Dimmed lights on 1st Avenue: Only 1 Indian restaurant remains at Instagram-friendly address

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

And then there was one. 

After decades of aggressive hosts trying to entice diners into their establishments with twinkling Christmas and chili pepper lights and promises of superior food, the upstairs-downstairs block of Indian and Bangladeshi restaurants at 93 First Ave. is down to one.

While Milon closed in December 2020 after nearly 40 years in business, next-door neighbor Panna II Garden took over the space in early 2021 (see below) without switching the previous tenant's sign.

It was business as usual, with groups coming in for various celebrations amid the lights and over-the-top decor (this with some pretty mediocre-to-average food and spotty service).

The Panna II maître d' on duty Friday evening told us they stopped using the adjacent dining room last month.

"No business," he said.

The Milon space has been gutted (thanks to Blake Farber for the following two pics) ...

... and workers bagged up the lights that had lit up thousands of Instagram posts to throw away...

Royal Bangladesh, which opened on the lower level in 1978, closed in the late spring of 2022. An unlicensed smoke shop briefly occupied one of the storefronts on the lower level. 

While Milon and Panna II had been catering to the Instagram crowd in recent years, some locals still found the BYOB restaurants a familiar comfort on evenings away from the weekends. 

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This article at 6sqft has a nice recap of the restaurants here; Eater, too. (A photo of the glory days is below via 6sqft.)

The number of Indian and Bangladeshi restaurants along the so-called Curry Row or Little India here and around the corner on Sixth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue has been dwindling in recent years. As many as 27 establishments were clustered on the block in the 1990s; today, there are two on Sixth Street.

Economics and competition certainly played a part ... and, in recent years, we've seen new buzzy options, such as from the Unapologetic Foods team (Rowdy Rooster and Dhamaka, with two more concepts on the way)... and higher-end experiences like Bungalow at 24 First Ave., which opened in March and recently received three stars from the Times, and Jazba on Second Avenue and 13th Street.

On Friday night at Panna II, the lone maître d' said business has been slow.

5 Napkin Burger closes on 3rd Avenue and 14th Street

After nearly 10 years on the SW corner of 14th Street and Third Avenue, 5 Napkin Burger has closed... signage on the front door points would-be patrons to other locations of the chainlet...

The burger joint opened here in February 2012... and in the summer of 2019, downsized the space, which became 5 Napkin Burger Express for two years ... which became Tamam Falafel, which closed at the end of 2021. (Both 5 Napkin and Tamam Falafel share the same ownership.)

This space was previously home to Robin Raj Discount Health & Beauty Aids (that seems like a long time ago!). 

There will be some speculation about the future of this high-profile corner with single-story structures — seemingly ripe for development. Not sure what kind of air rights there might be with the newer 21-floor 110 Third Ave. on one side and NYU's 17-floor Palladium Hall on the other.

Thanks to all the EVG readers who shared this news!

Updated: Flashback to the 1980s and Disco Donut here

Tamam Falafel has closed on 14th Street; new location in the works

After a year at 150 E. 14th St. at Third Avenue, Tamam Falafel has shut down its operations here.

However, ownership, which includes Simon Oren who runs 5 Napkin Burger next door, announced that Taman will reopen elsewhere (and their UES location remains in service).

Per an Instagram post last evening...

The plant-based Tamam Falafel took over this space from 5 Napkin Burger Express in January 2021.

H/T @vegan.nyx ... top pic via @tamamfalafel

Green Garden Buffet closes on 9th Street

Green Garden Buffet has closed here at 332 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue (thanks to Steven for the photos) ... 

A note on the door from owner Tamika Gabaroum cites a "decrease in business" for the closure... 

Gabaroum opened the buffet-style spot in July 2020... serving what she billed as healthy French food. (An EVG reader described it as Chadian, as Gabaroum is originally from Chad.)

Gabaroum is a former public health advocate with the Peace Corps who served in UN Peacekeeping Missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She was an early recipient of a loan in the summer of 2019 as part of the East Village Revitalization Loan Fund for small business owners. (You can read more about the partnership with City Councilmember Carlina Rivera and community advocates here and here.)

Unfortunately, opening a buffet-style restaurant without seating during a pandemic proved to be too much.

Gabaroum had said opening a restaurant in NYC was a dream of hers. She will continue with catering work. 

Former Paper Daisy space for rent on St. Marks Place

A for rent sign now hangs on the plywood at 41 St. Mark's Place just east of Second Avenue.

