For lease: former Francis Kite Club space on Avenue C

Photo by Stacie Joy 

A "for lease" sign is now hanging outside the former Francis Kite Club at 40 Avenue C between Third and Fourth streets. The hybrid bar, social club and arts venue closed after service on Aug. 1. 

As we reported last month, the owners initially cited a rent increase for making the operation unsustainable, later clarifying that rising costs for liability insurance, permits and rent all contributed to the decision. Francis Kite Club debuted in early 2024 and became known for its mix of live music, performances, art events and community gatherings.

The owners have said they're considering relocating and hope to reopen elsewhere. The club's website currently notes that they "hope to see you in a new iteration in the near future." 

Ownership did not respond to a previous query for more information. 

As for the Avenue C space, the current listing has the 2,400-square-foot storefront at $11,000 per month, marketed as a turnkey bar-restaurant.

Ground-floor retail now leasing at The Houston (on Houston)

Residents started moving into the all-new 280 E. Houston St. late in the summer. 

The 12-story mixed-use building (aka The Houston) between Avenue A and Avenue B has nearly 160 units — 49 of them "affordable," as noted during the housing-lottery phase. 

And now the retail portion has officially hit the market (PDF here). The listing notes 5,693 square feet of ground-floor space, divisible, with "all uses considered," and rent is available upon request.

As we've noted, this lot was previously a one-level strip of storefronts and a gas station decades before that. 

Anyway, bring back the Blockbuster!

76 Avenue B is for rent

A for-rent sign has arrived on the storefront at 76 Avenue B on the NW corner of Fifth Street.

Not particularly newsworthy unless you wondered what happened to the art gallery that occupied the space for nearly three years. Gratin has relocated to the Lower East Side — 291 Grand St. 

Gratin arrived in late 2022. Previously, Oda House, which served Georgian cuisine and other Mediterranean staples, closed here in August 2020 after more than seven years in service. Caffe Buon Gusto was here for a bit after the corner market, Zips.

New broker for Avenue A storefront that has been vacant for nearly 11 years

New broker signage has arrived at 28 Avenue A, prime real estate between Second Street and Third Street.

Incredibly, this space has been empty since the two-level market Gracefully closed in November 2014. 

Gracefully arrived here in 1997. It was the tenant when the building — the one-time Burger-Klein furniture shop — underwent a gut renovation to look like Iron Man's helmet. 

The Gracefully signage remains...

According to the RealNY listing, there are 5,000 square feet on the main floor and another 3,500 in the basement. Rental price available upon request... "most uses considered" for the vented space. 

Previously on EV Grieve:

• A look inside the former Gracefully storefront on Avenue A, vacant now for nearly 8 years

7 years vacant, the storefront on the NW corner of 3rd Avenue and 12th Street is now for rent

Leasing signs for a vented restaurant have arrived on the storefront on the NW corner of Third Avenue at 12th Street, aka 88 Third Ave. (The listing via CBRE isn't online yet.) '

There's also a for-lease banner on the 12th Street storefront that last housed Tacombi...

These two spaces have operated with separate businesses in recent years. 

The corner storefront has been vacant since Gotham Pizza closed in the summer of 2018. The following year, we spotted workers gutting it, and one of them said a Chinese restaurant was in the works. 

In April 2022, we spotted a demand-for-rent notice totaling $281,134.68. 

Last week, along with the new for-lease signs, came a notice of eviction to the business that never opened...

Other past corner tenants included Funkiberry, the colorful FroYo establishment that went down in 2015.

The former Sushi Dojo space is for lease on 1st Avenue

The former Sushi Dojo space is now for lease at 110 First Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.

We don't know the exact timing of the recent closure. The Sushi Dojo website simply says, "We're Closed. Thank you for your support since 2013." Its Instagram account doesn't mention a closing.

The restaurant, from chef David Bouhadana, received acclaim during its early days here. However, in the fall of 2015, ownership let go of its chef for his reportedly "unprofessional" handling of DOH codes and conduct.

The fine-dining allure of Sushi Dojo changed over time, and recent Instagram posts show deals for "anti inflation omasake" — 10 pieces for $45.

According to the listing for the fully vented space, the rent is $15,000 monthly.  

Former Mad for Chicken spot for rent on 14th Street

This came up in the comments of the Koko Wings post from last week. The former Mad for Chicken outpost at 230 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue is now for rent (signage arrived last week). 

The quick-serve spot that served soy garlic fried chicken and Korean-inspired dishes closed last fall. There's an eviction notice dated from November 2023 posted on the front door. It first opened here in late 2021.

