Teso Life is open on St. Mark's Place

Teso Life, a Japanese variety store, is now open in the lower space at 19-23 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. (First reported on Feb. 13.)

Per the Teso Life Instagram account, the shop "offers the widest selection of quality accessories, beauty and lifestyle products from Japan.

They are open daily from noon to 9 p.m. ... and this marks their fourth NYC location.

This is just one of the two new tenants in the space that was previously home for 16 years (RIP October 2019) to St. Mark's Market. 

T-swirl Crêpe opened here back in the fall... they previously had an EV outpost on 14th Street...

H/T Steven!

19-23 St. Mark's Place sells for $34 million

[Photo via]

UBS Realty Investors is the new owner of 19-23 St. Mark's Place, the 8-story retail-residential complex between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

Cape Advisors sold the property for $34 million, according to @TradedNY.

The building features 41 residential units, five retail spaces and a sidewalk bridge dating back at least five years.


[Photo yesterday by Steven]

Most recently, Teso Life, a Japanese variety store, signed a lease for the former St. Mark's Market, which closed here this past October after 16 years in business. A restaurant called CheLi is in the works for the upper retail level.

The address has a long history. As Off the Grid noted:

The buildings at 19-23 St. Mark’s Place are an excellent example of how the East Village has changed over time from a wealthy merchants neighborhood to a landing spot for immigrants, to the launch pad for numerous counterculture and artistic movements. Where else would one find a building which had been townhouses for wealthy families, a ballroom, a gangster hangout, a Polish wedding chapel, and a performance venue with the Velvet Underground as the house band?

In the early 2000s, a developer gutted the space, added a new façade as well as a few floors that look as if they blew in from the Hamptons. The developer also created the mall-friendly retail spaces, whose tenants have included a Chipotle and CBGB gift shop.


[EVG photo from 2008]

The building also features the $18,000-per-month unit, which Daniel Craig was said to be renting at one point.

Previously on EV Grieve:
St. Mark's Market is dead

The remains of the St. Mark's Market

There has been a lot of activity inside 19-23 St. Mark's Place where workers are pulling the guts out of the former St. Mark's Market here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

Steven shared the top photo from yesterday, showing that the remains of the grocery-deli have been carted off.

As noted back on Feb. 13, Teso Life, a Japanese variety store with several NYC locations, is the new tenant in the subterranean space.

St. Mark's Market closed last October after 16 years in business.

Previously on EV Grieve:
St. Mark's Market is dead

Japanese variety store Teso Life coming to the former St. Mark's Market space

[Photo by Steven]

Teso Life, a Japanese variety store, has signed a lease to open an outpost at 19-23 St. Mark's Place. The shop will be located in the former St. Mark's Market, which closed here this past October between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

Per the Teso Life Instagram account, the shop "offers the widest selection of quality accessories, beauty and lifestyle products from Japan."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Teso Life (@tesolife) on Sep 10, 2019 at 10:46am PDT

This will be the fourth NYC location for Teso Life. And they'll have some nearby completion with Kosumosu, which sells Japanese beauty and health-care products at 37 St. Mark's Place. (It took over the space from the like-minded Shibuyala, which left after less than a year.)

As for No. 19-23, St. Mark's Market opened in 2003 in the mall-like building that replaced layers of history at the address that included the Dom, the Exploding Plastic Inevitable (featuring the Velvet Underground as the house band) and the Electric Circus.



Previously on EV Grieve:
St. Mark's Market is dead

Your chance to own a meat grinder and commercial juicer from the St. Mark's Market

[Photo by Steven]

St. Mark's Market closed at the beginning of the month at 19-23 St. Mark's Place.

As the top photo shows, the market, which opened in 2003 here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue, is mostly cleared out.

Some remaining items will be auctioned off today (Oct. 31) ...



You can find the list of the inventory for sale right at this link.

