Organic Grill's East Village location has closed ahead of move to new space on West 3rd Street

Photo by Stacie Joy

Organic Grill is now closed at 123 First Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place. Sunday was its last day in service.

As we reported last week, the health-food restaurant with a vegan menu was opening a new outpost at 133 W. Third St. in Greenwich Village. Co-owner Vlad Grinberg had been planning on opening a second location... in the meantime, the building at 123 First Ave. changed hands twice during the pandemic. Organic Grill had until the end of the summer left on their lease, but the new landlord didn't want them to stay and negotiated for an early release from the lease. 

Organic Grill opened here in August 2000. Grinberg said he hopes to open somewhere else in the East Village. 

You can follow the OG Instagram account for updates on the West Third Street opening.

Inside the food-and-drink empire that included the now-shuttered Angel's Share and Sunrise Mart

Top photo by Steven last week 

Three longtime East Village businesses on Stuyvesant Street — Village Yokocho, Angel's Share and Sunrise Mart — recently closed ... and a fourth, Panya, will soon follow. 

The New York Times yesterday had the first (and very rare!) interview with the owner of the businesses — the Yoshida Restaurant Group. 

Over the past 50 years, Tadao Yoshida, known as Tony, the mystery mogul of the East Village, has built a food-and-drink empire that few of his generation can rival. It all started in the early 1970s with the humble vegetarian-friendly joint Dojo and has expanded to include, most recently, the sprawling Japan Village food court in Industry City, Brooklyn. 

Mr. Yoshida helped teach New York that it couldn't live without an authentic izakaya (something like a Japanese pub). And the cocktail revival of the aughts can be traced directly to Angel's Share. 

He also may very well be the man responsible for that ubiquitous ginger-carrot salad dressing found at every Japanese restaurant across America. 

As previously noted on EVG, Yoshida first opened the Ice Cream Connection on St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue in March 1970. Yoshida's Japanese-inspired vegetarian cuisine came along in 1974. 

In 1982, Dojo took over the space next door and expanded even more. Higher rents shuttered the East Village Dojo, with the West Third Street outpost continuing until 2018.

The Times also shares this anecdote about the Ice Cream Connection:

The East Village was dangerous then, and Mr. Yoshida was known to keep a long Japanese sword behind the ice cream counter for protection. A story goes that a young John Belushi, after seeing Mr. Yoshida chase away some troublemakers with the sword, was inspired to create his recurring samurai character on "Saturday Night Live."

 "People said that," Mr. Yoshida admitted. "I'm not sure. After the samurai sketch, people said, 'Tony, that’s you.'"

As for why these businesses have closed after 25-plus years here on Stuyvesant Street between Ninth Street and Third Avenue... a spokesperson for landlord Cooper Union told us (and other media outlets): "Unfortunately, the tenant informed us of their decision to vacate the property. They were not asked to move out, despite the fact that they haven't paid any rent since 2020."

Yoshida confirmed to the Times that the businesses had not paid any rent since April 2020. "In the pandemic, we could not do business, and I hoped they would give me some sort of break," he said. The Cooper Union spokesperson previously said: "The formula for calculating rent on these properties has been in place for some 30 years and has never been changed."

Also, as the Times piece references: "Cooper Union, which leases the buildings from their owners and had subleased them to Mr. Yoshida for decades."

Back in 2011, when Cooper Union and St. Mark's Bookshop were trying to hash out a new rental deal for the retail space for 29 Third Ave., WNYC reported that "Cooper Union doesn't actually own the building that holds the store, but leases it from a company called 29 Third Ave Corporation c/o Casabella Holdings, LLC."

So it's not clear what will happen with the two-level building that housed Village Yokocho, Angel's Share and the previously shuttered Sharaku. Cooper Union told us there's no new building planned on this site.

Meanwhile, Yoshida's lone business left here, Panya, will "continue for a month on a wholesale basis before it, too, closes," per the Times. Employees though, have told EVG readers that the bakery will close before the end of the month.

Houston Village Farm is closing on 1st Avenue

You may have noticed the recent arrival of the for-lease sign on Houston Village Farm's storefront on the SW corner of First Avenue and Fourth Street.

Management of the deli-market told EVG contributor Stacie Joy that they will close by June, likely sooner. The cause? Slow business, high rent.

