AO Bowl softly opens on St. Mark's Place

The Japanese health-food cafe AO Bowl is expected to (softly) open today at 82 St. Mark's Place on the southwest corner of First Avenue. 

A rep for the quick-serve establishment says that this is the "first-ever cafe in the U.S. to use vacuum blenders to create vacuum-pressed smoothies and juice on premise."

And more via the EVG inbox...

Using Blendtec technology, which prevents the oxidation of fruits and vegetables, AO Bowl juices retain over 90 percent juice compared to about 60-70 percent in standard juicing. Vacuum blending removes the air from ingredients within the blender, allowing juices to retain the majority of their original vitamin and mineral content. 

A fully plant-based menu with keto and paleo-friendly options features locally sourced or homegrown items including oat milk, bean sprouts, acai, granola, and market bowls like Adzuki Rice with Kombu and Grilled Pineapple Yams.

Workers gutted this single-level structure on the corner ... dividing the storefront into several spaces. The other new tenant here will be the Brooklyn Dumpling Shop one of these days.

The previous single occupant, Foot Gear Plus, closed in July 2018 after 40 years in business.

Smoothie images via AO Bowl

Former Mace space for rent on 12th Street

The for-rent sign showed up yesterday at 503-505 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B (thank you Christine Champagne!) ...

Until the late summer this space was home to Mace, the high-end cocktail bar... that establishment moved on to West Eighth Street where there is more room for outdoor service. (They are now going as the holiday-themed Miracle on 8th Street through December.) 

Mace relocated from Ninth Street to this larger space in early 2019. 

Double Wide closed at No. 503-505 in March 2018 (much to the relief of some neighbors). Noise issues have been persistent here dating back to the Mundial and Totem days.

Gallery Watch: Cotton Mouth by Tschabalala Self

 Text and photos by Clare Gemima

Cotton Mouth by Tschabalala Self

Eva Presenhuber, 39 Great Jones St.

Cotton Mouth presents as a formal critique on projected viewings (or constructions) of Black bodies in America. This show is physically and figuratively in your face, hitting the nail on the head with what needs to be addressed socially and artistically right now. 

The demand of this politically charged work is potent with its use of scale and installation method especially. Cotton Mouth is striking, hard-hitting and an exciting insight into the trajectory of young artist Tschabalala Self (1990, Harlem). This is her first solo show at the gallery. 

As you walk into the beautiful space that is Eva Presenhuber on the historically rich Great Jones, you will quickly find yourself surrounded by mixed-media paintings made out of materials such as fabric, thread, charmeuse, silk, velvet, paper, pigment, acrylic and canvas that completely dominate the space.

Cotton Mouth also features sculptures, drawings and an audio work spread across the two gallery floors.
The title of the show and Self’s making process simultaneously speak to slavery, and the mutually exclusive relationship that cotton has with the African-American experience. 

The act of these characters stitched and painted into the canvas by hand carry an emotional and personal significance to Self, while also speaking to the historical devastations of Black slave labor in America. Each constructed character holds power over their self-presentation and external perception unapologetically, an act of power that Black people in America are denied daily.

The work is so hard not to touch based on the array of different fabrics used and sewn together. What was hard for me to believe is that through stitching and constructing, Self has made characters that undeniably hold their own presence and somehow even look different in age and personified life experience. 

Self has impeccably built each and everyone of these characters from scratch whether it be Lil Mama 2 with her plaid and tulle fringed pants or the two lovers in Sprewell that kiss in front of an incredible photo transferred TV. One of the characters even wears the artist’s actual jeans. 

Self’s practice marries her interests in the psychological and emotional effects of projected fantasy with her sustained articulation of Black life and embodiment. Seeing every hand stitch in Self’s work shows the viewer how painstaking and timely it is to create. The labor in each stitch holds affection, memory and protection according to the artist, and I feel as though the painted hands directly applied to the gallery’s walls touch on this too. 

Cotton Mouth by Tschabalala Self is showing at Eva Presenhuber until Dec. 19 

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Clare Gemima is a visual artist from New Zealand. New-ish to the East Village, she spends her time as an artist assistant and gallery go-er, hungry to explore what's happening in her local art world. You can find her work here: claregemima.com 

EVG Etc.: The MTA's financial crisis; the latest essays from Luc Sante

Top photo from Tompkins Square Park this morning by Derek Berg

• MTA leaders mull a COVID-19-related financial crisis that could potentially see a 40-percent cut in weekday subway service and layoffs of more than 9,000 transit workers (Daily News) ... MTA looks to borrow $3 billion from the Feds (Streetsblog) 

• East Village restauranteurs discuss what winter dining might look like (Gothamist) 

• NYC restaurants restaurants report a drop in sales with the new 10 p.m. curfew (The Post)

• Anti-nuclear pacifists, seen on Saturdays in Tompkins Square Park protesting the war in Yemen, are headed to federal prison (The Intercept) 

• Q&A with East Village artist-musician Kembra Pfahler: "Being creative and sharing is a benevolent human trajectory that's difficult to irradiate even under the most heinous conditions. It lifts the spirits." (Whitehot Magazine) 

• Thoughts on Luc Sante's new collection of essays, which includes remembrances of the East Village music scene from his youth (The New York Times) 

• Complaints increase about the sight-seeing helicopter excursions over Manhattan (The City) 

• Singer-songwriter Jill Fiore on her fire escape performances on Essex Street (NY1) 

• Yellow Rose is a taco hit on Third Avenue (Eater ... previously on EVG)

• Introducing "The Encyclopedia of New York" (New York) 

The Bowery Mission's 141st Thanksgiving

Given the pandemic, it won't be a Thanksgiving day (their 141st!) as usual at the Bowery Mission.

