There are now Schmuck wheatpaste posters on the plywood...
Reps for Miami-based bar owner Dan Binkiewicz appeared before CB3's SLA committee last November. Binkiewicz teamed up with bartenders Moe Aljaff and Juliette Laroui, late of Two Schmucks in Barcelona.
The World's 50 Best Restaurants site included Schmuck in its list of "11 bar openings to look forward to in 2024."
Following their departure from high-ranking Barcelona bar Two Schmucks in 2022, Moe Aljaff and Juliette Laroui have been roaming the world as cocktail nomads in search of a new home. After a plethora of guest shifts around the world, in late 2023, they announced their new permanent residence in New York's East Village, set to open in partnership with Dan Binkiewicz of Sweet Liberty Drinks in Miami.Since obtaining the keys to the venue, Aljaff and Laroui have been rebuilding the space from the ground up ... to create a cultural hub that extends beyond just a space for great cocktails (of which there will be many).
Schmuck will also offer Middle Eastern-style cuisine. (The CB3 questionnaire includes a sample menu.)
The space is said to open later this summer.
In the years since Banjara moved out in late 2013, the restaurants at 97 First Ave. have gone through multiple name changes/concepts, including, but not limited to, Figaro Villaggio, an Italian bar-restaurant that later changed its name to Figaro Cafe Bistro Bar & Grill.
They eventually gave up part of the space to Apna Masala.
In March 2015, Figaro Cafe Bistro Bar & Grill changed its name/concept to La Esquina Bar & Grill ... then the name evolved to La Esquina Burritos and Bar ... and eventually East Village Burritos & Bar. Then Spicewala Bar Indian Cuisine. And then Mancora moved here from across the street.
