The Marshal takes legal possession of Ace's on 2nd Avenue

That's apparently all for Ace's (sometimes Aces) at 197 Second Ave. 

The cocktail lounge-restaurant went dark, per an EVG reader, in mid-May. 

There's a Marshal's notice on the storefront, noting that the landlord is now in legal possession of the space just north of 12th Street... Google also lists Ace's as permanently closed.

Restaurateur Mike Dollaway, whose résumé includes management/ownership at several now-closed upscale spots, including Provocateur in the Meatpacking District and Lily Pond in East Hampton, was behind this neighborhood-ish bar concept that opened in the fall of 2022. 

No. 197 was previously Black Emperor, which shut down in August 2020. Shoolbred's closed here in June 2017 after nearly 10 years in business. This address was also Jade Mountain, home of the great Chow Mein sign, until 2007.

The Marshal has seized Atomic Wings on 1st Avenue

Photos by William Klayer 

The Marshal has taken possession of the retail space at 184 First Ave., home of Atomic Wings here between 11th Street and 12th Street. 

The legal notice, dated April 9, states that the landlord is now in possession of the storefront...

As always, this doesn't mean the end for the business.  

While the phone is no longer in service, the EV location is still accepting orders via its website (which prompted a few recent 1-star reviews from diners who never received their wings).

And as noted, there are plenty of wing options on First Avenue between St. Mark's Place and 14th Street (Dan and John's and Buffalo Wild Wings remain after Koko Wings closed ... plus, there's Wingstop around the corner on 14th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.)

A bad sign at Numero 28 Pizzeria Napoletana

Photos by Steven

The Marshal has taken possession of the retail space at 176 Second Ave., home of Numero 28 Pizzeria Napoletana here between 11th Street and 12th Street.

The legal notice, dated yesterday, states that the landlord is now in possession of the storefront...

As always, this doesn't mean the end for the business.

However, in this case, the space has been listed for rent on LoopNet since mid-October. 

The pizzeria, with multiple NYC locations as well as in Miami Beach, Fla., and Austin, Texas, arrived in the East Village in 2009... taking over from Singas Famous Pizza. 

A bad sign at Gaia Italian Café

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Updated: There's now an Instagram post about the situation: "Our location has been closed due to, again, malicious situations that jeopardized the business after we reopened with so much effort." The message states the business will continue online, including "the delivery of Christmas dinner for two."

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A notice from the Marshal on the front door at Gaia Italian Café on Third Street states that the landlord is now in legal possession of the storefront...

As we've seen from time to time in the past, the tenant and landlord have been able to work something out in this situation. Hopefully, that can be the case here. 

Chef-owner Gaia Bagnasacco opened at 226 E. Third St. between Avenue B and Avenue C in June 2022.

After nine years, Bagnasacco closed her popular business on July 26, 2020, at 251 E. Houston St. between Norfolk and Suffolk. 

Bagnasacco then created pasta, meal kits, and sauces that she sold via an online shop, all available for local delivery from a space on the Lower East Side.

2 bad signs at Luzzo's on Avenue B

Photos by Stacie Joy 

The Marshal has seized Luzzo's La Pizza Napoletana on the SE corner of Avenue B and Second Street. 

A notice on the front door states that the landlord is now in legal possession of the premises...

In addition, there's a yellow closed notice — mostly peeled off — from the Department of Health. The DOH closed the pizzeria late last week following an inspection. 

According to public records, the most recent violations are: 

1) No approved written standard operating procedure for avoiding contamination by refillable returnable containers. 

2) Food Protection Certificate (FPC) not held by manager or supervisor of food operations.

The restaurant's interior is also in different stages of being packed up...

The pizzeria from the Luzzo's brand opened here in May 2022, coinciding with the closing of their 18-year-old coal-oven space on First Avenue. 

There's no word of a closure on the Luzzo's website or social media platforms.

Meanwhile, two new pizzerias are in the works for nearby on Avenue B — Potenza Centrale and Lollo.

