Pukk is closing for good after tomorrow night

The 11-year-old restaurant shuts down after service tomorrow evening, according to the sign on the door here at 71 First Ave. between East Fourth Street and East Fifth Street.



Pukk's "vivid Thai–fusion cuisine" (per New York magazine) was a favorite among vegetarians. In a piece at the Voice back in June 2005, Robert Sietsema wrote: "In contrast to both the ho-hum vegetarian restaurants of the East Village and the mediocre Thai places found nearly everywhere else, Pukk is manna from heaven."

And, based on the sign to Pukk patrons, it appears there's a Spice opening here next month. (Pukk and Spice share the same ownership.) The Thai chainlet has been slimming down. The Fourth Avenue location closed in December. And the Spice on Second Avenue at East Sixth Street is on the rental market.

Sign of Spice on 1st Avenue

The Spice sign is up now at 71 First Ave. between East Fourth Street and East Fifth Street.

According to the note on the door, the Thai chainlet will open its branch here tomorrow.

In case you missed our post from March 21 … Pukk, the 11-year-old vegetarian/vegan Thai favorite, closed for good here after service on March 22. (Pukk and Spice share the same ownership.)

And as previously noted, the Spice on Second Avenue at East Sixth Street is on the rental market. Perhaps First Avenue will one day be the lone Spice in the East Village.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Pukk is closing for good after tomorrow night

Temporary closures: Unidentified Flying Chickens on 3rd Ave.; Spice on 1st Avenue

[Photo from June 7]

Over at 60 Third Ave. near East 11th Street, Unidentified Flying Chickens has been closed the past 10 days or so… the sign points to a ceiling repair, which appears to be happening inside…



The East Village outpost of the Jackson Heights-based Korean fried chicken restaurant opened last July. However, they won't be in this space too much longer: The address will be home soon to another location of Blockheads, the San Francisco-style Mexican restaurant from the folks who launched Benny's Burritos.

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Meanwhile, Spice, which only recently opened at 71 First Ave. between East Fourth Street and East Fifth Street, is out of commission for the moment… the sign says Spice is upgrading its gas lines…


[Photo from June 7]

The Spice on Second Avenue and East Sixth Street is now closed… so if you want your Spice fix you'll have to get it at the East 13th Street and University Place location for now.

No. 71 here was previously home to Pukk, the 11-year-old vegetarian/vegan Thai place that closed in March.

Lan Cafe is closing at the end of April

You have until the end of next month to visit Lan Cafe, the cozy Vietnamese vegan restaurant at 342 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

An EVG reader and Lan regular first told us about the coming closure at the end of April. A Nguyen family member confirmed it for us. The lease is up, and well — you know the rest. (Also, despite the posted 2 p.m. time during the week, Lan doesn't open until 5 p.m.)

And the list of recent East Village restaurant closings continue… as Lan joins Mitali East … Ginger … Pukk … Puebla Mexican Food … Benny's to go … Mercadito…

Tiengarden closes for good tomorrow after 20 years

[Image via Tiengarden]

Word is spreading that vegan mainstay Tiengarden is closing tomorrow after 20 years at 170 Allen St. just south of Stanton.

Very bummed our (twitterless) neighbors at #TienGarden are closing after 20 years. Tomorrow is the last day. @evgrieve @LoDownNY #veganloss

— CAKE SHOP NYC (@CakeShopNYC) May 4, 2015

The Lo-Down got the confirmation from Tiengarden, who noted that "Allen Street just isn’t what it used to be in terms of foot traffic."

The restaurant almost called it quits in 2011. The space was on the market at the time for $6,500 a month.

This also marks the fourth vegan/vegetarian friendly option to close this year around the neighborhood ... joining Pukk, Lan Cafe and B.A.D. Burger.

2nd Avenue Spice closes on June 1

The East Village Spice empire continues to downsize.

Notices to patrons are now up at the Second Avenue and East Sixth Street location … this Spice closes as of Monday…


[Photo via Michael Hirsch]

This move/consolidation with the First Avenue location was expected… this storefront has been on the rental market…



Meanwhile, Spice opened in the former Pukk space several weeks ago on First Avenue between East Fourth Street and East Fifth Street.

The Fourth Avenue location closed in December.

East Village Spice back open on 1st Avenue

Spice is back in business at 71 First Ave. between East Fourth Street and East Fifth Street.

The Thai place had only just opened in the former home of sister restaurant Pukk when it had to close to upgrade its gas lines… a fairly rigorous process these days.

The Spice on Second Avenue and East Sixth Street closed on June 1.

Spice on 1st Avenue is now The Sabieng Thai

The Spice at 71 First Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street recently closed... and the space is now The Sabieng Thai. (Does anyone know when this transformation took place? The First Avenue outpost has already been removed from the Spice website.)

With this closure, there aren't any Spice locations left in the East Village. This one opened in the former home of sister restaurant Pukk in the spring of 2015. The Spice on Second Avenue at Sixth Street closed in June 2015. The location on 10th Street at Fourth Avenue closed in December 2014.

Eight Spice locations remain in NYC; the closest here now on 13th Street near University Place. I have no idea what The Sabieng Thai is... they weren't open at the time of the above photo.