Huertas is closing next month on 1st Avenue

And the closing hits just keep on coming.

Huertas, the popular Basque restaurant at 107 First Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street, will shut down next month. 

And it isn't over a lack of business. Chef-co-owner Jonah Miller explained the situation — a new landlord — in an email to patrons yesterday. 

It's with a great deal of sadness that I share that Huertas will be closing on August 12th. 

Our building was purchased a couple of months ago and our 10-year lease is coming to an end soon. I've been negotiating with the new landlord, but we haven't been able to come to a number that works for both sides. 

Our last service will be Friday, August 12th. Until then we will be open 5 days-a-week, Tuesday-Saturday (closed Sunday/Monday). While it's certainly been a difficult situation to navigate and it's an upsetting outcome, I hope that the next several weeks can be celebratory. 

For nearly a decade we've been passing pintxos and pouring vermouth on 1st Avenue. We've hosted weddings, countless birthday celebrations, and made many friends along the way. 

We're not sure what’s next, but we're proud of the restaurant we’ve built. We have every intention of finishing strong and hope to see many of you in the coming weeks! 

 Thanks for the support! 

Public records show that an LLC called First Avenue Property Owner with a Great Neck, N.Y., address bought the three-building parcel — 105-109 First Ave. — in a deal worth nearly $14 million.

News of the closing circulated quickly... several EVG readers wrote in about it, lamenting the loss of this space with a friendly, professional staff ... and savory small plates to share.

Huertas opened in April 2014. 

Image via the Huertas website.

Tuesday's parting shot

Last night for Ink on A... thanks to Pete DeMola for the photo.

Ghost signage at the former New Double Dragon

Workers today removed that great New Double Dragon signage from the now-closed restaurant at 37 First Ave. between Second Street and Third Street. 

And there's some ghost signage beneath... difficult to see, but it looks like the letters Bet _ _ _ _ & Grill.

Via the NYC Municipal Archives, we found this street view from the early 1940s... you can see the neighboring business, a wine store and an A&P (33 and 35 First Ave.). No. 37 looks to be a restaurant...

And you can see a snippet of the El train  ... plus the cars are facing south on what is now a northbound thoroughfare.

The photo from the 1980s is too blurry to help, unfortunately. 

As noted, the three-building parcel here — 33 to 37 First Ave. — is slated for demolition for some unspecified new development.

Above photo by Stacie Joy

Last day for Ink

In case you missed our post from Sunday... today is the last day in business for Ink, the newsstand-convenience store at 66 Avenue A between Fourth Street and Fifth Street. 

As we first reported here and here, owner Ben "Benny" Dahud has been in a legal tussle with the private equity firm that bought the block-long building last fall for $64 million. 

So Benny has decided to step away, noting that his "kids are grown up and have completed their education, and this is the perfect time to retire."

Since Sunday, items have been going for $1-$3. Interesting items for sale include racks of rare postcards, including photos by Genevieve Hafne.

The store hours are usually 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., though we really don't know how late the doors will stay open.

The newsstand dates to 1987, Benny said, though he took it over in the early 1990s. Here's how it looked in 1997 (photo by Dave Buchwald) ...

Benny worked in the kitchen at Café Mogador on St. Mark's Place when he first got to the city from Israel. He later realized that the restaurant business wasn't for him.

Based on responses from past and present residents, Ink will be dearly missed ... as well as Benny's everyday presence on the block. 

Enjoy the retirement (and day trades!) Benny...

Above photo last month by Stacie Joy

On 5th Street, Tamam is closing

Tamam, a home accessories boutique, is closing its small retail space at 304 E. Fifth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Today is the last day for Taman's physical shop, which offers handmade ceramics, hand-embroidered pillows, scarves, accessories, vintage textiles, and clothing from Turkey, Central Asia, India, and beyond. 

They'll be open (July 11) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., selling stock for special prices as well as furniture and furnishings. (Tamam might be open intermittently through July, but after today, they'll be into the packing-up mode.)

The business will continue with online sales.

"Post-COVID retail has just never been the same. Regulars have left the neighborhood. We just can't support having a retail space. It's a tough business, retail shops," Clare Louise Frost, one of Tamam's three partners, told us. "It's been a great run! We couldn't thank our friends and neighbors enough."

Tamam opened here in late 2018.

Image via @shoptamam 

First sign of Pig & Butter on Avenue B

Signage for Pig & Butter has arrived above the doorway at 42 Avenue B between Third Street and Fourth Street. (Thanks to the EVG readers who noted this!)

As previously noted, this will be a sibling to the P&B that serves breakfast-inspired dishes all day long from 134 Ludlow St.

Chef-owner Sherry Grimes, a graduate of the French Culinary Institute, will be serving comfort food and cocktails from the small space with six tables and a bar with nine seats.

Looker, which served vegan bar food and cocktails, closed here early last year after nine months in business.

Meanwhile, next door (No. 40), a new venture called Dora's Restaurant is in the works (signage is up for that too). More about them in another post.

Monday's parting shot

Photo by Rainer Turim 

Catching the NYPD's Emergency Services truckster (#1706-19) early this evening on First Avenue and Ninth Street... 

Baker Falls set to debut this week on Avenue A

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

A new era in East Village day- and nightlife gets underway this week with the soft opening of Baker Falls at 101 Avenue A.

As previously reported, the venue between Sixth Street and Seventh Street will feature an all-day cafe with coffee service and non-alcoholic drinks, as well as a bar and performance space with live music, DJs and readings. 

This performance space is also home to what will be called Knitting Factory New York at Baker Falls. (The Knitting Factory Brooklyn in Williamsburg closed last August.) The first gig under the Knitting Factory brand is July 20, featuring Sunflower Bean with GIFT and Slow Fiction. 