MFC, which started in Flushing in 2005, still has other locations in the NYC metropolitan area. 

Meanwhile, BRING BACK WALID MENSWEAR!

Retail spaces at the historic 4 St. Mark's Place are now for rent

Both retail spaces at 4 St. Mark's Place near Third Avenue are now available. 

According to the listing at Meridian Captial Group, the upper and lower spaces (each at 2,500 square feet) can be leased separately. 

And the asking rent for each storefront directly across St. Mark's from the new 9-story office building:

• Upper-Level Monthly Rent — $29,000

• Lower-Level Monthly Rent — $26,000 

All uses considered!

The upper level has been vacant... as we can recall, Chi Snack Shop and the Imogene boutique were the last tenants circa 2019. Wanyoo, Asia’s largest gaming café chain, was in the lower level for a minute but never reopened after the pandemic's start in March 2020. A bar-cafe called Lava Ground was the last leaseholder, a business that seemed to be open every few weeks.

Until February 2016, 4 St. Mark's Place housed Trash & Vaudeville for 41 years. The store relocated to 96 E. Seventh St. in 2016.

The Hamilton-Holly House (aka 4 St. Mark's Place), built in 1831, was once owned by Alexander Hamilton’s son. The building, which changed hands for $10 million in the spring of 2016 for $10 million, also underwent a gut renovation and expansion.

Check out the former Salvation Army Family Store on 4th Avenue

The plywood recently came down at the under-renovation storefront at 112 Fourth Ave. near 12th Street.

You'd never know that this was, until October 2019, the longtime home of the Salvation Army Family Store. SA reps told us at the time that the landlord had terminated their lease. 

The storefront is now being pitched for restaurant usage — or anyone else who can afford the monthly asking rent of $38,000. (Listing here.) The space has three levels, with 2,400 square feet on the ground floor. 

The former Local 92 space is for rent

Photos by Steven 

A follow-up to the Aug. 1 post about Local 92 closing... a for-rent sign arrived on the storefront on Second Avenue between Fifth Street and Sixth Street last week. 

According to the listing, the space — 1,600 square feet with another 1,000 in the basement — has an asking rent of $26,500. (No key money, though!) 

And earlier in the month (Aug. 9), workers tore down the curbside dining structure...

Local 92, which served a variety of Middle Eastern cuisine and was a popular brunch spot, first opened here in 2013.

The former Mighty Quinn's space is for rent

Photos by Derek Berg

A for-rent sign arrived this past week at 103 Second Ave., where Mighty Quinn's recently closed here at Sixth Street.

Workers last week also removed the 6,000-pound smoker that the BBQ joint had installed when it opened more than 10 years ago...

This was the very first restaurant for the brand, which now has multiple corporate locations in the NYC metro area ... and ownership has been franchising, with outposts in New Jersey, Maryland and Florida... and in Dubai.

Ownership didn't provide a specific reason for the closure (April 10 was the last day), stating, "While we wish to have been able to just keep our first restaurant in the system forever, many realities have made that path impractical."

People into Mighty Quinn's can still have it delivered here via the Greenwich Avenue outpost. 

On the rental market: 118 St. Mark's Place

A for-lease banner now hangs outside 118 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue ... bringing an official end to the previous tenant at this location — the cannabis lifestyle brand CannaCulture NYC.

The shop, which opened last July, was dark in recent weeks... though there was some thought this was a temporary closure.

This outfit had not been a target of Mayor Adams and Manhattan DA Bragg, who earlier this year announced that they had joined forces, cracking down on illegal storefront operations by going after the landlords.

One of those businesses, Runtz at 14 First Ave. between First Street and Second Street, looks officially closed.

Other recent cannabis-related closures include The Main Event at 42 Avenue B between Third Street and Fourth Street on New Year's Eve. That shop, open for 15 months, also sold vinyl, clothing, art and music ephemera. It's not known why they shuttered. 

As for 118 St. Mark's Place, this space was previously home to St. Dymphna's, which closed in October 2018 after 24 years in business. The tavern later reopened at 117 Avenue A. 

The new listing for the storefront is not yet online. 

Corner spaces for lease along Houston at Elizabeth and the Bowery

Been meaning to note: A for-lease sign is on the vacant storefront at 73 E. Houston St. at Elizabeth... the former home of Rag & Bone. 

The retailer quietly closed at the start of the year; the men's shop next door on Houston is also shuttered. (This is one of several R&Bs that shut down this year.) 

