Thursday's parting shot

A scene from Sixth Street at Avenue A today via @Phandy_13 ... showing the Sidewalk Closed sign outside the now-closed Sidewalk Bar and Restaurant.

[Updated] The building housing the former Sidewalk sells on Avenue A

[EVG file photo]

We've heard rumors in the past week that 94-96 Avenue A, the building that housed the Sidewalk Bar & Restaurant for nearly 34 years, had a new owner. (The asking price had been $11.9 million.)

On Monday, the paperwork (dated March 14) for the sale was filed in public records. The documents show that the sale price was $9.6 million. The (so far) mystery buyer is listed as PSC Avenue A LLC. The address on the paperwork corresponds to a law firm (Robinson Brog Leinwand Greene Genovese & Gluck) in Midtown.

Not sure what might be next for the building — or its current tenants. According to the listing, the floor area ratio (FAR) allows for one more floor to be added to the building. And per the listing: "The legendary location has seen many walks of life and now it can be yours. The building is a goldmine in the waiting."

As you likely know, new owners have taken over the former Sidewalk, which closed after service on Feb. 23. So far not many details about what's to come here have been made public. There have been rumors that the new establishment will retain the Sidewalk name... and at least one of the open-mic nights.

Don't look for the new place to be open anything soon. Just last week the city issued a permit for renovation work in the bar-restaurant space.

Updated 4/4

Penn South Capital is the owner, Patch reports. Parag Sawhney, founder of Penn South, had this to say:

"We have a new restaurant tenant that will keep the open mic tradition alive," he said by email. "We love the East Village and believe in preserving what make its so special. We had a very peaceful transition from the previous landlord who also owned and managed Sidewalk. That owner has now retired from business and had no interest in staying on as our tenant."

Previously on EV Grieve:
New owners set to take over the 33-year-old Sidewalk Bar & Restaurant on Avenue A

Now the Sidewalk looks closed

A quickie follow-up post from last week ... on Saturday, someone covered the windows with paper at the Sidewalk Bar and Restaurant on Avenue A at Sixth Street, which closed on Feb. 23...



Until Saturday, the place still looked open. The lights were on inside ... and there weren't any closed signs or farewell notes to patrons on the door or windows.... we spotted several people trying the front door then peering inside.

Anyway, the bar-restaurant-live-music venue has new owners, whose plans for the space haven't been made public yet.

The building housing the now-closed Sidewalk remains for sale on Avenue A

The Sidewalk Bar and Restaurant closed after service on Feb. 23.

As previously reported, hospitality vets Laura Saniuk-Heinig and Alyssa Sartor are taking over the restaurant space. Work on that has yet to begin here on Avenue A and Sixth Street.

The Sidewalk still looks open — from a distance anyway. The lights are on inside, and I've seen several people try the front door then peer inside. (The gate is down on the bar side.) The sidewalk cafe tables and chairs are stacked on Sixth Street, seemingly ready for warmer weather...


[Photo from Monday]

In an email last night, Saniuk-Heinig said they're still ironing out details for the Sidewalk space.

Meanwhile, the building at 96-98 Avenue A remains on the sales market, per a tipster. The listing at Loopnet was first created in November 2017, and last updated on Monday.

Misrahi Realty has the exclusive listing. The current asking price is $11.9 million.

According to the listing, the floor area ratio (FAR) allows for one more floor to be added to the building. And per the listing: "The legendary location has seen many walks of life and now it can be yours. The building is a goldmine in the waiting."

Parting thoughts on the Sidewalk: 'grubby, unremarkable, and undeniably special'

[EVG photo from November]

Sidewalk Bar and Restaurant wrapped up its 34 years on Avenue A and Sixth Street on Saturday, as we first reported.

Over at Grub Street, Jason Diamond pens a closing ode to the familiar corner spot:

I hope this doesn’t sound mean, but Sidewalk Cafe was not very good. That’s what makes its closing such a bummer. The restaurant, bar, and live music venue ... was grubby, unremarkable, and undeniably special to those of us who spent weekends camped out at its outside tables slurping down frozen margaritas.

