rent signs are up at Polonia, the homey Polish restaurant that closed last December here along First Avenue between Seventh Street and Sixth Street.

Not many details on the listing (such as monthly rent):

Neighbors:
Empellon Cocina, Subway, McDonald's, Caracas Arepa Bar, Luke's Lobster Bar, Porchetta NYC, Pylos, Ricky's and Cafe Mogador

Comments:
-- Prime East Village Location
-- Currently vacant
-- Direct deal
-- Seeking established food operators

Looked at who the broker, New Street Realty, has leased to recently... the recent transactions include The Growler Station on West Eighth Street ... a 16 Handles ... the Subway next door to Polonia ... five Hale and Hearty Soup locations... one 7-Eleven ... a Just Salad ... a few bank branches...

Anyone want to go with a Hale & Hearty as the next tenant here then?

Monday, February 6, 2012

East Village signs of the times: Bye Polonia, Joe's Bar and Octavia's Porch

Someone removed part of the now-closed Polonia sign on First Avenue...


...where right next door the sign is working at the new Subway...


...on East Sixth Street, someone took down the remaining letters for Joe's Bar...


...and on St. Mark's Place, the sign is up for the incoming panuozzo place...


Finally, on Avenue B near East Third Street, the Octavia's Porch sign is gone... presumably on its way to the Bad Restaurant Name Hall of Fame.


This will be the second location of the Park Slope-based Mexican eatery Fonda.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Polonia's liquidation sale is Thursday

[evg file photo]

As we first reported, Polonia closed up on First Avenue this past Dec. 24 ... A tipster let us know that Polonia's liquidation sale is happening on Thursday... (details here)

MICHAEL AMODEO & CO., INC.
Sell THURSDAY JANUARY 26 at 2:00 Pm
At 110 FIRST AVENUE, MANHATTAN, NYC, NEAR 7th ST.
RESTAURANT - CAFE - RESTAURANT
Garland 6 Burner Stove with Salamander, Countertop Fryer, Globe S.S. Meat Slicer, Hobart 20Qt Mixer, 400 Lb Ice Machine, Keating 4Ft Flat Grill, Bain Marie, 8x8 Aluminum Walk-In Cooler, 6 & 8Ft S.S. Hoods, Pots, Pans, Utensils, China Dinnerware, Glassware, 2 Like New Slimline 3 Ton A/C Units with Ductless Blowers. Inspection: Day Of Sale 1 PM To Sale Time.
Terms: Cash Or Bank Cashiers Checks. 15% Buyers Premium.
Auctioneers Phone: 212-473-6830 or 917-776-1080.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Polonia has closed


blue glass passes along the sad news that First Avenue Polish diner mainstay Polonia has closed.

Per the Polonia Facebook page:

I am sorry to announce that on this Christmas Eve Polonia will be closing its doors permanently. We would like to thank all of our amazing customers who have supported us this quarter of a century. As all good things, Polonia's time has come to an end. It is time for new ventures. Keep your ears open for NYC Pierogi Factory. And again... Thank You!

We're curious about the sounds of NYC Pierogi Factory. (Except for the "Factory" part of the name, which The Meatball Factory has ruined for us.)

Jozef and Renata Jurczyk opened Polonia in 1989. Per the Polonia website:

Jozef and Renata were both born in Poland and traveled to New York City in the early 1980’s in hopes of following The American Dream. Arriving in the US with very little money, they both worked dead end jobs until saving enough money to open their own business, a restaurant which would allow them to share their culture and memories with other New Yorkers living in this dominantly Ukrainian and Eastern European neighborhood — The East Village.

In November 2010, their son, 22 year-old Paul Jurczyk, officially took over the restaurant from his parents. He worked to update the menu, taking it from diner food to something more upscale. Jurczyk hired a chef, the 26-year-old Olaf Wozny, who previously worked at Il Bucco, to help update the menu.

We interviewed Paul here last year. Read those posts here.

A few of us grumbled about the changes. However, as Jeremiah Moss wrote on Dec. 6, 2010: "There's still a homey feeling here that has little to do with the hyper-gentrification that is washing over the neighborhood ... This place is not going to attract any douchebag crowds anytime soon, so don't fret."

One rumor is that the landlord was raising the rent.

Friday, December 3, 2010

More on the future of Polonia



On Monday, we posted an interview 22-year-old Paul Jurczyk, who bought Polonia from his parents. With a new chef, Jurczyk has been modernizing the traditional Polish eatery on First Avenue...

The post elicited many negative comments from readers... Jurczyk followed up with a comment of his own that I thought was worth making a separate post...

Hi everyone, I feel like most of you have misunderstood what I was trying to say. I have no plans, whatsoever, of trying to scare off Polonia's long time patrons. I have become very well acquainted with many of them and would be sad to see them not come back. I have been frequenting Polonia since before I could walk. Many of these patrons have watched me grow up.