R&B had been here since 2010... replacing neighborhood favorite Cafe Colonial, whose owner reportedly saw her rent triple following the arrival of nearby neighbor Keith McNally's Pulino's Bar and Pizzeria on the SW corner of Houston and the Bowery. (Part of the feared "McNallification" of the neighborhood.)

Pulino's eventually closed in 2013 ... to make way for McNally's concept Cherche Midi, a French brasserie. That spot ultimately folded in 2018... and the corner has been vacant for nearly five years.

A for-rent sign is now on that space, too (as of a few weeks ago)... only the second time that we recall a listing for the address.

This corridor of the Bowery has been challenging for retail and restaurants... we've seen many concepts come and go quickly... and even name restaurateurs like McNally and Daniel (DBGB!) Boulud haven't had a lasting impact.

The former Commodities space is now for rent on 1st Avenue

Photo by Steven

A for-lease sign now hangs in the front window of the former Commodities.

On Jan. 12, the landlord took legal possession of 165 First Ave. just north of 10th Street — which had been home to Commodities for 30 years. 

There was hope for a reprieve, though that didn't happen here. Workers were spotted dismantling fixtures the following week... now comes the leasing notice. (Per the listing, the rent is available upon request for the ground floor, which measures 2,100 square feet... plus a similar-sized basement.)

New owners took over the business in January 2019 and changed the name to Commodities Health Foods from Commodities Natural Market.

Michael Hughes opened Commodities here in 1993. Hughes and his wife Audra opened an outpost in Vermont in 2015. 

Retail options on the Bowery

For-rent signage is up now at 32 E. First St. at the Bowery... where Blue & Cream moved out to a new location (on Bleecker Street) at the end of 2022. (First reported here.)

The retailer arrived at  Avalon Bowery Place in 2007.

Not much info as the JLL listing, except that "restaurant use not permitted" and "logical divisions considered."

Meanwhile, across the Bowery, Olde Good Things is now gone (this happened on Jan. 24; we reported on this pending departure in early November).

This outpost of the architectural artifact dealer specializing in reclaimed building materials and antiques opened here in 2013.  

The listing for 302 Bowery between Bleecker and Houston mentions a "cannabis dispensary" as a potential tenant ...

The former Nomad space is for rent on 2nd Avenue

A small for-rent sign now hangs on the storefront at 78 Second Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street.

Last month, owner Mehenni Zebentout announced that he was closing Nomad, his low-key Mediterranean and North African restaurant to take a much-needed break. 

As he wrote on Instagram: "This is not goodbye; more like stay tuned for what's next." 

Whatever he does next won't be from this space. The closing announcement also coincided with a notice that the landlord was now in legal possession of the premises (photo by Stacie Joy) ...

For rent: space ideal for a gallery on 6th Street

The folks at the co-op at 629 E. Sixth St. let us know there's a vacancy in the 525-square-foot storefront space here between Avenue B and Avenue C.

The last tenant, 3A gallery, recently relocated down to Canal Street. 

Per a co-op rep: "We'd really like someone with roots in the neighborhood and ideally tenant related to the arts. The space is ideal for a gallery."

You can find the link to the listing here. 

A 14th Street storefront is available to rent for the first time in 63 years

The east storefront at 626 E. 14th St. is available for the first time since 1959.

A for-rent sign recently arrived on the front window between Avenue B and Avenue C at the now-closed Sun's Laundry.

Robert Lee opened the dry-cleaning business with his father in 1959.

Mr. Lee was 84 in August 2020 when he and his family decided to close up shop, one of the city's last Chinese hand laundries.

Both Gothamist and NBC News had features on Mr. Lee following his retirement. 

Former Tarallucci e Vino space for rent

For rent signs are up now at 163 First Ave. ... the former Tarallucci e Vino on the NW corner of 10th Street. 

The KSR listing doesn't have a ton of info, like asking rent, though "all uses considered." (Soon listings may read: "all smoke shop uses considered.")

Tarallucci e Vino, the all-day Italian cafe, closed back in June after a 20-year run here. Their other NYC locations remain open.

Thanks to Steven for the photo yesterday!

Thoughts on a new tenant for a former laundromat

A for-rent banner hangs across the front of the former New Phoenix Laundromat, which closed in the spring at 199 First Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street. 

A sign on the door makes an appeal for the next tenant (thanks to Steven for the top two pics) ...

Someone! Please open this laundromat!! We need one!!! 

Meanwhile, while this won't be of help to the residents who live around the former New Phoenix... a new laundromat (Laundry Mart!) opened in early July at 60 Avenue B between Fourth Street and Fifth Street (just realized that we never noted this arrival)...