On the CB3-SLA docket tonight: applicants for the former Sidewalk and Rue-B spaces

Here's a look at two of the items on tonight's CB3-SLA committee meeting... (we wrote about Bar Veloce's application for a new spot on the Bowery here). 

• Offside (OT AT LLC), 94 Ave A (op) 

An applicant is looking to open Offside, a bar-restaurant serving "American comfort food" in the former Sidewalk (and August Laura) space on the NE corner of Avenue A and Sixth Street.

According to the questionnaire on the CB3 website, Offside has proposed hours of 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. on weekdays, with an 11 a.m. start on weekends. The applicants also plan on having sidewalk and streetside seating. 

The applicant previously ran the Offside at 137 W. 14th St. The tavern, which opened in 2017, closed during the pandemic in 2020. Offside was known as a gathering spot for fans watching Islanders games. 

August Laura closed last December after a fall 2019 debut. Sidewalk, the restaurant, bar and live music venue (home of the Antifolk Festival), shuttered in February 2019 after 34 years.

• Next Best LLC, 188 Ave B (op) 

Hi-Note is a proposed coffee shop-karaoke bar combo for 188 Avenue B between 11th Street and 12th Street in space that was previously the jazz club Rue-B. 

According to the CB3 questionnaire, daily coffee service will take place between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. ...  with the bar component open from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. During the day, Hi-Note plans to serve cafe fare, including pastries, salads and sandwiches. 

Hi-Note's management team previously ran Baby Grand, the now-closed karaoke bar on Lafayette. 

Rue-B shut down last fall after 23 years in business. 

Tonight's virtual meeting starts at 6:30. You can find the Zoom link here.

 Thank you to Jake Bowling for the photo at 188 Avenue B.

Dark jazz: Rue-B closes, leaving Avenue B

Photo yesterday by Stacie Joy

Rue-B, the bar and live music venue specializing in jazz at 188 Avenue B, has closed after nearly 23 years in business here between 11th Street and 12th Street. (H/T Lilly!)

Mike Camacho, who has owned the spot for the past five years, made the announcement in a video clip posted on Instagram. 

He said that they will be reopening at a location TBD at a later date. 

While he didn't name a specific reason for the closure, Rue-B's Instagram page states: "We apologize after almost 23 yrs we were forced to close down. Thank U East Village NYC 4 for allowing us to serve you spirits & live Jazz. With Love Rue-B." 

You can watch Camacho's farewell and thank you to patrons below...

 

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Rue-B's daytime service now includes CBD-infused coffee

We posted about this during the December holiday break... so it might be worth repeating: Rue-B, the jazz lounge-restaurant at 188 Avenue B, has added a daytime coffee service here between 11th Street and 12th Street.

This particular sign on the door is new since our last look... they are beta testing coffee and — an increasingly trendy add-in — CBD. Per the sign, "survey participants receive a free cup of CBD coffee" ...



CBD Coffee received a lot of buzz, so to speak, last year. (Cannabidiol is, basically, the compound in marijuana that doesn’t get you high.) Several NYC establishments serve CBD-infused coffee and drinks and pastries and lollipops. (By CHLOE debuted 25-plus menu items featuring CBD — the "Feelz by Chloe" line — in September.)

Anyway, the compound found in the cannabis plant is reputed to combat inflammation, insomnia and anxiety. However, Jeff Chen, director of the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative, told The Wall Street Journal last September that much is still unclear on the science behind CBD’s purported effects.

Still, Willie Nelson is a proponent. He launched his own line of CBD-infused coffee last summer. And there are new CBD drinks bearing Bob Marley's name.

High Times, however, wrote that it "has to be the Dumbest of all Coffee Trends."

Café Rue-B is open every day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and, per the door signage, offers coffee/tea, pastries and free WiFi.

Rue-B adds daytime café service

Rue-B, the jazz lounge-restaurant at 188 Avenue B, has added a daytime coffee service here between 11th Street and 12th Street... Café Rue-B is open every day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and, per the door signage, offers coffee/tea, pastries and free WiFi.