And...

Sidewalk was a quintessential New York City business because it was always there. That might sound like a slight, but think of all the things — and people — that come and go in New York. To live in this city for any real period of time is to feel bereaved at every corner, all of the time. We grieve for the friends that move to L.A., the places that close because the rent is too high or the guests are too few, and for the people we were when we first arrived.

Previously on EV Grieve:
New owners set to take over the 33-year-old Sidewalk Bar & Restaurant on Avenue A

The final days of Sidewalk

The unknown future of the Sidewalk

As I first reported on Dec. 10, the 33-year-old Sidewalk Bar & Restaurant on Avenue A and Sixth Street has new ownership

The new owners will be hospitality vets Laura Saniuk-Heinig and Alyssa Sartor. (Saniuk-Heinig is the general manager at the Bar Room on East 60th Street; Sartor co-owned August Laura in Carroll Gardens.)

There are a lot of unknowns about what's next. In an email exchange earlier this month, Saniuk-Heinig told me that they will keep the Sidewalk's longstanding live-music tradition alive, though she was not sure yet what type of music they'll feature. She also said that no decision had been made yet on the name of the establishment (perhaps Sidewalk will continue).

In a piece posted last night at The Daily Beast, Anthony Haden-Guest writes that it was "a shock but no surprise to learn" about the change in owners.

So why no surprise? Because in our Wealth Gap period, gentrification has become a seemingly unstoppable force.

Saniuk-Heinig told the Daily Beast that they'd know more details on what's to come next month.

The DB article also looks at the history of the venue's open-mic nights — the most active one in NYC.

Andrew Kirell, a Daily Beast senior editor and accomplished musician, has played there. “What makes Sidewalk so charming is that it has the feel of the type of DIY venue that Manhattan now sorely lacks,” he said. “There’s a sense of community in just being there, because it feels like a haven for underdogs, rabble-rousers, and anyone who just wants to express themselves.”

Previously on EV Grieve:
New owners set to take over the 33-year-old Sidewalk Bar & Restaurant on Avenue A

New owners set to take over the 33-year-old Sidewalk Bar & Restaurant on Avenue A

[EVG photo from November]

A new ownership team is on this month's CB3-SLA agenda for the Sidewalk, the 33-year-old bar-restaurant-live-music venue on Avenue A at Sixth Street.

The applicants are hospitality veterans Laura Saniuk-Heinig and Alyssa Sartor. (Saniuk-Heinig is the general manager at the Bar Room on East 60th Street; Sartor co-owned August Laura in Carroll Gardens.)



The questionnaire on file at the CB3 website (PDF here) describes the food/menu concept as "American bistro."

Live music, a longstanding tradition here, will apparently continue.

"We are looking forward to keeping the music aspect of the room still alive. Exactly what kinds of shows, we do not know yet," Saniuk-Heinig told me via email.

And will they keep the Sidewalk name? "We are in talks with the current owner, but no decision has been made," she wrote.

Sidewalk opened in the corner spot in 1985 ... eventually expanding to the space next door when Sophie's relocated to its current home on Fifth Street.

The biannual Antifolk Festival has been held here since 1993. The music venue has helped launch the careers of singer-songwriters like Regina Spektor, Adam Green, Kimya Dawson and Jeffrey Lewis. The Sidewalk still hosts live music, open mic nights (one of the longest-running ones in the city) and reading series seven days a week.

Sidewalk underwent a full renovation in 2011. Amnon Kehati, one of the Sidewalk partners, died in February 2015 at age 64.

The committee meeting starts tonight at 6:30. Location: The Perseverance House Community Room, 535 E. Fifth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.


[Photo from 1997 by Dave Buchwald]

It's possible to get the Impossible Burger at Sidewalk now

Just like the sign says here at Sidewalk on Avenue A and Sixth Street.

