Ray's Candy Store the setting for one of these 'East Side Stories' at the Metropolitan Playhouse

The 14th edition of "East Side Stories," a new collection of one-act plays, premieres tonight at the Metropolitan Playhouse.

The works are "based on the rich history and eclectic character of [the] East Village and Lower East Side."

Here's a quick overview of what you'll find in "East Side Stories, Back Again" ... including one very well-known business on Avenue A...

• "Counting Pedestals" by Carlos Jerome

A community college student, focused on survival after a bid in prison, finds an unlikely bond with his mathematics professor.

• "Iriomote" by Arlene Jaffe

Greed and ego threaten the survival of two irreplaceable communities; one in lower Manhattan, the other more than 7,000 miles away.

• "The Poor Door" by Leonard Goodisman

Two women meet in an apartment building's entrance hall, each affronted by the other, and find they have more in common than they expected.

• "Ray's Candy Store" by Rachael Carnes

An aspiring actress, finding life in the city more difficult than she expected, meets a candy store owner who offers her a new perspective and an egg cream.

The run ends on June 23. You can find ticket info at this link. The Metropolitan Playhouse is at 220 E. Fourth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

A birthday celebration for Ray at Ray's Candy Store

Ray Alvarez, the hard-working proprietor of Ray's Candy Store, turns 86 on Jan. 25.

And as is tradition in recent years (dating to 2007), a group of Ray's friends/regulars hosted a birthday extravaganza, complete with a cake from Veniero's, inside the shop at 113 Avenue A last night.

Lilin Lace, Pearls Daily, Gal Friday, Nasty Canasta, Tansy and Cheeky Lane were there to help Ray celebrate.

This year, Ray's team paid tribute to their favorite fallen rock stars. After an intro of "The Candy Man" by Sammy Davis Jr., each of the six burlesque dancers took the stage/counter to accompany tracks by the Archies ("Sugar, Sugar"), Amy Winehouse ("Valerie"), Roy Orbison ("Oh, Pretty Woman"), the Jimi Hendrix Experience ("Foxy Lady"), the Doors ("Touch Me") and David Bowie ("The Jean Genie").



EVG correspondent Stacie Joy shared these photos from last night...






[Pearls Daily]




[Lilin Lace]




[Cheeky Lane]




[Gal Friday]


[Tansy]




[Nasty Canasta]




[Lilin Lace, Pearls Daily, Gal Friday, Ray, Nasty Canasta, Tansy & Cheeky Lane]

Get Ray's Candy Store delivered to your door

Over at Ray's Candy Store at 113 Avenue A, Ray started a delivery service via Uber Eats back in the late summer... which has apparently helped boost business ...


[Photo by Peter Brownscombe from September]

And now, Ray's has even more delivery options, as announced today, so you can get beignets or Belgian fries or something crazy that Ray has even dreamed up just yet brought to your doorstep...

View this post on Instagram

More big news!!! @RaysCandyStore delivery is now available via @Seamless and @Grubhub!!! Another way to get Ray's famous delights delivered right to your door! 🚗🛴🚲🛵🚘🚞🚙🚗🛴🚲🛵🚘🚞🚙 Perfect for these cold Winter nights!!! Give it a shot!!! Order via the web or download the Seamless and/or Grubhub apps for iOS and Android and search for "Ray's Candy Store!" And you can also order Ray's delivery via Uber Eats!!! 📱💻📱💻📱💻📱💻📱💻📱💻📱💻 AND AGAIN –– PLEASE DON'T BE A STRANGER AT THE STORE!!! WE'D MISS YOU TOO MUCH AND CUSTOMERS WHO BUY IN-PERSON GET EXTRA SERVINGS OF LOVE!!! #️⃣ #rayscandystore #eastvillage #alphabetcity #avenuea #nyc #realnyc #smallbiz #ourmanray #everythingmadewithlove #hoorays #nyceats #nycfood #nycfoodie #newyorkdesserts #newyorkfood #munchies #famousrays #trueyorker #trueyorkcity #delivery #latenighteats #grubhub #seamless #ubereats #uber #foodiegram #nyu #gamechanger #netflixandchillandrays

A post shared by Ray's Candy Store (@rayscandystore) on Dec 6, 2018 at 7:17am PST

Ray gets to see Ray's Candy Store on 'Parts Unknown'

CNN aired the series finale of Anthony Bourdain's "Parts Unknown" last night, as you might know. The episode, which arrived five months after the TV host and writer's death, was set in the East Village and Lower East Side. "This is a show about a very special place, a special time, and some very special people," Bourdain announced in the intro, the only voice-over during the 75-minute show.

Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A was among the stops (this listicle has all the places he visited) that Bourdain made with a variety of artists, musicians and filmmakers.

Ray was working and didn't get to watch any of the episode. However, afterwards, he was able to see his appearance — in which he serves Bourdain and Harley Flanagan egg creams — courtesy of Eden's smartphone. (EVG contributor Stacie Joy was among the people who stopped by Ray's last night.)

Meanwhile, over at Eater, Greg Morabito complied his best moments-quotes from the episode, including:

Bourdain asking Jim Jarmusch and Amos Poe about the neighborhood: “What do you think now when you walk around the neighborhood? You paid some dues to walk down back in the day, now it’s projectile vomiting frat boys with their baseball caps on backwards. Does this give you a sinking feeling or make you angry?”

Jarmusch, responding: “The thing that I always tell myself is: Look at the history of New York City, and it’s always about hustling and change. And if you want it to stay the same, man, you’ve got the wrong historical spot, because there used to be a Native American trading post on the tip of Manhattan. It’s now Wall Street.”

