Bad news for fans of Siggy's Good Food

[Image via]

Siggy's Good Food, the all-organic restaurant where aliens eat free, has announced that it's closing up shop on Elizabeth Street just north of Houston. Saturday is the last day for service — in NYC anyway.

The farewell note that Siggy's posted on its social media accounts points to multiple reasons for the closure, including "bureaucratic, economy..." And Siggy's is moving to Charlotte, N.C.



Siggy's debuted on Elizabeth Street in July 2012. Owner Siggy Sollitto opened her first location in Brooklyn Heights in 2005. That outpost closed in 2015.

Sollitto said this to Brooklyn Paper in 2015:

[S]he said city regulations are making it tough to run a business in [Manhattan], citing the health department as a particularly pronounced source of headaches.

“The city administration is really making things impossible for a small business,” she said.

Thanks to @ThisIsWeber for the tip!

Last days for Ricky's on 3rd Avenue

As noted back on Jan. 16, the Ricky's location on Third Avenue between 13th Street and 14th Street is closing. In case you missed the signs in the window, Sunday is the last day.

Ricky’s NYC president, Michael Long, told the Commercial Observer last fall that the chain is closing "underperforming stores" and that the company is now profitable. Apparently the East Village isn't so profitable: The Ricky's on First Avenue between Sixth Street and Seventh Street closed without any notice in March 2016.

Still, there's a Ricky's set to open on Broadway near 12th Street.

The mini chain (there are 18 locations) selling accessories, cosmetics and novelties started as Ricky Love in 1989.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Ricky's is closing on 3rd Avenue

The Ricky's on 1st Avenue has apparently closed

Krust Pizzeria has closed for good this time on 14th Street

EVG reader Shiv shares this photo, showing a for rent sign and eviction notice on the door at Krust Pizzeria.

Last summer, it looked as if Krust here on 14th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue had bitten the dust. The shop was closed for weeks, and legal documents posted to the door showed that eviction proceedings were underway. But Krust rallied and reopened, though it was only temporary.

The pizzeria opened in the fall of 2011.

Ciao For Now is closing after 17 years on 12th Street; will continue with catering business

[Photo via Instagram]

Ciao For Now, the homespun cafe at 523 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B, is closing after 17 years in business. They will serve their last meal next Wednesday (Jan. 31).

However, the owners will continue on with their catering business as well as use the space for community events.

Here's a letter than they shared with me last night...

Dear East Village Community,

It is with heavy hearts that after 17 years, we close our cafe doors on February 1.

Moving forward, our primary focus will be our catering business and hosting community events.

We look forward to continuing to serve delicious handmade food to you by way of our online catering store at ciaofornow.nyc where you can order catering platters, cakes, pies, pastries and beverages...and yes...that includes our ginger green tea with lemon and honey :)

It is difficult to put into words all of the emotions we are feeling. We feel like we gave it everything we’ve got but as we are seeing all over NYC, the retail small business model has become nearly impossible to sustain. We have met so many incredible people along the way.

Raising our children in the cafe has been a great joy for our family. Ciao for Now has been a second home to many, and we couldn’t have made it this far without our amazing staff and all of your love and support. Thank you for your friendship and loyalty. Our family will always cherish all of the beautiful memories made here.

With much love & gratitude,

Ciao for Now
The Miceli Family

From 2008-2015 Ciao For Now had an outpost in the West Village. (Read about that here.) They closed that spot to focus on the original East Village location. As Amy Miceli said at that time: "It is brutal running a business in the city. I love it and hate it every day."

Ciao For Now will be open per usual for brunch this weekend 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Oishi Village Sushi has gone out of business on 2nd Avenue

That's it for the all-you-can-eat-sushi spot on Second Avenue between 12th Street and 13th Street.

Per the sign on the front door: "We're closed. Out of business."



The restaurant, from the owners of Oishi Bay Sushi Restaurant on Second Avenue and 29th Street, opened back in March.

Thank you to @afuseld for the tip!

Last call for JAM Paper & Envelope on 3rd Avenue

Saturday is the last day in business for JAM Paper & Envelope on Third Avenue between 14th Street and 15th Street. (One of the owners said that the sale was going well, and they decided to extend it for a few more days.)

"Store is closing" signs appeared in the windows in early January.

Per the JAM Paper website on Jan. 15:

After nearly a quarter of a century in the East Village of New York City, JAM Paper and Envelope’s last remaining brick and mortar location on Third Avenue between 14th and 15th Street, will be closing this month. Before you hit the panic button, business will continue as normal via its e-commerce website: www.jampaper.com

There are several jokey signs up in the windows...



...and this one...

So my wife of 40 years says... Honey (I know I'm in trouble when I'm honey...) no one shops retail anymore.

That's why we are online. Fine I say!

She then says... Now can we go to Florida.

EVG reader Harry Weiner shared these photos from Tuesday...