Well, you probably know the story about Impossible Foods, the company founded in 2011 that counts Google Ventures and Bill Gates among its investors. Basically it's the plant-based burger that "bleeds." The burgers are getting into the mainstream.

This video via Wired has the back story and the science behind (or inside) them...



The burgers aren't entirely impossible (sorry!) to find around here. This Impossible Foods map lists area restaurants that serve them, including Central Bar on Ninth Street and Saxon + Parole on the Bowery.

In any event, Sidewalk is happy about their arrival...

View this post on Instagram

NOW SERVING THE IMPOSSIBLE BURGER!!! #eastvillage #vegan #itbleeds #madefromplants #impossibleburger #impossiblefoods

A post shared by Sidewalk Cafe (@sidewalknyc) on Oct 9, 2018 at 2:35pm PDT

RIP Amnon Kehati

Amnon Kehati, a longtime partner in Sidewalk Cafe on Avenue A and more recently Mark burger on St. Mark's Place, died Feb. 19 after going into cardiac arrest. He was 64.

The Villager has a feature obituary on Kehati in this week's edition.

“Restaurants are a way of life rather than a business,” his daughter said. “People would say that he shouldn’t be working so hard, but it wasn’t work to him.”

Winter Antifolk Festival, now in its 20th year, is underway at Sidewalk Cafe

From the EVG inbox…

Over the last 20 years the back room at the Sidewalk Cafe on Avenue A and East Sixth Street has been an incubator, laboratory and town square for a dynamic community of performing artists. It helped launch the careers of singer-songwriters like Regina Spektor, Adam Green, Kimya Dawson, and Jeffrey Lewis, and today is one of the few remaining Manhattan venues that welcome and nurture emerging performers.

More than 80 artists who represent a cross-section of standout talent from the scene will appear in the Winter Antifolk Festival 2014, running Feb. 18 through Feb 28. Among the notable performers scheduled are Hamell on Trial, Debe Dalton, Crazy & the Brains, Larkin Grimm, Fayaway, and Jason Trachtenburg. Special guest artists will also appear. Sidewalk Cafe is located at 94 Avenue A at East Sixth Street. There is no cover charge, although there is a one-item food or drink minimum.

The biannual Antifolk Festival was launched in the mid-1980s by a group of young songwriters who created the event as an alternative to the more mainstream New York Folk Festival. The Antifolk scene then coalesced around a regular open mic session, the Antihoot, that was spearheaded by the songwriter Lach and moved from spot to spot before settling in at Sidewalk Cafe in 1993. Lach was Antifolk’s ringleader and impresario until 2008 when he handed the baton of leadership to Ben Krieger. Today the landmark Monday night open stage is still the focal point of the Sidewalk scene, although the club offers shows seven nights per week. Krieger now oversees the Sidewalk stage in partnership with Somer Bingham.

So, what is Antifolk? Many participants have said that it describes a community of artists rather than a particular style. “Antifolk revolves around conviction and passion, and is inclusive of many different types of sounds,” said Krieger. “The best way to learn more about it is to come to Sidewalk Cafe and listen to the artists playing today.”

Check out the full list of performers here.

In other Sidewalk-related news, American Songwriter reported yesterday that Ben Krieger is stepping down as Sidewalk's booker. Somer Bingham, who has been running sound there the past six years, will be taking over. Krieger will still be hosting the Monday Night Open Stage.

Sidewalk Cafe unveils new menu items

There's a new Mediterranean/Middle Eastern menu over at Sidewalk Cafe on Avenue A and East Sixth Street… there's the return of the hummus…



… as well as items like chicken shawarma and hand-rolled couscous. You can find the new menu online here.

In honor of the new menu tonight at Sidewalk, which opened here in 1985 … there's the Menu Monday at the Open Stage starting at 7:30. Per the Facebook event page:

For this special Monday Night Open Stage we'll be promoting the new menu. Order ANYTHING off the menu and get a free beer/well/coffee/tea (happy hour drinks).