This marks the official closure of Paper Daisy, which debuted in March 2019. The cafe-cocktail bar, from the owners behind East Village establishments Boulton & Watt, Drexler's and Mister Paradise, closed at the start of the PAUSE in March 2020 and never reopened. 

The storied Cafe Orlin closed here in October 2017, wrapping up a 36-year run on St. Mark's Place. Yosi Ohayon, the former owner of Cafe Orlin, is the building's landlord.

Al Horno Lean Mexican Kitchen looks to have closed on 1st Avenue

It appears that Al Horno Lean Mexican Kitchen has closed here on First Avenue between Third Street and Fourth Street... their phone number is out of service... and the interior has been emptied out...  (And we left a message about the status of this outpost.)

Al Horno, which has four other NYC locations, arrived on First Avenue back in November 2016. 

The address at No. 57 is now on an awning watch. It will be difficult for any new business to top the Pudgie's-Nathan's-Arthur Treacher's action-packed combo during a few glorious months in 2012.

Chef Hans Asian Kitchen closes after a few weeks at 120 1st Ave.

Chef Hans Asian Kitchen has apparently closed after just a few weeks in business at 120 First Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.

The quick-serve restaurant, offering a variety of noodle dishes and appetizers, had its soft opening on May 4. By May 26, they had updated the menu.

And now, someone has removed the Chef Hans signage and emptied out the interior ... and the space is for rent once again... (thanks to Steven for the photos)...  

Anyone out there try Chef Hans? The restaurant's Instagram account and Yelp page were awfully lonely. 

In April, signage for Chef Hans arrived here  ... this was after a March report @TradedNY account noting that Jian Bing Man, which specializes in Chinese crêpes, signed a lease for the storefront.

The previous tenant here, Doma Food and Drinks, a Korean bistro, didn't have much of a chance, opening in February 2020 — about six weeks before the PAUSE ... this was a new concept from the owners of the Tang, which opened in this space in July 2016. 

Previously on EV Grieve:

• On second thought, Chef Hans looks to be the new tenant for 120 1st Ave.

[Updated] The Original Nicky's Vietnamese Sandwiches has moved on Avenue A

Updated 5/7: Nicky's has moved across to 216 Avenue A. Unfortunately, there wasn't any notice of a move on the old storefront.

The Original Nicky's Vietnamese Sandwiches outpost on Avenue A at 13th Street is now out of business... as you can see, workers have cleared out the quick-serve restaurant...

This departure isn't a surprise, as a homemade for-rent sign popped up on the front window months ago.

Nicky's, related to the one that had been on Second Street several years earlier, opened on Avenue A in March 2019.

Vinny Vincenz Pizza has closed

We started hearing reader reports late last week that the venerable Vinny Vincenz, the 18-year-old pizzeria at 231 First Ave., was closed during usual business hours.

By Friday, a for rent sign had arrived on the storefront here between 13th Street and 14th Street. (Thank you to food writer Nick Solares for the photo.) 

There's no mention of a closure on the pizzeria's lightly used Instagram account. 

Vinny Vincenz had stared down the competition during the Great $1 Pizza War of First Avenue in 2013-14, which saw multiple sidewalk sandwich boards … the introduction of $1 drafts… and dancing pizza menu women.

The place served a good slice and offered other pizzeria staples. This marks the second old-school pizzeria casualty over here... as Muzzarella on Avenue A between 13th Street and 14th Street shut down last year. 

Dian Kitchen has closed on 9th Street

After nearly three years at 435 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue, Dian Kitchen announced it was closing at the end of service last evening. (H/T VV!) 

The quick-serve restaurant specialized in rice noodles and other small dishes from China's Yunnan province. 

The Instagram message from the owners is below... they say they are moving out of NYC and hope to reopen Dian Kitchen where they land...

 

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Photo from 2018 by Steven

O Ramen Dim Sum M has closed on 9th Street

A for-rent sign now hangs on the storefront at 350 E. Ninth St. just west of First Avenue.

The previous tenant, O Ramen Dim Sum M, never really had a chance. They opened this past July for two weeks then closed when there wasn't any business during the pandemic ... sources on the block said that they reopened in the fall, but their hours were sporadic... open for a day or two, then closed for several days.

And previously: beQu Juice closed here in November 2019 after nearly six years in business. Until 2012, a bakery had been in this storefront for 87 years. 

Thanks to Steven for the photo... and to William Klayer for also noting the closure. 

