Joe’s Steam Rice Roll heading to 36 St. Mark's Place; will be the 5th restaurant in 4 years here

Joe’s Steam Rice Roll is reportedly planning to open a outpost this spring at 36 St. Marks Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

Eater had this about the shop and its owner, Joe Rong:

Rong began selling his rice noodle rolls from a tiny storefront in Flushing in 2017, and his craft quickly stood out. Unlike many other vendors, he grinds the rice for the batter in an electric-powered stone mill daily. His stand has drawn a loyal following, prompting him to expand to Manhattan last November with a stall inside Canal Street Market.

He says he’s traveling to China soon to perfect the restaurant’s sauces and seasonings and expects to add new drinks to the menu, too.

You can read more about the food at Joe's in this Hungry City column at the Times last week.

No. 36 has seen a variety of quick-serve concepts come and go in recents years, including Cheers Cut, the Taiwanese mini-chain of fried foods ... Friterie Belgian Fries ... Fasta ("Pasta Your Way") ... and the $1.50 branch of 2 Bros. Pizza.

Former Nicoletta space for rent on 2nd Avenue and 10th Street

The for lease signs are up now in the windows at 160 Second Ave. at 10th Street, the former home of Nicoletta, Chef Michael White's pizzeria.

According to an online listing, the monthly asking rent is $25,000 (1,700 rentable square feet on the ground level).

As first reported here on Dec. 21, Nicoletta was opening in a new, undisclosed spot in the East Village where they are continuing with a delivery service.

Not sure where they are working from these days, but the Nicoletta Instagram is actively pushing the pies...

View this post on Instagram

It’s Championship Sunday! We are offering 15% off all signature pies and 1/2 off wings when you call in your order and mention “Game Day Deals.” 🏈🍕🍗

A post shared by Nicoletta | NYC (@nicolettanyc) on Jan 20, 2019 at 5:59am PST

A previous Nicoletta Instagram post noted that their new EV space will also feature expanded menu items and delivery zone.

Nicoletta opened to much hoopla in June 2012.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Nicoletta Pizzeria closes 2nd Avenue dining room, plans move to a new delivery-only location

Cafe Centosette closes on Second Avenue

On the Mark Cleaners now open on 13th Street

[Photo by Steven]

On the Mark Cleaners made its debut last week at 400 E. 13th St. just east of First Avenue.

The drop-off dry-cleaning service is from the same owner as On the Mark Barber Shop, which was previously in this storefront. The 10-year-old barber shop had opened a second location in August 2017 at 350 E. 13th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.... and eventually swapped out this space for the cleaners.

Cheska's pizza now serving in the Bowery Market

[EVG file photo]

Cheska's is the newest tenant (as of Jan. 16) in the Bowery Market, the year-round open-air food court at 348 Bowery and Great Jones.

Here's more about Cheska's style of pizza (via the Cheska's website):

Cheska's pizza has a gluten-free and vegan crust. It's an elevated offering. Cheska’s two main crusts are cauliflower and sweet potato. Both crusts are available in an 8-inch personal size or a 12-inch shareable pie. We also serve riced cauliflower bowls.

This is the first full-time space for Cheska's, owned and operated by Cheska Mauban, a Queens native who fine-tuned her own recipes to create the menu here.

View this post on Instagram

First week was a success! Make sure you come by if you haven’t already! 💫 📷: @yaazzzin 🔶 #cheskas #feedyourbestlife

A post shared by Cheska’s (@cheskas) on Jan 19, 2019 at 1:22pm PST

Weekend recap: Nobletree Coffee debuts (and a bonus photo of the Gap in this post!)

Holiday weekend ICYMI: Nobletree Coffee opened on Saturday on the northwest corner of Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place.

Per their Facebook About: "Nobletree is an innovative coffee brand of Farmers, Roasters, and Baristas based in Brooklyn with proprietary coffee farms in Brazil."

As previously noted, the corner space was vacant these past three years after DF Mavens closed. Before DF Mavens served vegan ice cream here, the space was the cafe Eastside Bakery (.net?) and Roastown Coffee.

And as a few previous posts have pointed out, the Gap was here from 1988 to 2001...