Anything? Want fries? Get a beer? Falafel? Beer. Hummus? Beer. Or whatever you want.

The Summer Antifolk Festival starts tonight at Sidewalk Cafe

From the EVG inbox...

The 10-day Summer Antifolk Festival at Sidewalk Cafe will feature performances by more than 90 acts in a jam-packed showcase of music and other performing arts that characterize the ongoing creative scene at the renowned East Village venue. The Fest, which runs August 6 through 16, is the concluding event in the year-long celebration of the 20th anniversary of Antifolk at Sidewalk Cafe. It brings together a large cross-section of performers who have been part of the close-knit Sidewalk community over the last two decades, many of whom are returning to the club for rare appearances.

It also features some of the brightest newcomers in the scene. The Summer Antifolk Festival runs August 6 through 16 at Sidewalk Cafe, 94 Avenue A (at Sixth Street). There is no cover charge for shows, although there is a one-item food or drink minimum.

Check out the Sidewalk website for more details and complete list of performers.

Sidewalk Café celebrates 20 years of live music; Antifolk Festival starts tonight

[EVG file photo via Bobby Williams]

From the EV Grieve inbox...

MANHATTAN LANDMARK TO CELEBRATE 20 YEARS OF LIVE MUSIC
Winter Antifolk Festival to Launch Sidewalk Café’s Year Long Calendar of Festivities

To mark 20 years of live music at Manhattan’s Sidewalk Café, the East Village landmark will present Sidewalk LIVE, 20th Anniversary, a year-long celebration of special initiatives ... Sidewalk will kick off the festivities with the Winter 2013 edition of the bi-annual Antifolk Festival, Feb. 19 to 28.

Sidewalk LIVE, 20th Anniversary will include a series of panel discussions by Sidewalk artists, record releases, an online photographic retrospective, anniversary oriented food and beverage offerings, the introduction of new musical programming, performances by notable Sidewalk alumni and the Summer Antifolk Festival.

The ten-day Winter Antifolk Festival launch of Sidewalk LIVE will feature some 80 artists (schedule follows) representing the entire span of Sidewalk’s remarkable music timeline, including those whose careers were launched there, singer-songwriters such as: Jeffrey Lewis (performing with legendary musician Peter Stampfel of the Holy Modal Rounders and the Fugs): Jason Trachtenburg; and Seth Faergolzia of Dufus (performing with John Ludington).

The Winter Antifolk Festival will take place Feb. 19 – 28 with more than 80 free evening concerts over the ten-day period at SideWalk Café, 94 Avenue A (at 6th).

For more information and schedule details of the Winter Antifolk Festival and Sidewalk LIVE, go here. You can watch a live stream of each night's show here.

Reminder: Benefit for Occupy Sandy tonight at Sidewalk

Reposting this from Wednesday...

Via the EVG inbox...

BoysLikeBarbies and MERMAIDFARM Media Arts present I HEART HURRICANE RELIEF, a benefit for Occupy Sandy at the Sidewalk Cafe.

Music, poetry, comedy, plus live auctions and raffles to support those in the process of recovering from Hurricane Sandy. $10 suggested donation. 5:30 p.m. — midnight.

Jeffrey Lewis
Victor Varnado
Debe Dalton
John F. O'Donnell
Madison Cano
Jessica Delfino
Bernard King Presents
Myka Fox
Bridget and the Squares
The DeLorean Sisters
Tim Shea
Peter Loureiro
Sean T. Hanratty and the Mighty Mighty

Hosted by A Brief View of the Hudson

ON THE AUCTION BLOCK:
- Vintage jewelry and accessories from Dusty Buttons
- A Photograph from rock and roll photographer Jonnie Miles
- A gift certificate to Mark Garrison Salon
- 2 $25 bar tabs at the Sidewalk Cafe
- A Bridget and the Squares shwag bag
- A $50 bar tab at Sophie's Bar
- A $50 bar tab at Mona's Bar
- A $50 bar tab at Josie's Bar
- A complimentary massage from Jessica Laine Trugman Massage

IN ADDITION to monetary relief, we are asking all in attendance to please go take a look at the Occupy Sandy website, and are encouraging all to bring any supplies they are currently requesting to the event. They have expressed a dire need for volunteers, especially on the weekends, and team leaders and organizers who can commit for extended periods of time. A representative from the Occupy Sandy group will be there accepting donations and have information for the ways in which you can help!

