A tapas joint will open at the former space of Tribe on First Avenue at St. Mark's, Patrick Hedlund reports in his Mixed Use column in this week's issue of The Villager. According to Hedlund, Danny Rivera, owner of the Crooked Tree around the corner on St. Mark's, will launch the tapas bar in June.
"I'm a guy from the neighborhood; I've lived here for over 10 years," Rivera told Mixed Use. "My plan is to make the place for the community."
As you may recall, Dr. Tara Allmen owns the five-story building that housed Tribe, which closed in late January. As the Real Deal reported in early February:
Allmen, a physician, inherited the building from her mother, Renée Allmen, along with several other East Village properties, and recently completed renovating the four residential spaces in the building. She called Tribe "an eyesore."
"I want a classier place," she said, adding that Tribe "was not going to enhance the aesthetic of the building."
Here's what Allmen told Mixed Use:
"I'm replacing a dive bar with an elegant wine bar and tapas place. Do I think it's a plus to have a higher-class place in the East Village? I would say it's a bonus to have wonderful, quality places in the East Village."
Said Rivera, "It's a neighborhood guy that's going to open up in the neighborhood. It's in the hands of people in the neighborhood. It's not going to be a sushi spot or a bank."