While there won't be any indoor dining, the Bowery Mission will be serving nearly 450 turkeys and 2,000 pounds of potatoes to those in need.

Per the organization's website: "Special Thanksgiving to-go meals will be served outdoors during a four-hour period between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. We welcome anyone who would like to enjoy their hot meal onsite to do so as our limited outdoor seating allows. We will have partially open tents following mandated health and safety requirements, along with adequate social distancing and PPE."

In another change, there isn't any call for volunteers to serve the meals: "Due to social distancing and safety regulations in New York City in response to COVID-19, we will not open Thanksgiving Week volunteer opportunities to the public."

However, there are other times to volunteer, which you can find here.

And there is also a need for donated goods, including non-perishable food, pre-packaged snacks and water, travel-size toiletries, hats, gloves and scarves. Find out how to donate at this link. (And no drop-offs on Thanksgiving day!)

The Bowery Mission is at 227 Bowery between Stanton and Rivington.

Image via the Bowery Mission website

Reader reports: E. 10th St. Finest Deli will close next month

Multiple readers have shared the news that the E. 10th St. Finest Deli on the southeast corner of First Avenue will be closing next month.

Per our tipster: "The landlord wouldn't work out a rent deal with them."

While there isn't an exact closing date made public, there are 2-for-1 signs posted on a variety of items in the store to help thin the stock.

This will be the second corner deli on this stretch of First Avenue to close this fall. Best Price Deli & Grocery on the southeast corner of 12th Street closed in late October.

A full reveal at 639 E. 9th St.

Earlier this month, workers removed the sidewalk bridge and remaining construction netting from outside the all-new 639 E. Ninth St., an 8-story residential building here between Avenue B and Avenue C. 

This space was, for years, a parking lot. Development talk here dated to 2010 (the photo below is from 2012)...

The excavation work started in March 2018. And neighbors are happy that the sidewalk bridge has been carted off... No word yet on rental information from the developer, who also owns the building next door at No. 641.

Tuesday's parting shot

Part of the winter window display at Exit9 Gift Emporium on Avenue A...

While we're 'Younger': Filming in Tompkins Square Park today

You may have seen the film crew in Tompkins Square Park today...

They were filming a scene for "Younger," the well-reviewed (99% on Rotten Tomatoes!) TV series from Darren Star ... the show's up to season 7, set to debut in early 2021. A PA told Steven this was for an episode to air in the spring. (And no word of any Hilary Duff sightings!)

A reader said that cast-and crew had a COVID-19 testing location inside the former St. Brigid School on Avenue B.

Thanks to Derek Berg for the photos ... and H/T Steven...

Street appeal: East Village resident David Godlis has a new book of photographs

Longtime East Village resident David Godlis has a new book of photographs — "Godlis Streets" (Reel Art Press), which focuses on his body of work from the 1970s and 1980s.

On Thursday at 5 p.m., there's a virtual book launch and conversation with Godlis along with special guests Luc Sante and Chris Stein. (The two contributed the book's foreword and afterword.) Find the info to tune in right here. 

His previous book, "History Is Made at Night" (from 2016), chronicles the heyday of the scene at CBGB between 1976 and 1979. 

A visit to Raul's Barber Shop

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

Like most local businesses, Raul’s Barber Shop at 11 Avenue B (between Houston and Second Street) is struggling during the pandemic.  

Raul Velez Sr., 78, has been at the head of his eponymous barber shop on Avenue B for 59 years, and he and his son Junior show me around space. 

I meet barber Cesar Barros, 63, who has been cutting hair here for 32 years, and learn more about the space, which was separated into individual sections for increased COVID precautions. Business has been slower recently and the shop is working to adjust.

Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed that the barber shop no longer bears Raul’s name on the awning, nor the phone number, and the mural of Puerto Rican fighter and entertainer Hector “Macho” Camacho that used to grace the gate is also missing. 

The building (in a package deal along with its neighbor at 9 Avenue B), which was previously owned by Michael Chang now belongs to notorious landlord Steve Croman, and the shop was told to paint over everything. Junior tells me there has been no rent increase yet but they are concerned about changes might be forthcoming.

Raul’s hours right now are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., but it may close early so call (212-777-1121 or 212-353-3057) before you come. Walk-ins accepted! Raul’s is pretty old-school, cash only, no website or social media.

The Bean ready to make its 2nd Avenue return

Updated 11/18

The Bean is now open! Hours: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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The Bean reopens today in its former home on Second Avenue at Third Street... almost a year to the date that it closed at this very location.

As you may recall, the Bean shut down two EV locations in November 2019 — here on Second Avenue and on First Avenue at Ninth Street. At the time, owner Ike Escava blamed rising costs on the closures. The outposts on Third Avenue at Stuyvesant and Broadway at Ninth Street remained in operation. 

The Bean first debuted in December 2011 here on Second Avenue. The retail space has been vacant since the Bean's departure.

Will update the post when we get the new hours for this Bean branch.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• The Bean is returning to its former home on 2nd Avenue