JAM represents the first letters of the owners' first names — Janet, Andrew and Michael Jacobs, the family members who run the company.

The website notes that JAM has had over 10 different Manhattan locations. Their New Jersey warehouse remains in operation.

Previously on EV Grieve:
JAM Paper & Envelope is closing on 3rd Avenue

Ciala has apparently closed

Several EVG readers have noted that Ciala at 77 Second Ave. has been dark in recent weeks.

Google says that the restaurant between Fourth Street and Fifth Street is permanently closed. Their social media hasn’t posted since December and their phone just rings without an answer.

The restaurant serving Georgian cuisine opened last July. Two months later, they closed, with a sign noting that they would reopen with an "all new and exciting menu." They made a pivot to French cuisine — specifically crepes. (The Ciala Facebook page said that they are "a new bistro and wine bar serving Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian fare.")

Here's what one EVG commenter had to say in September:

It's been sad to walk by and see this empty restaurant. With the doors wide open, there was always a view of the long faces of the staff waiting for customers to cross their threshold.

Unfortunately, their menu was mostly heavy meat dishes, unappealing in the heat of summer. I would certainly have considered that menu on a cold winter night, but not in June, July and August (and this hot September).

I hope their new menu is more appropriate to the season and wish them great success. This stretch of 2nd Ave is becoming desolate with so many empty storefronts.

In denying their liquor license last March, CB3 wrote (per the meeting minutes): "the applicant has no experience operating a licensed premises and has no experience working in a similar type of business."

Last day for Unleashed by Petco on 2nd Avenue

The Unleashed by Petco on Second Avenue between First Street and Second Street is looking pretty cleaned out ...

A worker said earlier this month that the last day is Jan. 23 (aka today).



There's no word why Petco decided to shutter this location, which opened in August 2015.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Unleashed by Petco is unloading its pet supplies as store is closing on 2nd Avenue

Robataya has closed on 9th Street

Missed this one. EVG reader jba shared the news that Robataya closed on Ninth Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

There's a short message about this on the restaurant's website:

Notice of Robataya Business Closing
Robataya will be going out of business on December 30, 2017.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your patronage.

The Japanese restaurant, which opened in 2009, was part of Bon Yagi's (Soba-ya, Curry-Ya, Rai Rai Ken) empire.

The Sunshine Cinema shuts down after Sunday

As you've likely heard by now, the Landmark Sunshine Cinema on East Houston closes after its slate of screenings on Sunday.

News emerged last spring that East End Capital and K Property Group bought the building for $31.5 million with plans to convert it to a mixed-use development with retail and upstairs office space. The site includes 20,000 square feet of air rights.

In November, the new owners of the building filed demolition permits to take down the three-level structure here between Eldridge and Forsyth.

As for the last weekend of films, there's nothing special planned, per Deadline Hollywood, who first reported on the closure on Jan. 9.

Per Ted Mundorff, CEO of Landmark Theatres: "There's nothing to celebrate."

There are five films playing to close out the weekend, holdovers from recent weeks: "Hostiles," "Darkest Hour," "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," "In Between" and "The Room." (No Tommy Wiseau in person, though.)



At midnight, there are screenings of "Dog Day Afternoon" and "Super Fly."

Landmark will continue the midnight-movie tradition at their new West 57th Street location, which includes a cafe with a liquor license...

As our #SunshineAtMidnight series draws to a close this weekend, @TheLandmark57W will be continuing on the tradition of midnight shows for @TheRoomMovie.

Advance tickets for their first weekend (January 26-27) of #THEROOM are on sale now! https://t.co/xD6eeXrSgU pic.twitter.com/nLaUNfkbV2

— Sunshine Cinema (@sunshine_cinema) January 17, 2018

Landmark reportedly had the opportunity to buy the property, but decided against it after CB3 voted down a proposal for a full liquor license for a cafe in the theater in 2012 for pre- and post-movie drinks and dinner. As The Lo-Down reported at the time, "residents in attendance ... expressed serious concerns about the application in an area already teeming with nightlife activity."

Built in 1898, the Sunshine Cinema building was formerly the Houston Hippodrome motion picture theatre and a Yiddish vaudeville house. After sitting abandoned for many years, the building was renovated ... with the Sunshine opening on Dec. 21, 2001.

A post shared by Chances With Wolves (@chanceswithwolves) on Jan 10, 2018 at 12:47pm PST

As for the future, East End's website states:

East End is planning to re-develop the building into a mixed-use retail and office project. While pursuing tenants interested in utilizing the structure in its current form, work is also underway for a new, best-in-class office building with retail at the base – a first in the rapidly evolving Lower East Side. 139 East Houston will offer cutting-edge design from Roger Ferris Architecture, huge windows with expansive views, high ceilings and column-free efficient space – all on top of a subway stop in a unique and exciting location. Ground breaking is expected in the second quarter of 2018.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A celebratory ad on the purchase of 139 E. Houston St., current home of the Sunshine Cinema