While several like-minded businesses have opened in the neighborhood in recent months, this marks the third corner market to close on First Avenue during the pandemic era  ... joining the one on the SE corner of 10th Street and the SE corner of 12th Street.

A last look at the now-closed East Village institution Sunrise Mart

Photos by Stacie Joy

After news broke last month that the four longtime businesses along Stuyvesant Street would shutter in the weeks ahead, EVG contributor Stacie Joy visited Sunrise Mart. This Japanese specialty store opened here on the second level at Third Avenue in 1995.

At the time, employees said they were closing but didn't have an exact date. Sunrise Mart closed after the business day on Sunday. Village Yokocho and Angel's Share shut down on March 31. (Panya remains open for now.) 

The other three NYC locations of Sunrise Mart are still in business. 

A co-worker told me about Sunrise Mart right after it opened in 1995 at 4 Stuyvesant St. I recall walking into the lobby and facing an unmarked elevator. I thought I had stumbled into an employee entrance. Or maybe the Cooper Union dorm. The entry definitely had dorm vibes.

No, this was how you got up to Sunrise Mart. 

Then the doors opened up into a sprawling retail space with a tastefully cluttered vibe with shelves stocked with unique items ... let's take a last look...

Stuyvesant Street closings official: Angel's Share, Village Yokocho and Sunrise Mart are gone

The entry to Village Yokocho was lit up per usual here at 8 Stuyvesant St. on Friday night, giving the impression that the longtime Japanese restaurant was open as it has been for the past 25-plus years.

However, the door to the space Village Yokocho shares with Angel's Share, the speakeasy-style bar, upstairs was locked, and the second level was dark ... 

Village Yokocho and Angel's Share closed after service on Thursday night. This was expected as four popular businesses — including Panya and Sunrise Mart — along Stuyvesant Street between Ninth Street and Third Avenue were set to close either at the end of March or in April. 

There was word of a "rent dispute." According to a previous statement by landlord Cooper Union to EVG: "Unfortunately, the tenant informed us of their decision to vacate the property. They were not asked to move out, despite the fact that they haven't paid any rent since 2020." 

The timing for the end of service was murky, as the Yoshida Restaurant Group had not publically commented on potential closures or relocations for any of these businesses. Information to date in articles had come from bartenders/waitstaff/counter help. (New York Times correspondent Alex Vadukul was first to report on the pending closures in a series of tweets last month.)

Over the weekend, signage arrived confirming three of the closures (h/t Eden) ...

Panya, the bakery-cafe, remains open. Yesterday, a worker said they hoped to be here for the rest of the month.

Meanwhile, there's speculation that Angel's Share may turn up elsewhere; Village Yokocho would likely not. Sunrise Mart will not reopen elsewhere in the neighborhood — its three other NYC locations remain in service in Soho, Midtown and Brooklyn.

Early this past Thursday evening, a line formed for a last dinner and drinks at Village Yokocho and Angel's Share (following two photos by Steven) ...

There were several farewells on social media, including ...

I was lucky enough to go to the last night of Angel's Share. Such an iconic bar. Always such incredible service and fantastic cocktails. It's the end of an era. 😢 pic.twitter.com/2MQq7nl8H3

— Paula Lukas (@penguinbar67) April 1, 2022

No word on what might be next for these spaces. A Cooper Union rep told us previously that there wasn't any truth to a rumored new building here. 

This corridor has been called a micro-center of Japanese culture. Angel's Share opened here in 1994, with Panya arriving next door in the same year. Sunrise Mart debuted in 1995. 

Pour one out for Pouring Ribbons

A closure from late march that we didn't get a chance to mention... Pouring Ribbons has closed for good — as of March 26 — at 225 Avenue B between 13th Street and 14th Street. 

This closure was first announced back in September as the second-floor cocktail lounge returned to in-person service for the first time in 18 months.

The bar from Alchemy Consulting opened here in September 2012. According to an Instagram post last fall from Joaquín Simó, partner and bartender, the lease for Pouring Ribbons expired in April 2022.

A bar-restaurant serving an omakase menu is in the works for the space.  

Farewell to Holyland Market on St. Mark's Place

Photos yesterday by Stacie Joy 

Holyland Market is now certified closed. 

As we first reported on March 14, the Israeli grocery at 122 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue was closing at the end of this month after 18 years in business. 