... oh wait...



The photo is by Barry Joseph, and it was published in Ada Calhoun's book "St. Marks Is Dead."

This is what the Sunshine Cinema looks like today — 1 year after it closed

I took these photos of the former Sunshine Cinema this morning on Houston between Eldridge and Forsyth. The five-screen theater closed last Jan. 21 after a 17-year run.



The structure, which dates to 1898, is still awaiting demolition to make way for a 9-story boutique office complex with a retail component.

East End Capital and K Property Group, who bought the building for $31.5 million in the spring of 2017, have launched a website marketing the spaces.

Here's the building's "redefined vision" ...

From acclaimed architect Roger Ferris, the only new development of its type on the Lower East Side, 141 East Houston is a new frame for viewing the neighborhood. Column-free and unbounded by walls, it reinterprets the area through a bold geometric perimeter of cladding and glass. State-of-the-art workspaces and private terraces reframe expectations, while a well-connected location recasts perspectives.

With its glass frame and dynamic courtyard running the length of its eastern side, doubling as a second facade, 141 East Houston challenges the distinction between indoors and out.

The ground-floor space along Houston Street will include outdoor seating in "Houston Alley" ...



In March 2018, Gregory Kraut, a managing partner at K Property Group, said that the theater would be demolished in two months.

As Curbed noted in January 2018: "Rising rents put the theater into financial duress; it was served a death blow in 2012 when the Lower East Side community board rejected Landmark’s proposal to offer food and beverage service at the theater."

Last May, CB3 later OK'd a full liquor license for the new 14-screen Regal Cinemas outpost in Essex Crossing.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Discarded theater seats and goodbyes at the Sunshine Cinema

The 9-story boutique office building coming to the former Sunshine Cinema space

A celebratory ad on the purchase of 139 E. Houston St., current home of the Sunshine Cinema

The boutique office building replacing the Sunshine Cinema will be 'unbounded by walls' with an outdoor space called Houston Alley

ICYMI: There was a slight decline in the number of NYC chain stores this past year

ICYMI (I did!): The Center for an Urban Future released its 11th annual ranking of national retailers in New York City late last year ... and their analysis reveals a 0.3 percent decline in the number of chain stores in 2018, marking the first year-over-year citywide drop in national retail locations since they began documenting NYC's chain environment.

While there was a 0.3 decline overall in the five boroughs, the number of chain stores decreased by 2.3 percent in Manhattan, which amounts to a loss of 67 locations, according to the report.

Here's more from the report...

Our 11h annual analysis of national retailer locations in New York also finds that more of the city’s chain retailers are shrinking than growing for the first time. Buffeted by headwinds from online shopping, a record 124 retailers — 37 percent of the 331 national retail companies in our study — reduced their footprint over the past year. This compares to 99 retailers that registered a net gain in stores over the past year, and 108 retailers whose footprints remained unchanged.

Overall, our analysis shows that the 331 retailers listed in last year’s ranking reduced their total footprint in New York City by 27 store locations, declining from a total of 7,876 stores in 2017 to 7,849 stores in 2018 — an 0.3 percent decrease. The slowdown is led by Manhattan, where the number of chain store locations shrank by 2.3 percent — the sharpest single year decline to date. In every other borough, the number of chain stores increased again this year.

The pullback was most pronounced among merchandise retailers that are struggling to compete in an age of e-commerce, with broad-based declines among retailers selling clothing, shoes, accessories, jewelry, and cosmetics.

And...

Dunkin Donuts is the biggest national retailer in the city for the tenth year running, with 624 locations, gaining 12 locations since last year. MetroPCS (now called Metro by T-Mobile, but retaining a distinct brand) has 472 locations, up from 444 last year. Subway is still in third place with 330 locations despite having lost 103 locations since last year. Only seven retailers grew by more than 10 locations: AT&T, MetroPCS, Sprint, T-Mobile, Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Dollar Tree.

A few other takeaways...

• Starbucks has more stores in Manhattan than any other national retailer, with 227 locations.