The Marshal has seized KC Gourmet Empanadas on Avenue B

Photos last night by Stacie Joy

A tipster pointed out earlier this week that KC Gourmet Empanadas has not been open lately here at 38 Avenue B between Third Street and Fourth Street. 

And yesterday, a notice arrived on the front door showing that the Marshal paid a visit, and the landlord is now in legal possession of the premises...

The owners were also behind El Carnaval, a Panamanian restaurant and bar, right next door at No. 40. That establishment is now permanently shuttered after going dark last summer ... a for-rent sign hangs on the storefront. We understand an applicant will be on next month's CB3-SLA docket for a new liquor license for the space.

El Carnaval was accused of serving liquor without a license in the summer of 2021. There's a video from the meeting here. (El Carnaval is the first applicant.)

We heard from multiple neighbors in the summer of 2020 — when restaurants expanded to sidewalk and curbside spaces — who complained about blaring music via DJs coming from outside the quick-serve spot.

According to the minutes from the June 2021 Community Board 3 meeting, KC Gourmet Empanadas "has been egregiously non-compliant for a year. Following community complaints, the CB3 office told them the applicants should not be playing loud music in the streets and that they were non-compliant with their outdoor seating, but the applicants did not display concern for how this behavior was negatively impacting residents." 

KC opened here in February 2019. 

The landlord has taken legal possession of Commodities on 1st Avenue

Photos last night by Steven 

Updated Jan. 18: It doesn't appear that the market will reopen. See this post.

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The landlord has taken legal possession of 165 First Ave. just north of 10th Street — which had been home to Commodities for 30 years. 

The gate was down at the health-food market last evening during usual business hours, and a legal notice from the Marshal was affixed to the storefront.

As we've seen in the past, a visit by the Marshal doesn't always mean the end for the business. Perhaps the landlord and tenant can work out a deal. 

However, recently, there had been rumors that the market would be closing, fueled partly by a retail listing for the space. ("Excellent opportunity for boutique retail in high foot traffic area.")

New owners took over the business in January 2019 and changed the name to Commodities Health Foods from Commodities Natural Market, ending rumors that Commodities 1.0 would close for good. 

Michael Hughes opened Commodities here in 1993. Hughes and his wife Audra opened an outpost in Vermont in 2015. Leading up to that Vermont debut, Michael's brother Ed took over the East Village shop. 

Mug & Cup space is now in possession of the landlord on Avenue C

Photos by Stacie Joy

We hadn't seen Mug & Cup open for several months here at 115 Avenue C between Seventh Street and Eighth Street.

There's now legal documentation on the door... the Marshal has taken possession of the storefront on behalf of the landlord...

The coffee and juice shop opened last November after a long build-out of the retail space. This was the second outpost for Mug & Cup, which got its start in East Flatbush. 

No. 115 had been vacant for the past few years as the building was sold and gut-renovated. The retail space has been empty since Le Jardin Bistro closed in June 2015. Previous ventures here included Apartment 13 and The Porch.

The former Nomad space is for rent on 2nd Avenue

A small for-rent sign now hangs on the storefront at 78 Second Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street.

Last month, owner Mehenni Zebentout announced that he was closing Nomad, his low-key Mediterranean and North African restaurant to take a much-needed break. 

As he wrote on Instagram: "This is not goodbye; more like stay tuned for what's next." 

Whatever he does next won't be from this space. The closing announcement also coincided with a notice that the landlord was now in legal possession of the premises (photo by Stacie Joy) ...

A very public eviction for Anwar Grocery on Avenue B

First 2 photos by Miriam Abrahams; the rest by Stacie Joy

On Tuesday afternoon, workers cleared out Anwar (going recently as Akter) Grocery at 166 Avenue B between Sixth Street and Seventh Street...

The clean-out preceded a visit by the Marshal, noting the business is now in legal possession of the landlord... (an eviction notice arrived on July 5).

