Work starting on Mars Bar 2.0

Over at 21. E. First St., workers have removed the for lease sign and put up brown paper on the front windows … likely signaling the start of Mars Bar 2.0.

The city issued work permits issued last Tuesday. Nothing too exciting on the permits. Some "structural stair work" and "removal of non-load bearing interior partitions," etc.

Mars Bar owner Hank Penza — along with a new group of partners — is returning to his former home, now part of the luxury Jupiter 21 building.

The new space will be a two-level cafe-restaurant-lounge combo that will feature a juice bar upstairs with a cafe that serves items such as quinoa bowls, according to DNAinfo. And the downstairs portion will house the bar-club-whatever. (Details remain a little murky on how all this is going to work.)

The place will apparently retain the Mars Bar name, even though we spotted the architect's plans in the window with The Pink Elephant on them.



Penza's new partners are Alain Palinsky, a co-founder of Juice Press, Chris Reda, an owner of The Griffin in the Meatpacking District, and Robert Montwaid, an owner of the club The Pink Elephant.

CB3 OK'd the license for the space back in May.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Will the new Mars Bar be another location of The Pink Elephant?

That's it: The Mars Bar is closed for good

Will the new Mars Bar be another location of The Pink Elephant?

So you know that Mars Bar owner Hank Penza (along with a new group of partners) is returning to his former home at 11-17 Second Ave., now the luxury Jupiter 21 building.

The mysterious cafe-bar-club concept will be housed at 21 E. First St. adjacent to the Jupiter 21 residential entrance and the new TD Bank branch.

There's a notice on the front door about tonight's CB3/SLA committee meeting, where Penza and his new partners Alain Palinsky, a co-founder of Juice Press, Chris Reda, an owner of The Griffin in the Meatpacking District, and Robert Montwaid, an owner of the club The Pink Elephant, are on the agenda.



Here's a look at the inside … reportedly a 4,456 basement and ground floor space …



And we noticed some architectural plans on a table inside…





We'll flip the photo to make it easier to read… according to these plans, the place will be called The Pink Elephant.



This could just be a working title for the place. According to the paperwork on file with CB3, the proposed hours of this new venture are 6 a.m.-4 a.m. Monday through Friday; 8 a.m.-4 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The application also lists that there will be 15 tables good for 80 seats ... with one bar featuring eight seats. The new establishment will employ 15-20 people. And the "All Star Security Services will be providing security guards" — "3-4 nightly."

We don't know much, if anything, about The Pink Elephant, currently located in New York at 40 W. Eighth St. Here's how they describe themselves:

The Pink Elephant is a world renowned brand geared towards high energy entertainment and exuberance for life. With locations in the US, Brazil and Mexico, the brand has come to be a favorite of jet setters, celebrities, socialites and trendsetters alike because of the level of service, sophistication, and overall entertainment experience.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen what this place will be like during the day … with the 6 a.m. opening times … and the Juice Press connection.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A few more details about Mars Bar 2.0, which doesn't sound very Mars Bar-ish at all