Team behind Ichibantei eyeing 100 3rd Ave.

CB3's SLA committee meets tonight at 6:30. (Find the Zoom link here.)

There are just a handful of applicants this month, including MayRee on First Street and Gen Korean BBQ House on 14th Street and Third Avenue.  

Here's another item of interest. The team behind the 12-year-old Ichibantei on 13th Street is looking to open a bar-restaurant serving Japanese cuisine at 100 Third Ave. 

The questionnaire on file at the CB3 website shows the still-unnamed concept would feature room for 24 tables/98 seats spread over two floors... with proposed hours of 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. during the week; a 4 a.m. close Thursday through Saturday. (The 69-page questionnaire also includes a sample menu.)

No. 100 between 12th Street and 13th Street last housed the vowel-deficient club VNYL, which shut down at some point during the pandemic. Until September 2015, the renovated building featured the second iteration of Nevada Smiths. 

The VNYL has not been open in a long time

Yesterday we mentioned that Bar None is currently closed at 98 Third Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street for nonpayment of New York State taxes. 

Several readers noted that its neighbor on the block, The VNYL, has not been open this year. One reader, who shared the top photo, said that the space "looked trashed" inside. Google lists the space as "temporarily closed." The last Facebook post is from July 2020.

The club's website lists that they are "closed for the rest of the winter due to COVID-19." That's likely last winter. One reader recalls them being open in the fall of 2020 for outdoor drinks-and-taco service.

The four-level, 7,000-square-foot space with a 1970s theme opened in the fall of 2016. Nightlife vets, led by James Morrissey (The Late Late on East Houston), were behind this venture, which reportedly included actor Adrian Grenier as a partner. (New York magazine noted that he curated the short-lived record store in the lobby.)

According to a preview piece at the Daily News, the VNYL was "designed to attract patrons of music, fashion and art." They also featured Long Island Iced Teas on tap and menu items such as candied-bacon quinoa sushi.

Sports bar Nevada Smiths was the first tenant of this renovated building from April 2013 to September 2015.

Ainsworth eyes former DBGB space on the Bowery; Ruffian team to the Eddy

Here's a quick look at several more of the applicants on tonight's CB3-SLA committee meeting docket. These are existing East Village operators looking to expand...

• Ainsworth to the Bowery

Ainsworth, the growing chainlet of upscale sports bars, has applied for a new liquor license for 299 Bowery in the Avalon Bowery complex between First Street and East Houston Street. (Questionnaire here.)

This outpost of Ainsworth (there's also one on Third Avenue at 11th Street) will be open for lunch and make use of the sidewalk cafe that DBGB tried to muster enthusiasm for.

DBGB closed here nearly two years ago, with chef-owner Daniel Boulud citing "erratic" patronage on this corridor during the week. Perhaps Ainsworth, a SantaCon hotspot, can bring in a steady stream of patrons.



• Ruffian Wine Bar owners taking the Eddy space on Sixth Street

In a sale of assets, the owners of Ruffian on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue plan to open an "American/Italian" restaurant called Kindred here between First Avenue and Second Avenue. (Questionnaire here.)



The Eddy closed last month after five-plus years at the address.



• The Woodstock in the works for 99 Third Ave.

The owners of The VNYL across the Avenue here between 12th Street and 13th Street have plans for a Neapolitan pizzeria called the Woodstock for this address. (Questionnaire here.)



The previous occupant, Thaimee Table, was seized by the Marshal in early May.

Tonight's CB3-SLA committee is at the Perseverance House Community Room, 535 E. Fifth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

The VNYL will feature Long Island Iced Teas on tap, candied-bacon quinoa sushi

Sidewalk bridge signage for The VNYL arrived yesterday at 100 Third Ave., where a record store/bar/restaurant is opening here between 12th Street and 13th Street... Not much else to note at least from the exterior, other than that the neon sign for the former tenant, Nevada Smiths, has been removed...



Several nightlife vets, led by James Morrissey (The Late Late on East Houston), are behind this venture, which reportedly includes actor Adrian Grenier as a partner. (New York magazine notes that he is curating the record store.)

The four-level, 7,000-square-foot space with a 1970s theme will feature speciality cocktails and is "designed to attract patrons of music, fashion and art," a source at the restaurant told the Daily News last month.

New York magazine had a few more details on the venture this week. For instance:

Drink: Long Island Iced Teas ($15) on tap; table service where a private “mixologist” crafts a range of cocktails based on your bottle choice (from $300).

Eat: Large, medium, and small plates of candied-bacon quinoa sushi ($14) and salmon poke bowls with cucumber-seaweed salad ($22) imitate the three sizes of vinyl records.

The signage points to a summer 2016 opening. There's a teaser website where you can inquire about more information...they also have an Instagram account, populated for some reason with photos of models ranging from Kate Moss to Lauren Hutton...

Moss Monday's @thevnyl #Kate #katemoss #love #icon #nyc #ny #comingsoon #model #tbt #vogue #cocktails #summer #drinks #monday #vintage

A photo posted by The VNYL (@thevnyl) on Aug 8, 2016 at 1:31pm PDT

By the way, The VINYL is not to be confused with VYNL, the rock-n-roll-themed bar-restaurant in Hell's Kitchen.

Report: Actor Adrian Greiner partner in The VNYL, opening in the former Nevada Smiths space

[Photo from yesterday]

Back in February, we reported that a group of nightlife vets had big plans for the the former Nevada Smiths space on Third Avenue between East 12th Street and East 13th Street.

Bruce Caulfield, a former Nevada Smiths partner and veteran NYC bar and business owner, along with James Morrissey (The Late Late on East Houston) and Gerard McNamee (GM of Webster Hall) were OK'd by CB3 earlier this year to open a coffee house, vintage vinyl record store paying homage to Thin Lizzy and bar/restaurant all under one roof.

The Daily News has a few more details about the space, which will be going by The VNYL.

For starters, actor Adrian Grenier is apparently a partner in the venture.

And!

The massive, 7,000-square-foot space with three floors will open in August with a record store in the front of the former Nevada Smith’s sports bar space. The ambiance at this restaurant/bar is being “designed to attract patrons of music, fashion and art,” a source at the restaurant told us. Expect speciality cocktails and California-inspired fare by chef Jordan Andino.

Based on their Facebook page, The VNYL is going with the tagline "House of Cocktail."



Nevada Smiths closed last September after nearly three-and-a-half years at this location.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Nevada Smiths is closed, and here's what's next

Those persistent rumors about 74-76 Third Avenue and the future of Nevada Smiths

The East Village will lose a parking lot and gain an apartment building

Here then, where Nevada Smiths once stood

The Marshal seizes Nevada Smiths on 3rd Avenue

[Updated] New life for the Nevada Smiths space on 3rd Avenue

New concept for Nevada Smiths includes record store paying homage to Thin Lizzy, plus a bar