Wara bringing Japanese cuisine and Batsu theater to 1st Avenue

[Photo from November]

Wara, a Japanese izakaya restaurant and dinner theater, is slated to open at 67 First Ave. at Fourth Street in the spring.

Wayne Yip, who owns Jebon Sushi at 15 St. Mark's Place and Clay Pot at 58 St. Mark's Place, is also behind this new venture.

CB3 OK'd a beer-wine license for Wara this month. According to the questionnaire (PDF here) at the CB3 website, Wara will be open from noon to midnight daily. The space has 18 tables seating 64 guests.

Real Estate Weekly had a few more details yesterday:

The experiential dining experience features sushi, Japanese pub-style eats and a Batsu theater, a show where actors are comically punished after losing a competition or bet.

Wara, whose name translates roughly to “laughing out loud,” took a 15-year lease at the corner spot ...

The asking rent was $15,500 a month, according to Sinvin Real Estate’s Steve Rappaport, who represented Wara. The landlord, Landlord Icon Realty, was represented in-house by Zach Levine.

Jebron also hosts Batsu theater in its basement lounge.

The Korean cafe Space Mabi closed here without any notice to patrons last month after a year in business.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Guayoyo has been closed now for 1 year

Gastropub — 'Your new playground' — slated for former Guayoyo space on 1st Avenue

Space Mabi closes 1 year in on 1st Avenue

Space Mabi closes 1 year in on 1st Avenue

That's apparently it for Space Mabi on First Avenue at Fourth Street... the Korean cafe-restaurant quietly closed earlier this month. There isn't any message on their social media properties about a closure, though Google and Yelp both list it as permanently closed. The signs have been removed and paper covers the windows.

Space Mabi opened on Nov. 3, 2017, with a shifting focus depending on the time of day. Per their Facebook description:

Space Mabi is a new gastropub with cozy atmosphere in East Village that specializes in New Korean cuisine, plus creative Korean alcoholic beverages.

Under the sun, we operate as ‘Cafe Space Mabi,’ under the moon, we serve as ‘Restaurant Space Mabi’, and under the stars, we turn into ‘Bar Space Mabi’.

[Photo from November 2017]

They eventually discontinued the daytime service, opening then at 5:30 p.m.

The space was previously Guayoyo, the low-key, family-owned Venezuelan restaurant, which never reopened after a basement fire in the Icon Realty-owned building in January 2015.

This marks the second self-described gastropub to close within two blocks this month on First Avenue.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Guayoyo has been closed now for 1 year

Gastropub — 'Your new playground' — slated for former Guayoyo space on 1st Avenue

Space Mabi is open on 1st Avenue

Been meaning to note that Space Mabi opened (as of Nov. 3, after a few other announced dates) at 67 First Ave. at Fourth Street...

They open at 8:30 a.m. for coffee and cafe service with free Wi-Fi...

Dinner service starts at 5 p.m.

Here's more about them via Facebook:

Space Mabi is a new gastropub with cozy atmosphere in East Village that specializes in New Korean cuisine, plus creative Korean alcoholic beverages.

Under the sun, we operate as ‘Cafe Space Mabi,’ under the moon, we serve as ‘Restaurant Space Mabi’, and under the stars, we turn into ‘Bar Space Mabi’.

You can find their website with menus here.

Previously

Space Mabi now with an Oct. 10 opening date

Over at 67 First Ave., the opening for Space Mabi has been pushed back. The Korean tapas bar/restaurant (aka gastropub) at Fourth Street originally had a Sept. 19 debut set, per the front-door signage... then it was pushed to Sept. 26 ... and now, Oct. 10...



The proprietors were previously behind a similar venture on Fifth Avenue at 30th Street called Space Nabi, which closed in the spring. It was a cafe in the morning hours, with food and drinks later in the day.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Guayoyo has been closed now for 1 year

Gastropub — 'Your new playground' — slated for former Guayoyo space on 1st Avenue

Space Mabi sets Sept. 19 opening date on 1st Avenue

Several readers have noted the opening-soon sign at 67 First Avenue at Fourth Street ... where Space Mabi has set a Sept. 19 opening date...



Here's more about the concept from the questionnaire for a liquor license here (CB3 approved this last month):

Our team is planning on making the space ... an intimate but stylish restaurant/bar which seeks to gather people of all backgrounds to share in a Korean dining experience with tapas influences. Exploring traditional flavors and dishes while utilizing modern cooking techniques and ingredients, artful plating and portion sizes, we hope that the authenticity of the food and the enjoyment of the dining experience will invite patrons for generations to come. It is our goal to realize something appropriate that addresses our aspirations and priorities.

We also want to provide the space to the community in the mornings and afternoons so that they can have utilize the space for working, studying, having group discussions, catching up with others, etc.

Dishes on the sample menu include a fried tofu ball, avocado salad and soy rice cake to start, and a variety of kimchi dishes, among others.

The proprietors were previously behind a similar venture on Fifth Avenue at 30th Street called Space Nabi, which closed in the spring. (It was a cafe in the morning hours, with food and drinks later in the day.)

The previous tenant, the Venezuelan restaurant Guayoyo, never reopened after an early-morning basement fire on Jan. 13, 2015.

H/T Vinny & O!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Guayoyo has been closed now for 1 year

Gastropub — 'Your new playground' — slated for former Guayoyo space on 1st Avenue