Maison Kayser closes Union Square location

Maison Kayser has closed its outpost on Broadway between 13th Street and 14th Street. (Thanks to EVG reader Cecily Millen for the tip and photo!)

The Paris-based French bakery/bistro opened here in September 2016. As we noted at the time, EVG commenters were pleased by this arrival.

The door signage for customers, which includes an apology "for the inconvenience," lists five Manhattan Maison Kayser locations as well as news of a store coming to Hudson Yards.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Maison Kayser opening a large bakery on 13th and Broadway (25 comments)

Today is the last day for A Repeat Performance

[EVG photo from March]

As we first reported back in March... A Repeat Performance on First Avenue between Ninth Street and 10th Street is closing today after 39 years in business.

Proprietor Sharon Jane Smith has said that it's simply time to move on. Store founder Beverly Bronson died in May 2018.


[Photo of Smith by Daniel Efram]

Document Journal has a piece on Smith's ongoing shop project — chronicling the stories of people who have shopped here through the years.

Currently, Smith is writing a piece titled “Confessions of a Shopkeeper,” eliciting the characters and circumstances that she’s encountered throughout the past 38 years. Hoping to first have it presented as a performed theatre piece, Smith plans on later publishing the script into a book. “Often it’s poignant situations that present themselves in this shop. It’s not all the grand, dramatic stuff of New York life. It’s actually more subtle than that. It’s the little interactions between New Yorkers.” “It’s not fair if I go to my grave knowing all of this and not sharing it,” said Smith.

The shop’s alluringly diverse collection of items is deemed inevitable by Smith. “Anything and anyone can end up in New York really if you think about it,” she said. “All the people who drift in and out of New York. What things they carry with them, what little treasures they hide.”

Jewelry designer Lisa Linhardt, a friend and former neighbor of Smith's, will be moving into the space after A Repeat Performance.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A Repeat Performance, until July 31

A new storefront for A Repeat Performance, and word about the next tenant

Chinese Graffiti has not been open lately on Avenue A

Multiple readers have noted that Chinese Graffiti has not been open during announced business hours of late. They were closed the past two weekends.

There isn't any message on the door here at 171 Avenue A about a closure — temporary or permanent. Yelp lists the Asian-American gastropub as closed as does Resy. Chinese Graffiti's phone is not in service and its website is offline. Nothing on its social media properties either.

Chinese Graffiti just opened here between 10th Street and 11th Street on March 8. It drew praise from Gothamist, who noted Chinese Graffiti's more offbeat menu items such as the Pork Belly Cotton Candy.

No. 171 may be ready for doomed restaurant location status. Recent ventures here include Chao Chao, which closed without any notice to patrons in May 2017 after six months in business. Chao Chao evolved from Soothsayer, which opened in January 2016. Soothsayer, from the same operators, also closed without any notice to patrons at the end of September 2016.

And because someone always brings this up... No. 171 was once the home of Rat Cage Records and 171A, the illegal club-turned-rehearsal studio that produced records by Bad Brains and the "Polly Wog Stew" EP by the Beastie Boys.

Pizza Rollio has closed on 9th Street

[Photo by Steven]

Pizza Rollio has closed after 10 months in business, and the space is for rent here at 437 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. The shop had been dark in recent weeks, and the real-estate signage arrived last week to make it official.

The pizzeria specialized in super-thin, arugula-topped pies served in long strips. The owners operate similar establishments in the Philippines. They also have outposts on West 18th Street and in the Plaza Hotel Food Hall.

This storefront on Ninth Street was previously the longtime home of the salon Crops for Girls.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Pizza Rollio bringing its skinny slices to 9th Street

Bruno Pizza won't be reopening after fire upstairs last November

Last Thanksgiving weekend, an early morning fire broke out in the top-floor apartment at 204 E. 13th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. No injuries were reported in the blaze. (A cause has not been publicly revealed.)

The fire caused extensive water damage to Bruno Pizza on the ground floor. At the time, owner Demian Repucci told me that he was hopeful to get the restaurant up and running again.

Now, nearly eight months later, Repucci has decided that reopening the space wasn't feasible. He shared the news via Instagram earlier this month. Here's part of the message:

It is with a heavy heart that I bring you this news. The plethora of adversity that normally comes with running a restaurant was always made up for with the myriad amazing relationships I developed with you, the restaurant’s friends, neighbors, and pizza lovers. ...

But the water damage to the restaurant that resulted from the fire in the building upstairs has proven to be too much to overcome. After several months trying to figure out how to get the restaurant back on its feet, it seems recovery moved beyond my grasp.

So the difficult decision to close Bruno Pizza had to be made. The writing was on the wall. Or, rather, no longer on the wall (er... window). Thank you to everyone who came in, ate pizza, talked, drank, listened to my crazy stories, ate more pizza, and gave your love and support in spades. I appreciate it so very much.

