Yoo's Convenience Store — former home of New York's 'best coffee' — becoming a vape shop

[EVG photo from April 2014]

A rent hike ended Yoo's retail life at 50 Second Ave. back in April 2014.

The small shop, which boasted handmade signs touting the Best Coffee in NYC (and it was pretty good), had been on the market for months now here between East Second Street and East Third Street…



Anyway, EVG correspondent Derek Berg passes along word of the new tenant — Cloud 99 vapes…

New York City's 1st holistic vapor lounge opens in the East Village

At least according to the press release that landed in our inbox!

Here it is:

New York City's first holistic vapor lounge is opening in the East Village — Vape Lounge NYC, in the cellar of Barbiere at 246 East 5th Street. Unlike other so-called vapor lounges that sell artificial e-cigarettes, Vape Lounge NYC uses only natural herbs, each selection designed to give the customer varied, distinct and often medicinal experiences.

Currently, patrons can choose from three different herbs to vape — Chamomile, to aid in the relief of stress, digestive disorders, headaches, anxiety, and depression; Damiana, an aphrodisiac and excellent remedy for the nervous system, acting as a stimulant and tonic in cases of mild depression; and Green Tea, for headaches, digestion, immune enhancement, to detoxify, energize, and to prolong life.

Single and blended herb teas by the cup and pot are available, as well. All brews are caffeine free and certified kosher.

The brain child of Kimberly DeAzevedo (a trained herbalist) and Al Bonsignore, Vape Lounge NYC is designed to be an oasis away from the city, an indulgence meant to enhance quality of life, instead of being a vice. The space itself was hand mosaic-ed by DeAzevedo and Bonsignore, with themes like the secret garden and the dawn of time running throughout.

Prices to vaporize are $10/person in the "plenty lounge" or $12/person at the Volcano Bar. Teas run $4 single herb or $6 blended per cup, $10 or $12 per pot.

Vape Lounge NYC - located at 246 E 5th st. (Btwn 2nd ave and Cooper), NY, NY 10003 - is open Mon-Sat from 2pm-8pm.

Volcano Bar!

Beyond Vape opening on St. Mark's Place

A Beyond Vape store is opening on St. Mark's Place... up where that Supercuts was, you know, by the Chipotle.

Anyway, Beyond Vape has three California shops... this will be the first location on the East Coast... for all your vaping (inhaling nicotine vapor) needs, such as tubes, cartridges, batteries, atomizers and the water-based liquid that contains the nicotine. (No word if you will be available to vape on the premises here... like in the California shops...)

Now! Is vamping safe? Or, safer than cigarettes?

Dunno! Here's what the Journal of Fun, aka, Bloomberg News, had to say about it in a piece titled "Vaping May Be Hazardous to Your Health:"

U.S. consumers will spend $1 billion on battery-powered smokes this year, 10 times more than they did four years ago. Are e-cigarettes, which come in such flavors as chocolate and butter rum, a benign device to help people stop smoking? Or are they just a new way to feed an old addiction? How safe, compared with tobacco smoke, is the vapor they create?

No one knows. The small studies that have been done so far hint at both pros and cons; one found that smokers cut back on real cigarettes after trying the electronic kind, while another found particles of metal and silicates in e-cigarette vapor that could cause breathing problems. That there are more than 200 brands containing varying levels of nicotine and other substances only makes it harder to assess their safety.

Can't be any worse for you than a haircut at Supercuts!