• The 10003 zip code, which includes parts of the East Village west of First Avenue, Union Square and stretches of Fifth Avenue, has the second-highest number of chain store locations in NYC at 173 (down from 179 the previous year). No. 1: the New Springville neighborhood in Staten Island (10314) with 180.

• The 10009 zip code is way down on the list with 27 chain stores in 2018, down two from 29 the previous year.

Access the full report at this link.

Something to keep in mind, via the Greenwich Village Society of Historic Preservation:

[T]he report counts and ranks the number of chain stores, not their concentration, i.e. how many chain stores are in an area as a percentage of the overall number of stores; thus a zip code may actually have a very high number of chains but a relatively low percentage, and vice-versa, depending upon how much area it covers and how many shops there are in the area...

Today's Urban Etiquette marijuana sign of the day

Paraphrasing here, but someone is requesting that people do not smoke marijuana in the lobby of this building along Second Street... because "not everybody likes that shit." The sign leaver's advice? Do it inside your own apartment.

No word about about the greasy-looking smears on the sign.

Thanks to chang0blanco for the share!

Week in Grieview

[Yesterday's sunrise view from 14th Street]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

Off-duty cop pistol-whipped during attempted robbery on 13th Street (Thursday)

A visit to CAVAglass on 7th Street (Wednesday)

Permits filed to demolish former P.C. Richard & Son property to make way for the tech hub (Monday)

Tu-Lu's Gluten-Free Bakery has closed on 11th Street after 9 years (Wednesday)

Restoration watch: 74 E. 4th St., the crown jewel of La Mama's theater community (Tuesday)

The completed new work at the Bowery Mural Wall (Saturday)

The former Grassroots Tavern ready for a renovation (Tuesday)

FULL full reveal at the historic Hamilton-Holly House on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

Nobletree Coffee debuts on 2nd Avenue at St. Mark's Place (Saturday)

L-train non-shutdown fallout: Bike lane battle shaping up along 12th and 13th streets (Monday)

Tree-mendous fire wipes out remains of the holiday season in 4th Street pile (Wednesday)

A birthday celebration for Ray at Ray's Candy Store (Tuesday)

Rue-B's daytime service now includes CBD-infused coffee (Thursday)

January Christmas miracles: The holiday tree lights are back ON in Tompkins Square Park (Friday)

Reminders: Here's how you can apply to be a Community Board member (Friday)

The Bowery Bond closes on the Bowery (Thursday)

KC Gourmet Empanadas coming soon to 38 Avenue B (Monday)

Mandala Tibetan Store is closing on St. Mark's Place (Monday)

12 months of inactivity at 75 1st Ave. (Wednesday)

Beijing Express pulls into 3rd Avenue after Gala's quick exit (Monday)

Former Old Monk space for rent on Avenue B (Thursday)

PARTIAL reveal at 80 E. 10th St. (Monday)

...and EVG reader Trixie reports that someone placed MulchFest remains in the tree beds along 12th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...







... there's also fresh mulch in the skateboard planter on Seventh Street...



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EVG Etc.: Comedians let their hair down at 2nd Street barbershop; plus, winter raptors!

The Third Street Music School Settlement is hosting a free community celebration tomorrow in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. featuring a drum circle, a sing-along and more (RSVP here)

The Original Barbershop on Second Street doubles as a comedy club at night (The Post)

If you ever wondered what decoupage artist John Derian's East Village home looked like (Architectural Digest)

After 121 years, the storied LES-based Jewish-American publication The Forward is ending its print run (NPR)

A roundup of the winter raptors spotted in the neighborhood (Laura Goggin Photography)

The seemingly overlooked drama "Leave No Trace," which scored 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, has a return engagement at the Metrograph (Official site)

Hope for Loft Law advocates (Gothamist)

Map things: Listicle of restaurants and bars around Union Square (Eater)

More about the Integral Yoga Natural Foods Store closure last month on West 13th Street (The Villager ... previously)

Diversions: About that Iggy Pop guest spot that never aired on "Miami Vice" (Dangerous Minds)

Weather upstate KOs Greenmarket at Tompkins Square Park today

Info posted on Facebook yesterday...

Saturday's parting shot

A shell game on Third Street ... thanks to EVG reader Aaron Wilson for sharing the photo today...