I’m not sure another restaurant will ever be in my future, but pizza eating certainly will. As well as great conversation. So please do keep in touch.

[Photo from July 1]

Bruno Pizza, which milled its own flour, opened in July 2015. This was the first food establishment for Repucci, a restaurant designer-consultant.

Eater critic Ryan Sutton gave the restaurant's nouveau-Neapolitan pies high marks, with a post headlined "Bruno Is the Best Thing to Happen to Neapolitan Pizza Since Roberta's." Pete Wells at the Times was not so kind, dropping zero stars on the place. Two years after that punishing review (and after Bruno's original chefs left), Repucci offered to return the 0-star review to the Times.

In May 2016, Bruno Pizza won a judgment against a petition of eviction by landlord Steve Croman’s 9300 Realty.

Closings: Pie by the Pound wraps up 17 years on 4th Avenue

[Image via Facebook]

After 17 years of selling pizza by its weight, the appropriately named Pie by the Pound has closed on Fourth Avenue between 12th Street and 13th Street.

June 30 was the shop's last day.

Here's part of the message from owner Jeffrey Reiss on Facebook:

It is time to say goodbye😭🙁😢. I want to thank the local community and beyond for supporting us and who have been our fans until the end. I will deeply miss the vegetarian, vegan and especially the Gluten Free Communities. Such beautiful memories of all the families and kids and my staff....that will last a lifetime. I will miss this place. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU.

Love,
Jeffrey

A regular told us that the lease was up, and Reiss wanted to pursue other opportunities.

H/T Kat!

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.

Ichabod's has closed on Irving Place

Ichabod’s is now closed on the corner of Irving Place and 15th Street... this sign greets patrons at the door...



The bar-restaurant, like its sister establishment The Headless Horseman, which remains open next door on 15th Street, paid homage to Washington Irving... on this street named after the author.

Ichabod’s opened in early 2013, taking the place of shuttered hemp restaurant Galaxy Global Eatery (1996-2011).

[Updated — now open] St. Mark's Market has not been open lately

Updated 7/4 — St. Mark's Market is back open!

Multiple readers shared the news that the 24/7 grocery at 21 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue is out of business...



This address has a storied history (you can read about it here)... the building was demolished in a mall-style upgrade in 2003, which marked the arrival of the market.

The Chipotle upstairs in the complex closed last August.

Updated 8:30 a.m.

There is a makeshift sign out front... photos via Steven...



Another reader said the space has been dark for two days. The fruit remains behind...



Updated 12:30

A worker says that the power is out (though it's on in other businesses in the complex)... and that they'd be back open ...



H/T @randeepk!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Why, yes you can live on St. Mark's Place for $19,500 a month

Manitoba's has closed

[Reader-submitted photo this evening]

Manitoba's is now closed at 99 Avenue B.

Proprietor Handsome Dick Manitoba confirmed the news about his namesake bar, where framed photos of punk icons lined the walls here between Sixth Street and Seventh Street these past 20 years.

A bar employee said that Tuesday was the last night in business.

Manitoba said that he was in the dark about the official reasons for the closure. In a text exchange via Instagram, Manitoba said that his role of late had been working the front of the house — "greeting people, bringing people in ... telling stories, laughing, watching Yankees games, listening to music." He continued, saying that he "had a big rock-star partner" who had previously suggested that they sell the bar, though a sale never materialized. He said that other people were managing the paperwork and legal matters.

"So my guess — this is not a fact — is [the partner] said just close it down. It’s an educated guess because nobody else had the right to say that unless it was people we owed money to." (There had been financial difficulties in the past stemming in part from a lawsuit involving the Americans with Disabilities Act. A successful crowdfunding campaign in early 2015 helped raise more than $30,000.)

Here's part of a message that Zoe Hansen, a former owner and partner of Manitoba's, wrote on Facebook:

Yes, MANITOBA’S Bar has closed its doors after 20 years. As you all know I managed, & worked from day one with Richard Manitoba to bring a real down & dirty fun Rock N Roll Bar to the East Village. I met Richard in that bar 20 years ago. Many have met their ex's in that one small room after I. Giving it that eternal pivotal moment we can each cherish, or not. However your memory sways, I give respect to a scene now total gone from a once glorious block.

Thank you to my friends who’ve supported the bar over the two decades it survived.

She asked that the press not contact her — that this was her comment on the closing.

For his part, Manitoba called it a "great disappointment that after 20 years I couldn’t keep my bar going in spite of my age — as young and strong as I am."

In a follow-up message, he said that the Manitoba's website will live on.

"In spite of the fact that we’ve closed, we know that people from all over America and all over the world have excitedly entered our doors for 20 years," he said. "This wasn’t a 'bar' to them. It was a special, relaxed home away from home."