Previously on EV Grieve:
St. Mark's Market is dead

St. Mark's Market is dead

St. Mark's Market has officially closed at 19-23 St. Mark's Place. An EVG reader said they wrapped up this past Thursday evening.

As made known last Monday, the grocery between Second Avenue and Third Avenue was having a buy-one, get-one-free deal to thin out its stock.

We heard a variety of reasons for the closure (nothing related to rent, however). One worker blamed the sidewalk bridge that has been out front for the past two-plus years as a cause for business to drop off. (And as one commenter noted: "The dope fiend brigade hanging out under the scaffolding didn't help matters.")

Several EVG readers mentioned that the store changed ownership several years ago, and the quality of the produce and other offerings diminished — especially in the face of newer competition such as the Westside Market on Third Avenue at 12th Street.

There were anecdotes that Daniel Craig was a semi-regular here while renting the place upstairs. One reader claimed he once cut in line and used an Amex Black Card for a small purchase.

I do recall the place seeming pretty upmarket when it opened in 2003 in the now-mall-like building that replaced layers of history at the address that included the Dom, the Exploding Plastic Inevitable (featuring the Velvet Underground as the house band) and the Electric Circus.


[Photo from Saturday]

Prediction: The landlord will chop up the former market into several smaller retail spaces to make renting possibly easier.

St. Mark's Market is closing for good

Over the weekend we heard from multiple tipsters that St. Mark's Market at 21 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue had started its going-out-of-business sale.

An employee confirmed the closure to EVG correspondent Steven yesterday. He did not know the final day.

For now, store items are on sale...



And there's still a pretty good inventory...






[Photos by Steven]

There were signs of trouble back in July, when the one-time 24/7 market went dark for several days before reopening. At the time, a store manager cited multiple problems, starting when a resident on the building's third floor complained about a gas leak. The fire department came shut the store down. The FDNY said they were leaking freon gas. The store’s technician disputed that finding, claiming that their refrigerator tanks were full.

And it can't help that this building has been draped with a sidewalk bridge for the past two-plus years.

This address has a storied history (you can read about it here)... the building was demolished in a mall-style upgrade in 2003, which marked the arrival of the market.

The Chipotle upstairs in the complex closed in August 2018. A Chinese restaurant is going into that space.

St. Mark's Market is back open

St. Mark's Market reopened this morning at 21 St. Mark's Place.

The 24/7 grocery-deli between Second Avenue and Third Avenue had been dark since Sunday...



Several readers said that they had closed for good. However, the manager at the Market this morning explained to EVG correspondent Steven that there were several issues. It started when a resident on the building's third floor complained about a gas leak. The fire department came on Sunday and shut the store down. The FDNY said they were leaking freon gas. The store’s technician disputed that finding, claiming that their refrigerator tanks were full.

Another issue: The manager pointed to a hole in the ceiling where a leak started from a residence upstairs...





For now, the perishable items have been removed...





Despite the loss of business in recent days, the manager said that they plan to do a major renovation to "look like a Whole Foods."

[Updated — now open] St. Mark's Market has not been open lately

Updated 7/4 — St. Mark's Market is back open!

Multiple readers shared the news that the 24/7 grocery at 21 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue is out of business...



This address has a storied history (you can read about it here)... the building was demolished in a mall-style upgrade in 2003, which marked the arrival of the market.

The Chipotle upstairs in the complex closed last August.

Updated 8:30 a.m.

There is a makeshift sign out front... photos via Steven...



Another reader said the space has been dark for two days. The fruit remains behind...



Updated 12:30

A worker says that the power is out (though it's on in other businesses in the complex)... and that they'd be back open ...



H/T @randeepk!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Why, yes you can live on St. Mark's Place for $19,500 a month

Oh Christmas trees on St. Mark's Place

Workers at St. Mark's Market were putting out the Christmas/holiday trees this evening here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue...and these mark the first [full-size] trees that we've seen this season.

Also on this block, the three decorative holiday lights went up this past weekend...