Anwar Hossein had owned and operated the shop since 2005. He and his family have lived in an apartment upstairs dating to 1998. (His father had been a tenant since 1988.) 

Hossein previously owned two other stores in the neighborhood — A&H Grocery at 204 Avenue A and Ahn Newsstand and Candy store at 500 E. 12th St., both long shuttered. 

He previously told Stacie Joy that things were difficult for the shop in recent years — the pandemic only adding to the woes. A new landlord bought the building in 2018, and his lease expired in December 2019. 

There have been multiple court dates between the two sides before Tuesday's action. 

This was one of the more public evictions we've seen recently. Workers emptied out the store, placing its contents, including beer, cigarettes, rolling papers and personal-care products, on the sidewalk for passersby to take ... (The Hosseins were not seen during this time, and it's not known what their housing status is.)

The old-school-style shop had some unusual items for sale, such as DVD copies of a Nickelback concert, blank TDK cassette tapes and VHS videotapes. There were also religious amulets, sombreros, school supplies and some hardcore adult DVDs with titles like "Anal Pleasures" (and left on the sidewalk).  

 And a final look inside the shop...

However functional, the more recent delis and groceries have a bland sameness with the ambiance of an airport galleria. 

Anwar, with the owners who lived upstairs, was definitely the last of its kind in this neighborhood. 

And from this spring... Sheila and Anwar Hossein...

The Marshal seizes Bar None on 3rd Avenue

Photos by Steven 

Workers were spotted yesterday afternoon boarding up Bar None on Third Avenue.

In addition, there's a legal notice (dated June 2) posted via the Marshal, stating that the landlord now has legal possession of the sports bar here between 12th Street and 13th Street...

As we've seen in the past, a visit by the Marshal doesn't always mean the end for the business. Perhaps the landlord and tenant can work out a deal. 

Bar None was closed late last year for nearly a month. According to the legal documents dated from Nov. 18, "The property was seized for nonpayment of New York State taxes." 

The bar reopened in the middle of December.

The Marshal seizes the former Hot Kitchen space

[Photo by Steven]

The Marshal came calling late last week, seizing the former Hot Kitchen at 104 Second Ave. at Sixth Street.

This marks the latest development in a whirlwind few months at this space. On Feb. 19, the 10-month-old Jiang Diner decamped from the address and returned to to its previous location at 309 E. Fifth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue after just six weeks.

Jiang moved to Second Avenue for a bigger dining room and kitchen to expand their offerings. In a comment on Instagram, Jiang Diner stated: "unfortunately there are some complications with the ... space."

Hot Kitchen opened in September 2011. In 2018, Hot Kitchen transformed its menu and added traditional Sichuan Skewer Hotpot and BBQ to their menu. (They also stopped deliveries.) They eventually closed this past October.

At the beginning of December, a venture called Sushi & Sake started offering Japanese cuisine. That venture lasted a short month before Jiang Diner announced it was moving here. According to the Times back in August, Tao An, the owner of Jiang Diner, was also behind Hot Kitchen.

The Marshal seizes Hotel Tortuga

A bad sign at Hotel Tortuga on 14th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue — the Marshal came calling late last week ... and the space is now in the legal possession of the landlord...


[Photo by Shiv]

No word yet about a closure here. The Hotel Tortuga website is offline, and their social media properties haven't been updated since 2018. The phone is also out of service.

A new owner took over the inexpensive Mexican restaurant in November 2017. Staff and menu essentially stayed the same.

The previous owners, David and Jean LaPointe, first opened Hotel Tortuga in 2010. They also ran Curly's Vegetarian Lunch one block to the east on 14th Street until the end of 2011.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Hotel Tortuga, under new management, will reopen soon still as Hotel Tortuga

The Marshal has seized Savor Por Favor on 2nd Avenue

Another restaurant has not been able to make 157 Second Ave. work.

This past Thursday, the Marshal seized Savor Por Favor, putting the retail space here between Ninth Street and 10th Street back into the legal possession of the landlord. (Thanks to blog friend Nick Solares for the photos and tip!)