Previously on EV Grieve:
Manitoba's is in danger of closing on Avenue B

Jin Kitchen and Bar closes on 3rd Avenue

A for-rent sign now hangs in the window at 58 Third Ave., marking an end to Jin Kitchen and Bar's short existence here between 10th Street and 11th Street.

The Chinese restaurant debuted in January, taking over the space from Shu Han Ju II. This marks the third restaurant at the address in the past four years — Shu Han Ju II replaced Mulan East.

From 2009 to 2015, we had the Thai restaurant Bodhi Tree here... and previously? Anyone? Taco Bell!

Thank you to EVG reader Sheila Meyer for the photo!

Just For Fen folds on 1st Avenue

[Photo via @jcastro_nyc]

That's all for Just For Fen on First Avenue between 13th Street and 14th Street.

A for-rent sign now hangs in the window of the former quick-serve restaurant, which opened in September 2017 and served a variety of Guizhou-style fen bowls.

No word on why they closed. One day they were gone. Of course, there's no shortage of places serving rice noodles in the area, including the acclaimed Little Tong two blocks to the south.

Before Just For Fen, three quick-serve restaurants quickly came and went at this location in three years — Bago ... Hibachi Dumpling Express ... and 2 Bros.

According to the listing for the 650-square-foot space, the asking rent is $11,995.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Just For Fen opens on 1st Avenue

Miscelanea NY announces June 16 closing date

[Photo by Stacie Joy from January]

Guillaume Guevara (pictured above) announced yesterday that he's closing up Miscelanea NY, his quick-serve Mexican cafe and shop at 63 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

He broke the news via Instagram... he didn't offer a specific reason for the closure, just that it was time to end "our project called Miscelanea NY."



Miscelanea NY opened in the summer of 2015, and drew praise for its tortas.

In an interview with EVG contributor Stacie Joy in January, Guevara had this to say about the East Village and his shop:

For many years I lived in the East Village. I [later] moved to Brooklyn, so opening my business in the East Village was a great way to remain connected with a neighborhood that I love. To me the East Village is the best neighborhood in Manhattan — it has everything one needs and a sense of friendship and community.

To me, Miscelanea is not just a Mexican store, it's an all-inclusive trip to Mexico. You can learn about the culture through our books, about the fashion through our clothes, and about the cuisine through our food. Everything we serve is 100 percent Mexican and homemade whenever possible. Even our coffee comes from Chiapas, Mexico.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A visit to Miscelanea NY on 4th Street

Gelarto packs it up on Avenue A

Workers were spotted packing up Gelarto late yesterday afternoon on the northwest corner of Avenue A and Ninth Street (thanks to Steven for the photos)...



The desert shop's management announced via Facebook on May 15 that they'd be closing up in the weeks ahead. Here's part of the message:

It has been a great time for all of us at GELARTO NYC for the past 2 years, but all good things come to an end and that includes our time in the East Village.

We have made many friends and have many lovely and loyal customers on Avenue A, but have reluctantly decided to relocate. We will of course let everyone know as soon as we have our new address, but until then please note you can continue to purchase our gelato at Kings’ and Balducci’s stores (among others) in NY and NJ.

Gelarto, the first U.S. outpost of this Italian brand, opened in June 2017 with Vespa-inspired stools and a painting of the Mona Lisa holding an ice cream cone.

Landlord Icon Realty has had this listing (145 Avenue A) online for weeks now. Per the listing, the asking rent for the 600 square feet is $13,500.

With Gelarto's departure, four of the five businesses that opened in Icon Realty's renovated retail spaces along 441-445 E. Ninth St. (aka 145 Avenue A) have now closed in recent months.

Cafe Pick Me Up moved out away from the corner in May 2015 after 20 years in business. They were housed at 145 and 147 Avenue A, and had two different landlords — Icon on the left, Steve Croman on the right. Café manager Rossella Palazzo told DNAinfo in March 2015 that a rent hike from No. 145 landlord Icon Realty was the reason for the closure.

Updated 8:30 a.m.

Vinny & O shared this interior shot from this morning...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Rent hike forcing Cafe Pick Me Up into its smaller space next door on Avenue A

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 Eddy is closing June 17 on 6th Street

On Friday, the owners of the The Eddy on Sixth Street and Wallflower in the West Village announced that the two restaurants will close this month.

Via the EVG inbox, here's the letter to patrons from (presumably) Chef Brendan McHale and partner Jason Soloway:

This is a love letter to our friends, neighbors, guests and colleagues:

We have some bad news. We are closing Wallflower and The Eddy. Wallflower’s last night of service will be Saturday, June 15th and The Eddy’s last night of service will be Monday, June 17th.

It was a gut-wrenching decision, but one that we needed to make for several reasons, none of which are interesting or important.