Meyhane has closed on 2nd Avenue

Meyhane, which served Mediterranean-style tapas, has closed at 166 Second Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street. (Thanks to Steven for the photo!)

As you can see, brown paper covers the front windows. Google now lists them as permanently closed as well. The outpost in Cliffside Park, N.J., remains open. 

Not sure when Medina's Turkish Kitchen, which opened in August 2019 and was quite good, morphed into Meyhane.

As previously noted, the address has been home to several businesses just in the 14-year lifespan of EVG, starting with a Dunkin' Donuts ... then the pizzeria Pomodora ... then three open-and-shut hookah places — Entrez Bar & Grill, Farfasha and Dinah that looked to have the ambiance of a regional airport lounge.

And we hear a new restaurant is already in the works for the address.

The Marshal seizes the Lower East Side Coffee Shop on 14th Street

Ugh. A bad sign at the Lower East Side Coffee Shop on 14th Street just west of Avenue A ... there's a posted notice stating that the restaurant is now in the legal possession of the landlord. (Thank you to @goodnitesteve for the tip and photo.)

And as you can see, plywood now covers the windows and door. 

While the coffee shop is on the new side (2008), it had (if this is permanent) an old-school look and feel — especially with the neon. This photo is from Jan. 23...

However, business had been off during the pandemic... and the delivery and takeout orders (and extremely limited outdoor seating) ... wasn't apparently enough to stay in business.

Pandemic aside, it has been a tough slog for all the businesses on this corner. For nearly three years this side of 14th Street was an active construction zone for L-train repairs with a variety of trucks, drill rigs, pile drivers, compressors and generators. 

Several businesses were forced to shut down due to severely limited access to their storefronts. Outside the now-shuttered Dion and the Coffee Shop, customer access included only 28 inches of sidewalk space — not big enough for a wheelchair in spots.

99 Favor Taste looks to have closed (again) on St. Mark's Place

Multiple readers have pointed out that 99 Favor Taste at 37 St. Mark's Place has closed here just west of Second Avenue. 

The business has not been open in recent months... and the location has been removed from the 99 Favor Taste website (there are four other NYC locations). 

This isn't the first time that it appeared 99 was done for. Late this past summer, a "14-day notice demanding payment of rent" notice arrived on the front door. According to the paperwork, the restaurant owed $34,986 for the August rent along with a balance of the July rent and real-estate tax for a sum totaling more than $52,000.

There was also the ongoing construction that blocked entry to the restaurant. However, to some surprise, 99 Favor Taste did reopen in the late summer and early fall.

The restaurant, which offers traditional Korean-style barbecue and Chinese hot pot meals at multiple NYC locations (and free birthday meals), opened in the East Village in July 2017.

Photo by Steven

Camellia will not be reopening on 3rd Avenue

Just a little north of our usual coverage area... Camellia, the restaurant that served made-in-house ramen and gelato, will not be reopening at 155 Third Ave. between 15th Street and 16th Street.

Food writer Nick Solares tells us that a for-rent sign has arrived in the front window. The restaurant never reopened after the PAUSE of March 2020.

Camellia debuted in early 2019 in space that was, in part, a Subway (sandwich shop). They temporarily closed several months later for renovations. 

The former Meet Noodles space is for rent on 3rd Avenue; Taste Wine looks closed next door

Meet Noodles has closed at 50 Third Ave. I don't know when this happened. They had been open for takeout and delivery ... as well as some curbside dining... but it all seemed to go dark in recent months. (Thanks to Steven for the photo!) 

There isn't any word of a closure on its website, social media properties ... or even Yelp. The restaurant specializing in Chongqing noodles opened here in May 2019. They also have locations in Brooklyn, Columbus, Ohio, and Nashville, Tenn. 

Anyway, there's now a listing for the space that doesn't offer many details, like rent. 

The west side of Third Avenue between 10th Street and 11th Street is getting grim... with this closure, five of six consecutive storefronts are now empty... including the former Boilery and Blockheads ... Ainsworth on the corner is said to be temporarily closed...

In addition, next door to Meet, it appears that Taste Wine Co. has closed... paper is covering the windows and the store appears to be empty, per Steven ... the shop had just reopened under new ownership in the fall... if this is a permanent closure, then this makes six of seven closed businesses right in a row...

A 21-story office building planned for the former B Bar & Grill on the Bowery

Permits were filed yesterday for a 21-floor mixed-use development — a 283-foot-tall office building — at the site of the former B Bar & Grill on the Bowery.