There's also a Facebook page with more information here.

UPDATED:
There's also a benefit CD available... 20 songs for $5 ... among the featured groups — Eden & John’s East River String Band ... details here.

Benefit for Occupy Sandy Saturday at Sidewalk

Via the EVG inbox...

BoysLikeBarbies and MERMAIDFARM Media Arts present I HEART HURRICANE RELIEF, a benefit for Occupy Sandy at the Sidewalk Cafe.

Music, poetry, comedy, plus live auctions and raffles to support those in the process of recovering from Hurricane Sandy. $10 suggested donation. 5:30 p.m. — midnight.

Jeffrey Lewis
Victor Varnado
Debe Dalton
John F. O'Donnell
Madison Cano
Jessica Delfino
Bernard King Presents
Myka Fox
Bridget and the Squares
The DeLorean Sisters
Tim Shea
Peter Loureiro
Sean T. Hanratty and the Mighty Mighty

Hosted by A Brief View of the Hudson

ON THE AUCTION BLOCK:
- Vintage jewelry and accessories from Dusty Buttons
- A Photograph from rock and roll photographer Jonnie Miles
- A gift certificate to Mark Garrison Salon
- 2 $25 bar tabs at the Sidewalk Cafe
- A Bridget and the Squares shwag bag
- A $50 bar tab at Sophie's Bar
- A $50 bar tab at Mona's Bar
- A $50 bar tab at Josie's Bar
- A complimentary massage from Jessica Laine Trugman Massage

IN ADDITION to monetary relief, we are asking all in attendance to please go take a look at the Occupy Sandy website, and are encouraging all to bring any supplies they are currently requesting to the event. They have expressed a dire need for volunteers, especially on the weekends, and team leaders and organizers who can commit for extended periods of time. A representative from the Occupy Sandy group will be there accepting donations and have information for the ways in which you can help!

There's also a Facebook page with more information here.

Sidewalk's new-look sidewalk cafe

A bit of a sidewalk beautification project here on Avenue A at East Sixth Street... on Friday, Bobby Williams noted the arrival of some flower boxes for the outdoor space...





...and it's a good thing that Sidewalk workers bring them in at night. Have you noticed how people continue to dump the flower boxes at various restaurants, such as here at Numero 28 on Second Avenue?

Guest bartenders for Sidewalk starting tomorrow night

Via the EV Grieve in box...

Some of New York’s most well-known and innovative cocktail specialists are temporarily stepping away from their spices and strainers to serve up shots and drafts as guest bartenders at the East Village’s Sidewalk Cafe, at 94 Avenue A (at East 6th Street). Starting March 28, such master mixologists as Scott James Teague (veteran of Pegu Club); Michael Klein and Nick Brown (PDT); and Frank Cisneros (Dram, Bourgeois Pig, Cienfuegos) and Jane Danger, formerly of PDT; are taking a break from the stylish concoctions they create elsewhere to lend their hand serving more typical bar fare — beer, shots, and a handful of popular mixed drinks, at Sidewalk Cafe. Guest bartenders will be on hand at Sidewalk the second and fourth Wednesday of each month from 8 p.m. to midnight.

The Winter Antifolk Festival starts tomorrow at Sidewalk

From the EV Grieve inbox...

Up from the Underground Winter Antifolk Festival Highlights 50 Artists from Legendary Songwriting Scene at East Village’s Sidewalk Cafe, February 22 through 26

Nearly 50 songwriters and other performers who have drawn attention within the underground network of artists centered at Sidewalk Cafe in the East Village will be highlighted in the 2012 Winter Antifolk Festival from February 22 through 26.