This is what's important to us:

First, we always endeavored to do it the right way and were never interested in taking shortcuts. And we intend to stay that way until we close. Media recognition was always greatly appreciated, but what mattered to us most was the passionate and enthusiastic response from our guests. We are pleasers, and nothing pleases a pleaser more than happy guests. We consider ourselves fortunate to have had our fair share of them.

Second, it's important to thank the many people who have worked at both restaurants. There are so many to thank that it would be unfair to point out any individuals as it was always about being a team. It was their dedication, talent and charm that enabled us to execute the vision of refined, fun and zero-pretension neighborhood restaurants. Quite simply, without them, we were nothing.

Third, we are deeply grateful to our many guests. We hosted weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and countless celebrations. Knowing how many remarkable dining options there are in NYC, we have always been humbled that so many people chose to spend their special occasions with us.

We want to take the next 2+ weeks to show our appreciation to you for allowing us to occupy a small footprint in the NYC dining landscape for the last 5+ years. As such, starting tonight and continuing until we close, we are offering all guests a 25% discount on their check (no minimums, no maximums, no questions asked) at Wallflower and The Eddy.

Thank you, thank you, thank you and we hope to see you one last time (or if we’re still on your “list”, for the first time!) over the next couple of weeks.

XO - Wallflower and The Eddy

The Eddy — "a neighborhood restaurant serving seasonal global cuisine" — opened in April 2014 here between First Avenue and Second Avenue in space that was previously home to the Toucan & the Lion and Mara's Homemade.

Here's what Pete Wells had to say about the 30-seat Eddy in a one-star review at the Times in June 2015:

The Eddy ... is one of those restaurants that gets so many little details right that your main course can be a little shaky and you can still walk out happy. That’s a rare thing, no accident when it happens, and the reason all those seats are so often full.

Optyx has closed at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary

An EVG reader reported that Optyx, the eye-care center on 14th Street and Second Avenue, has not been open of late.

Sure enough, the shop is empty. An Optyx rep confirmed that this location had closed, but didn't provide any further information...



Optyx, with multiple NYC locations, was in the retail space of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai. That facility is expected to be renovated at an unspecified future date. And there isn't any eyeglass storefront in renderings for the new-look building on 14th Street and Second Avenue...




[EVG file photo]

As previously reported in the fall of 2016, the Mount Sinai Health System is in the midst of its years-long project to rebuild Mount Sinai Beth Israel, transitioning to a network of smaller facilities throughout lower Manhattan.

The plans include an expanded facility on 14th Street and Second Avenue. A 7-story hospital will also rise on 13th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

CoCo Fresh Tea and Juice shutters on St. Mark's

The CoCo Fresh Tea and Juice branch at 33 St. Mark's Place has closed.

This wasn't really a surprise given the recent arrival of for-rent signs outside the cafe here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

No word on why this location of the Taiwan-based chain shut down...



Increased rent? Five hundred other places around selling the same things?

CoCo debuted here in September 2013, taking over the space from the short-lived (ONE MONTH) Iris Cafe.

Before that we had Rockit Scientist Records here.

The spot won't be vacant long: The broker posted on Instagram that she had leased this to an unnamed new tenant.

Previously on EV Grieve:
CoCo Fresh Juice & Tea now open on St. Mark's Place; also, mascot alert

Rockit Scientist Records to become a bubble tea shop on St. Mark's Place

Nobletree Coffee abruptly shuts down on 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place

[EVG photo]

After five-plus months in business, Nobletree Coffee abruptly closed yesterday on the northwest corner of Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place.

An EVG tipster told us that the move took staff by surprise yesterday morning — "not even shop manager was warned."

A sign on the door for Nobletree's "beloved customers" offers thanks ... along with a reason for the closure: "Because of the slow foot traffic at this location we were forced to close."


[Photo by Steven]

Slow foot traffic on St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue?

This prime corner space will be back to vacant, as it was the previous three years — ever since DF Mavens closed in January 2016.

Before the Mavens, we had the cafe Eastside Bakery (.net?). And there was Roastown Coffee before that. And the Gap a long time ago.

Updated 7:30 a.m.

Nobletree brass forgot to cancel the pastry order...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Nobletree Coffee is the next tenant for 37 St. Mark's Place and 2nd Avenue

Piccolo Cafe closes on 3rd Avenue

Piccolo Cafe closed after service back on Friday at 157 Third Ave. between 15th Street and 16th Street. (Thanks to EVG reader @bigpoppaeats for the tip.)

The small Italian cafe, which offered a variety of homemade pastries, sandwiches and salads, had been at this spot for 10 years.

Ownership didn't offer a reason for the closure in the goodbye note posted to the front door.



Piccolo Cafe has three other NYC locations.