An Evening at Ray's Candy Store

Last night saw another Evening at Ray's Candy Store: A Special Restaurant Week Chef's Tasting Event.

For $10, attendees could enjoy a five-course tasting menu featuring a selection of Ray's finest and favorites — prepared by Chef Ray himself...



EVG regular Peter Brownscombe shared there photos from the shop at 113 Avenue A...

Spend the evening at Ray's tonight with a special 'Tasting Event'

Via the EVG inbox...

Another Evening at Ray's Candy Store: A Special Restaurant Week Chef's Tasting Event!

Date: Monday, Aug. 20 (Today!)
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: 113 Avenue A at Seventh Street
Cost: $10 per person (cash only)

Join us at the shop and enjoy a most unique tasting menu cooked up by Chef Ray himself! Once again, guests will be served a 5-course tasting menu made up of a selection of Ray's favorites! Your choice of egg cream, coffee, tea or soft drink included.

Come! Bring friends!

More info and RSVP here.

ICYMI: Ray in the Sunday Times

[Photo by Francisco Valera]

In an article published Sunday, Alex Vadukul at The New York Times looks at the relationship between filmmaker Arya Ghavamian and Ray Alvarez, the proprietor of Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A.

Ghavamian recently held a successful crowdfunding campaign to help cover the production costs of his coming documentary, "The Candy Store," which "explores Mr. Alvarez's reputation as an unlikely Zen character displaced from New York’s urbanity."

An excerpt from the article:

Mr. Ghavamian walked into Ray’s Candy Store one night in 2014. As Mr. Alvarez made him a milkshake, he noticed a photograph of Mr. Alvarez proudly holding his certificate of naturalization. They started speaking Farsi, and Mr. Ghavamian discovered that Mr. Alvarez is from Tabriz, just like his father. “Metaphorically, I realized that our stories are the same,” he said. He started filming soon after.

And here was the video that came with the crowdfunding campaign...

The Candy Store: A Documentary from candystoremovie on Vimeo.

And hold the bun...

Jax taking a look inside Ray's on Avenue A... thanks to Sharon for the photo earlier today...

Back to the 80s: Celebrating Ray's 85th birthday at Ray's Candy Store

Ray Alvarez, the hard-working proprietor of Ray's Candy Store, turned 85 on Jan. 25.

And, as is recent tradition, some of Ray's friends/regulars threw him a party inside the shop at 113 Avenue A.

Last night's celebration had an 1980s-theme, and featured burlesque dancers Cheeky Lane, Pearls Daily, Lil Miss Lixx, Nasty Canasta and Gal Friday, who took turns to era-friendly classics such as "I Want Candy" and "Material Girl." (The Ray's birthday party celebration with dancers goes back to 2007. Check out Bob Arihood's photos from Ray's 74th birthday bash here.)

EVG correspondent Stacie Joy shared a few photos from last night...




[Cheeky Lane]


[Pearls Daily]


[Gal Friday]



Throughout the evening, friends and longtime regulars stopped by to wish Ray a happy birthday. There was a cake from Veniero's...



Jimmy Webb delivered a gift from his Orchard Street boutique I Need More (there was also a gift from the folks behind the
East Village Vintage Collective on 12th Street) ...







Updated:

Slum Goddess has photos and videos here.

Happy 2018 from Ray

And happy birth month to Ray, as the proprietor of Ray's Candy Store at 113 Avenue A will be 85 on Jan. 25.

Thanks to Rainer Turim for the photo!

New at Ray's Candy Store: chicken and waffles (ice cream optional)

The paper-plate signage is up at Ray's Candy Store, 113 Avenue A, announcing the latest menu item — chicken and waffles ($9, or $11 if you want ice cream with it)... and here's Ray's with the non-ice-cream version...



News and photos by Peter Brownscombe

Documentary filmmaker looking for archival photos-footage of Ray's Candy Store

A local filmmaker is working on a documentary about Ray and Ray's Candy Store. He’s looking for older photos or footage of Ray and the store on Avenue A near Seventh Street ... like the one above from the late 1970s by Michael Sean Edwards.

Here's the contact info: ray@rayscandystore.com

Tuesday's parting shots

Halloween at Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A... photos by Lola Sāenz ...

EVG Etc.: Mark Burger cow status; menu update at Ray's; free pizza on Broadway

Workers are breaking down the now-closed Mark Burger at 33 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

Management said that higher rents and a changing St. Mark's Place were behind the closure.

And the Mark Burger cow is going to a new home. Derek Berg spotted it on the moo-ve Sunday... apparently the owner's family will take in the cow (and have it restored by the original artist) ...



The cow was designed by Rumiko Tsuda as part of the CowParade New York in 2000. This work was titled "Diversity of People."

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And over at Ray's Candy Store, 113 Avenue A, there's a new (plastic) dish on the menu...



Chicken wings, as EVG regular Peter Brownscombe passed along...



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And at 740 Broadway near Astor Place, the Washington, D.C.-based &pizza opens today (Oct. 3) ... they're giving stuff away...

ASTOR PLACE - SHOP NO. 23 // it's all happening tomorrow // first 100 people in line get FREE PIZZA // first 23 people to request the & tattoo get FREE INK from @firstclassnyc + FREE PIZZA FOR A YEAR // big thanks to @maspaz x @misschelove for making their mark on the shop #makeyourmark

A post shared by &pizza (@andpizza) on Oct 2, 2017 at 8:27am PDT