For almost two decades the Festival has featured the most promising and prominent performers from the scene at Sidewalk. The venue is known for serving as a launching pad for the careers of artists like Regina Spektor, Jeffrey Lewis, and The Moldy Peaches and also is home to a supportive and deep-seated artistic community.

Among those scheduled to perform are Larkin Grimm, Level 2, Turner Cody, Jon Berger, Debe Dalton, and Emily Einhorn, as well as Osei Essed and Ching Ching, two Sidewalk favorites making long-awaited return visits to the club. The 2012 Winter Antifolk Festival is held at Sidewalk Cafe, 94 Avenue A (Sixth Street). No cover, one drink minimum.

Find the full schedule here.

Antifolk Festival starts tonight at Sidewalk

From the EV Grieve inbox ...

Antifolk Festival Highlights More than Fifty Performers and Groups, September 19 through 25 at Sidewalk Cafe

After five months in exile, the Antifolk community has returned to its home on Avenue A. The Fall 2011 Antifolk Festival, which takes place September 19 through 25, will feature performances by more than 50 songwriters, groups, and other performers who are part of the extensive network of artists that orbits around Sidewalk Cafe. In addition to showcasing a cross-section of performers from the Sidewalk community, this year’s Festival marks a celebration of the group’s return to its longtime home after the restaurant suddenly closed in March for extensive renovations. Sidewalk Cafe is located at 94 Avenue A at Sixth Street.

Artists
Among those scheduled to play the Festival are Sidewalk veteran and Rough Trade recording artist Jeffrey Lewis; Vincent Cacchione, lead singer of the band Caged Animals; Jason Trachtenburg with his group The Pendulum Swings; and Antifolk pioneer Kirk Kelly. It also marks the return of banjo-player and underground songwriting sensation Debe Dalton after her seven-month recovery from a traumatic hand injury. Dalton is a beloved figure on the scene whose stirring performances have been missed. She will close the Fest on the final candle-lit, all acoustic “Blackout Night,” with a special bill of artists she selected. Among the many dynamically talented performers representing more recent generations of Sidewalk artists are the brilliant songwriter and singer Emily Einhorn, the punk rock and classical xylophone-influenced group Crazy and the Brains; laid back ukelele maestro Morgan Heringer; and the jazz-influenced, piano-based Albert Goold Band.

Fall 2011 Antifolk Festival
Complete Schedule Here
September 19 through 25
Sidewalk Cafe, 94 Avenue A (6th Street)
No cover charge, one drink minimum

Open Mic returns to Sidewalk tonight

From the EV Grieve inbox

[Photo by Katie Sokoler for Gothamist]

The Music is Back at Sidewalk Cafe. Legendary Open Mic Returns to its Renovated Home August 15

After five months in exile, Sidewalk Cafe's open stage returns to the back room of the newly renovated East Village restaurant. For more than 18 years Sidewalk has hosted what has become a landmark event each Monday, a marathon open stage that has helped propel the careers of many songwriters and performers including Regina Spektor, the Moldy Peaches, Jeffrey Lewis, Diane Cluck and Darwin Deez.

During the restaurant's renovations, that community banded together immediately and continued at an alternate location. But now that the restoration is completed, the Sidewalk's open stage and nightly shows are back in buffed-up new digs. The doors are open for anyone who wants to perform or become part of Sidewalk’s rambling corps of talented and eccentric regulars. The open stage is run by Ben Krieger, who took over for founder Lach in 2008. Sign-up at 7:30 pm, music from 8 pm until everyone has played or the club closes at 4 am.

You can find more about the new stage at the Sidewalk's Sidewalk blog here.

The release also thanked Steve Cannon at the Gathering of the Tribes, where the group held Open Mic nights these previous months. The Gathering of the Tribes could use your support too.