Moving forward, owner Eran Hileli (pictured below) will focus his time and attention on his blossoming hummus business — the 4-year-old Holy Hummus, now available at 700-plus stores in the United States, including locally at Westside Market and Union Market. He said he is introducing 12 new products/flavors, including spicy w/red s'chüg, roasted pepper, roasted garlic, za'atar flavored and green s'chüg.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by the shuttered shop yesterday ... as Hileli continued to clean out the space...

In a previous interview with Stacie, Hileli said he had challenges finding help and felt burned out after working through the pandemic. He was also unable to find a buyer for the market. 

While we're happy that Hileli has found success with his hummus (and it is delicious), we hate to lose yet another unique shop in the neighborhood — and in NYC. 

As The Times of Israel recently noted: 

Expats could score their favorite products from home at Holyland, down to lavender-scented Pinuk hair conditioner and the Friday edition of the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, in a store that felt like it could be located in Tel Aviv or Ashkelon — a Middle Eastern parallel to New York City’s beloved bodegas.

Last day for Himalayan Vision on 2nd Avenue

Today is the last day for Himalayan Vision, 127 Second Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.

As we reported this past Monday, Tenzin, who runs the Tibetan shop with his wife Sonam, said he simply couldn't make the rent anymore and decided to close after 23 years in business. 

The shop is open until 8 p.m.

Updated 12:30

Steven notes that there is a rack with free items outside...
 

Himalayan Vision is closing on 2nd Avenue

Himalayan Vision, the Tibetan shop at 127 Second Ave., is closing after 23 years in business between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place. 

Tenzin, the owner, says his last day will be March 26. Until then, he has discounted items by 20 to 80 percent ...

Tenzin said he simply couldn't make the rent anymore and decided to close. (There was not a rent increase, and at the same time, the landlord was not going to negotiate a lower rate.) 

Himalayan Vision and Millie, the store cat... will be missed... 

And we were told that Tenzin won't be able to keep Millie. So if there's anyone interested in adopting her, please reach out to Tenzin at the shop. [Updated 3/26: Millie has a new home!]

Himalayan Vision is open noon-8 p.m. ... and closed on Wednesdays. 

Top two photos by Steven... Millie photo by Lola Sáenz

A new restaurant for the Papilles space on 7th Street

Photos by Steven 

Papilles, an underrated and well-regarded French restaurant, recently closed its doors at 127 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

As far as we know, there wasn't any closing announcement, neither on the restaurant's Instagram account nor its now-deactivated website. (Updated: See the comments. They are relocating to North Salem, N.Y.)

Hiring signage is now up for the establishment taking over the small space — De Radda, described as an Italian and Argentinian restaurant ...

Papilles opened in June 2018. 

FWIW, here's what the Michelin Guide had to say about Papilles:

Don’t let the small space fool you. The elegant, contemporary dishes gliding on to tables at Papilles are going to knock your socks off. Three young owners are behind this perfect date spot, but their combined experience in the restaurant industry comes together to form culinary magic.

Holyland Market is closing on St. Mark's Place; owner to focus on hummus biz

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Holyland Market, the Israeli grocery at 122 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue, closes at the end of the month after 18 years in business. 

Moving forward, owner Eran Hileli (pictured above and below) will focus his time and attention on his blossoming hummus business — the 4-year-old Holy Hummus, now available at 700-plus stores in the United States, including locally at Westside Market, Union Market — and Holyland Market. (He said he has 12 new products/flavors on the horizon, including spicy w/red s'chüg, roasted pepper, roasted garlic, za'atar flavored and green s'chüg.)

In an interview with EVG contributor Stacie Joy, Hileli said that he was having challenges finding help and felt burned out after working through the pandemic. (He was also unable to find a buyer for the market.)

From Friday, here's a look around the shop, stocked almost entirely with Israeli products ... 

Hileli first opened a record store — House of Trance — at this location in 1998 before pivoting to the market. 

As he told The Times of Israel in an August 2020 feature: 

"The industry was changing. People weren’t really buying music anymore," he lamented, saying customers would enter the store, listen to music and then go home to purchase it on the computer. "But you can’t download Bamba," he joked, explaining his decision to start selling the peanut butter-flavored puffed corn snack along with the hundreds of other Israeli products that line Holyland's shelves.