A look at the Schmuck sign on 1st Avenue

The cube-shaped-lettered Schmuck sign arrived in early November on the NW corner of First Avenue and Sixth Street...

The under-construction cocktail lounge comes via Moe Aljaff and Juliette Laroui, alum of Two Schmucks in Barcelona. (Previously) 

Punch recently talked with the pair and called this "New York's Most Anticipated Bar." 

In recent weeks, we've heard from a few readers who said the signage reminds them of the classic Burger-Klein sign that was a familiar presence at 28 Avenue A between Second Street and Third Street for decades. (Building history here.) 

We lost the Burger-Klein sign in 2014 when the gym took over the upper floors.

Here it is in all its 2013 glory...
 

Schmuck announces itself on 1st Avenue

Renovations continue at 97 First Ave. at Sixth Street, where a cocktail lounge called Schmuck is in the works. 

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.