According to the proposed plan, the well-employed architect Morris Adjmi's building will encompass 98,799 square feet, with 26,000 square feet set aside for use as an unspecified community facility. 

Permits show office amenities that include several roof terraces and a "passive recreation" area. There's also a mention of a bicycle rental or repair shop on the ground floor. 

As we first reported on Dec. 8, permits were filed to demolish the one-level structure that housed the B Bar & Grill on the Bowery at Fourth Street from 1994 through the start of the COVID-19 PAUSE last March. 

CB Developers paid $59.5 million for a stake in 358 Bowery, previously a gas station before its conversion into the onetime hotspot. B Bar owner Eric Goode, who owns a handful of hotels, including the Bowery Hotel across the way, has been assembling air rights to build a larger development on this corner space. 

As for the B Bar, it was expected to close for good this past August. However, the bar-restaurant never reopened after the PAUSE. As we reported back on April 3, nearly 70 B Bar employees were laid off without any extension of benefits or offer of severance pay.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• CB Developers pay $59.5 million for an interest in 358 Bowery — current home of the B Bar & Grill and likely a new development

• B Bar & Grill lays off its staff without severance

5 Napkin Burger Express gives way to Tamam Falafel on 14th Street

On 14th Street at Third Avenue, 5 Napkin Burger Express has closed. (Thanks to food writer Nick Solares for the above photo!) 

The space isn't going to be vacant long, however. Singage is already up for the new tenant — the plant-based Tamam Falafel, which also has a location on the UES. The sign arrived Wednesday, per EVG reader Eddie...

This quick-serve outpost for the 5 Napkin Burger chainlet opened in the fall of 2019.

Citing 'restrictions, bans and curfews for the restaurant industry,' the Dumpling Shop closes

The Dumpling Shop has wrapped up its two-plus-year run at 124 Second Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place. 

The quick-serve restaurant announced its closure on New Year's Eve via an Instagram post, citing the constraints of a small business trying to stay afloat during the pandemic. 

"As weeks turn to months and months turn to almost a year, the challenges of operating a small family-owned business became ever more difficult, especially with new restrictions, bans and curfews for the restaurant industry."  

EVG reader 2ndAvenueSilverPanther was a regular.

"This place felt like family. Jace, the owner, was a gem. Before opening, he installed an expensive, efficient and quiet exhaust system that spared building residents the heat and odor — pleasant as it was — of the cooking. The food was exceptional, and I will really miss this place."

The east side of this block is pretty quiet for businesses these days. The only other food operation, Nolita Pizza, left back in June.  They also had to contend with a storefront-obscuring sidewalk bridge here for too long and the encampment a few doors away outside the currently closed Orpheum Theatre. 

Sammy's Roumanian Steakhouse has closed for now on the Lower East Side

Word circulated this weekend that LES staple Sammy's Roumanian Steakhouse had closed for good on Chrystie Street after 47 years of serving up ice-encased vodka, smeared pitchers of schmaltz and enormous platters of meat to the backdrop of Yiddish sing-alongs. 

This afternoon, Sammy's ownership (David Zimmerman) responded to the rumors in an Instagram post. (East Village-based storefront photographers James and Karla Murray initially observed what appeared to be a closure.)  

It is with great sadness that we announce that the rumors are true and we have had to shut the doors to the infamous basement. 

Sammy’s Roumanian is more than just a restaurant. It's a community. A celebration of tradition. An experience difficult to put into words. It's where families come to dine weekly, where partygoers begin their night (if they survive the frozen vodka), and where Simchas are celebrated. It's a place where you can be yourself, make friends, discover what a Shiksa is, and maybe even get called out as one too. Above all, it's a place where everyone feels at home, welcome, and part of a larger family.

However, it sounds as if Sammy's is leaving the door open for a return some day in a new location.

So chins up fellow schmaltzers. All the years of devouring chopped liver with our special schmaltz, schmered on rye bread with a side of pickles and a shot (or glass) of frozen vodka to wash it down will be remembered fondly. We may be closed now, but when all this is over and we feel safe enough to hold hands during the hora, we will be back stronger, louder, and tastier than ever before. We are New York. We will survive this. We will always cherish the memories we shared with all of you.

He confirmed as much in a text message to Gothamist. 

Sammy's had closed when the PAUSE went effect last March, and was never able to reopen. And this is not the kind of food that works for delivery.