The Mexican restaurant-bar opened last October. If this closure turns out to be permanent, then they didn't last quite as long as the previous tenant, Yuan, which shut down in July 2018 after a year in business.

As noted in previous posts on No. 157, this has been a challenging space to make work for any length of time. Before Yuan, Biang! — the sit-down Chinese restaurant via Xi'an Famous Foods owner Jason Wang — closed in March 2017 after 15 months in business. The previous tenant, Wylie Dufresne's bistro Alder, called it quits after two-and-a-half years at the end of August 2015. Other recent restaurants here (before 2013) included Plum and Cafe Brama.

Also as noted before, if Wang and Dufresne, given their other successes, couldn't make the space work ... not sure who can.

The Marshal seizes Chouchou on 4th Street

A bad sign at Chouchou, the Mediterranean-Moroccan bistro on Fourth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B... there's a posted notice stating that the restaurant is now in the legal possession of the landlord...



There's nothing at the Chouchou website about a closure. We reached out to ownership to learn more about the situation here.

Chouchou, from Mario Carta, who also runs Pardon My French at 103 Avenue B, opened in March 2017. The cuisine here had been awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand the past two years. Carta's other venture on this block, Nobody Is Perfect, closed last August.

On 2nd Avenue, renovations turn into a seizure by the Marshal at Hot Box

[Photo from April]

Hot Box has not been open in recent months over at 77 Second Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street.

A handwritten note on the door stated that they were "closed for 'renovations'"...



During that time, there wasn't much, if any, activity inside the space...



And now that renovations sign has been removed... and there's a notice stating that the Marshal has taken legal possession of the space and turned it back over to the landlord...



The restaurant opened in May 2018, offering a quick-serve interpretation on traditional Chinese hot pot with a "signature burner system" for the table.

There isn't any word of a closure – temporary or otherwise — on the Hot Box website and social media properties.

Tough restaurant times at this address in the past two years. Ciala, which briefly served Georgian cuisine before switching to French food, had an inauspicious five-month tenure here.

The Marshal visits Thaimee Table, who will return next week

Several readers (H/T Laura for the photos!) noted the arrival of a notice from the Marshal on Thaimee Table, the well-regarded Thai restaurant at 99 Third Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street...



A similar notice — that the property is now in legal possession of the landlord — is on the front door of chef-owner Hong Thaimee's off-shoot, Thaimee Box, on 13th Street near Second Avenue.

There's isn't any mention of a closure on the Thaimee website or social media properties. But there is good news for Thaimee fans: In an email, Chef Thaimee's business partner, Matt Bruck, said that they planned to reopen next week. And those notices from the Marshal?: "We are working it all out."

Chef Thaimee, who previously worked in the kitchens at Jean-Georges’ Spice Market and Perry Street restaurants, opened Ngam in 2012 (The Village Voice named Ngam NYC's No. 1 Thai restaurant in 2013) ... the restaurant was later renamed Thaimee Table.

The Marshal takes over Bar Taco on Avenue C

That's apparently it for Bar Taco at 185 Avenue C between 11th Street and 12th Street.

The Marshal recently came calling, putting the space in the legal possession of the landlord...



Bar Taco arrived in early 2018, taking over the space from a short-lived venture called Malcriada, a self-described "Latino Gastropub" ... which arrived after Kaz, another short-lived venture that lasted seven months.

Cafecito, the Cuban-style cafe, had a good run here, closing in early 2016 after 14 years in business.

Another look at the now-shuttered East Side Gourmet Deli

A quickie update (of sorts!) about East Side Gourmet Deli, which closed on the southeast corner of Avenue B and Fourth Street late last week.

An EVG reader shared these photos... showing the current state of the storefront ... and the arrival of the notice from the marshal, noting the premises is now in the legal possession of the landlord...



As you can see on the notice, the original execution date — Feb. 6 — was crossed out. Apparently the deli had a temporary stay of execution.