Everyone seems to be focusing on my "hoping that the old customers which really enjoy to nag and complain will find somewhere more suitable to their liking" comment. I did not mean to say that the older customers are naggers and would rather not have any of the older customers come in anymore. What I meant was that I have some customers (not all or even majority) which have been coming to Polonia for decades and prefer it the way it was before and make a point to tell not only myself but all my servers how much they dislike the changes.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. If you do not like what I am doing that is fine — I do like the changes that I am making and most of my customers also like the changes. What doesn't make sense to me is why these patrons keep coming back and keep complaining. I won't be changing Polonia back to a diner. If you enjoy eating at diners (which I don't mind once in a while) then go eat at a diner, but please don't come in and tell me that you rather have Polonia as a diner. Its frustrating to have to listen to these complaints and frankly I find them to be a bit rude. I promise I am not changing things around just to annoy the long time customers.

Also, I in no way meant to criticize the original owners, my parents. What they did was great. They came here without a penny and created a business that was able to put my sisters and me through school. I know more than any of you how much time, work and hardships it took my parents to do what they did. My father worked seven days a week for fifteen years — I barely saw him. They did all this for my sisters and me and believe me, I appreciate all of it.

I am trying to make sure that Polonia stays afloat and doesn't disappear entirely like the many of the local spots have. Whether you like the changes or not depends on your taste and each person is allowed their own opinion. Hopefully you can all stay a bit open minded — maybe you'll find that you like Polonia better now than before.

Monday, November 29, 2010

A new era for Polonia



Last week, Eater reported that First Avenue Polish diner mainstay Polonia was under new ownership.... 22 year-old Paul Jurczyk bought the restaurant from his parents, who started and operated Polonia the past 24 years... Jurczyk has hired a chef, the 26-year-old Olaf Wozny, who previously worked at Il Bucco.

As Jurczyk said, Polonia was serving food that "was frozen and microwaved, there was a wine list that consisted of 'Red' or 'White' which was poured from a gallon or a box, the lights were super bright all day and all evening, and the radio was playing z100 or 103.5 fm."

So some changes were in order... he and Wozny are planning to revamp the restaurant... which they've slowly been doing (you may have noticed the addition of a happy hour and WiFi in previous months...)



I asked Jurczyk a few questions via Facebook...

Are you concerned with what some old-timers might think about the changes? Do you think they'll return?

There are customers that have been coming to Polonia since the day that it opened. When I first started making changes about a year and a half ago, I had to start small: slightly changing the decor, the music selection and re-organizing the menu so that it was more comprehensible and visually appealing. Up to that point the 'old-timers' didn't have much to protest about. However, when I hired Olaf Wozny as my head chef, I began to hear complaints.

Olaf understood that changing a diner to a restaurant isn't an easy task and has to be done slowly as to not warrant too much attention in the beginning. Olaf slowly started changing the recipes, using better, higher-quality ingredients which are more expensive than the ingredients previously used — we had no choice but to slightly raise the prices. That is when the older customers started to complain. They appreciated the quality but weren't willing to pay for it. Even now I have some of the older customers complaining about our coffee which is a high-quality coffee, that we have priced at $1.50; the deli on the corner near us charges the same price for coffee of a much lesser quality.

Another issue is that most of the main entrees take about 15 minutes on average to prepare. Most of the older clientele can't seem to understand this, even though in the menu it says that our dishes may take about that long to make because they are made per order and asks the customer to please be patient. Even tonight I had a table of three walk out half way through their meal. They were served water, bread, wine and soups all within 10 to 15 minutes. After waiting just over 20 minutes (since they sat down) they decided that their three combination platters were taking too long so they paid for what they already had and walked out.

Many of the older customers left for a few months but returned. The prices in the East Village aren't cheap — no matter the quality of the food or the ambiance. I'm sure that after realizing that we are still better priced than most spots in our area, and have better prices and better quality food than any other Polish/Ukranian restaurant or diner in the area, including Veselka, they will be sure to come back — even though I have to say that my staff and myself are hoping that the old customers which really enjoy to nag and complain will find somewhere more suitable to their liking. Besides, we are starting to attract a younger, career-oriented crowd.


Why do you think changes were necessary?

These changes are necessary for two reasons. The East Village is quickly becoming a more sophisticated area filled with people who are willing to spend a little extra money to eat good food, have a nice glass of wine and truly enjoy themselves. Personally I don't believe that diners have the right ambiance for the new clientele that is surfacing in our area.

Secondly, it is very important to my chef and myself that we produce and sell a product which we are happy with and are proud of. Olaf will not be happy preparing food which was cooked 12 hours ago and is now being heated up in the microwave and I likewise will not be happy serving people that type of food or serving them any food at a location which I do not feel gives off the vibe that I would like it to. My restaurant represents me — it allows both Olaf and myself to express ourselves. I am looking forward to having everything exactly the way I want it and to see people really enjoying themselves at Polonia Eatery. We have already made a great deal of progress and I believe things will continue moving in the direction I hoped they would.