East Village resident Nick Bodor, who has owned and operated several local businesses in the past 25-plus years, including the Library and alt.coffee, is behind Baker Falls, scheduled to debut with a soft opening on Thursday evening. (Details on the first few gigs are below.)

Leading up to the opening, Bodor provided EVG's Stacie Joy with a work-in-progress sneak preview of the former Pyramid Club, which closed last October after a decades-long run. 

On the main floor, beyond the original bar, you'll find the stage area — now painted black and with upgraded audio-visual production and soundproofing — for the live music, DJ sets, and readings. The lower level will feature seating for coffee and drinks in a setting that Bodor has called a "fever-dream" or manor house in terms of décor with vintage lamps and other odds-n-ends. 

Helping him realize this vision downstairs is Deb Parker (seen below with Bodor), a thrift aficionado who is/was behind EV spaces like Beauty Bar, Barmacy and No-Tell Motel...

The inaugural event here Thursday evening, which Bodor said is inspired by the very first flyer for the Pyramid Club stating: "DOWNTOWN FOR DOWNTOWN," is a release party for Jesse Rifkin's book "This Must Be the Place: Music, Community and Vanished Spaces in New York City."

The evening features special guest DJ Dany Johnson of Club 57, Pyramid, Mudd Club and Wah Wah Hut fame. Cover is $5. Doors open at 7 p.m.

The rest of the soft opening weekend includes what Bodor describes as "Nick's fuzzed out, drone-y, noodle-y, psych-rock guitar freak-out... just setting up a bunch of guitar amps and starting a reverb-ed out guitar strum and then have other invited guitar players come in and out as they see fit to play leads and make shit up in real-time as the night goes on... could be 20 minutes or could be 8 hours...who knows, we are just jamming out on a Spacemen 3 vibe."

Saturday features Lach and Friends Anti-Folk/Anti-Hoot, a nod to the now-closed Sidewalk Bar and Restaurant across the street... and Sunday will see stand-up comedy featuring Erik Bergstrom and friends.

You can find the Baker Falls calendar with info on these and more shows here.

Opening hours for coffee service is 10 a.m. Visit the Baker Falls website for more details on programming. And if you're on Instagram.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Generation next: Baker Falls will bring together a cafe, bar and the Knitting Factory at the former Pyramid Club on Avenue A (Nov. 28, 2022)

• The next iteration of the Knitting Factory coming to the East Village (Aug. 24, 2022) 

The steel base of 1 St. Mark's Place makes first above-ground appearance

A handful of steel beams are now visible above street level on the 9-story office building in progress on the NE corner of Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place...

This has seemingly been a long time coming as foundation work started here late last summer.

Real Estate Equities Corp. plans on 53,000 square feet of office space and some 7,700 square feet for retail here at 1 St. Mark's Place.  

At long last the grand opening date is revealed for Panda Express on 14th Street and 1st Avenue

The grand opening signage is here on the SW corner of 14th Street and First Avenue ... where the Panda Express debuts (at long last?) Monday, July 17...

This pre-grand opening has been a lengthy process. We were the first outlet to report that Panda Express was coming to this corner in January 2022. In April, a PE rep said that the projected opening date was around June 5. 

As noted late last summer, there were issues with permits — as in waiting for the city, Con Ed, etc., to approve them. (One tipster told us that management here was very late in completing the necessary paperwork for the various licenses, etc.)

Panda Express launched in California in 1983 ... with more than 2,000 locations today, including a handful around NYC.   

As previously noted... posts about PE's arrival have brought out comments of support for the delicious and affordable Mee Noodle Shop & Grill down the block at 223 First Ave. (between 13th Street and 14th Street). It was Allen Ginsberg's favorite restaurant (when it was at the former location at 219 First Ave.). You can find their menu via all the online delivery platforms. (212) 260-7838.

On 13th and 3rd, the Ugly Duckling becomes blue bird

Signage is up now for blue bird on the northwest corner of 13th Street and Third Avenue. (Thanks to Doug for the photo!) 

This multi-level space has been closed in recent weeks... as management for Dream Hospitality Group revamped their previous concept here, the Ugly Duckling... which had taken over for the Brazen Fox in late 2021. (The Brazen Fox closed during the pandemic in 2020 after seven years in brunch and happy hour service.) 

As for now, blue bird remains in "coming soon" status. You can tabs on an opening date on the bar-restaurant's new website.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo from Tompkins Square Park by Steven) ...

• Tuesday is the last day for East Village mainstay Ink on Avenue A (Sunday) 

• East Village staple New Double Dragon has closed (Tuesday)

• The Upright Citizens Brigade is returning to NYC — and the East Village — with a new theater (Monday) 

• The East Village Fine Wine & Champagne's sign has a new home (Wednesday)

• High Vibe looking for some help to continue spreading the love (Monday) 

 • Chrissy's Pizza announces itself on 9th Street (Thursday) 

• Angelina Jolie is creating a collaborative space for designers and artisans in Basquiat's former studio on Great Jones Street (Saturday)

• Openings: Rosemary Home on 9th Street (Friday) 

• After 20-plus years on 13th Street, Keybar is relocating to Bushwick (Thursday)

• Coming attractions: Cabin on 9th (Thursday) 

• When the lights flickered on Wednesday night (Thursday) 

• Mystery solved? Avenue A residents track down source of the incessant 'loud mechanical sound' (Wednesday) 

• Eros is still 'temporarily closed,' and now fully empty (Monday) 

• Full reveal: 699 E. 6th St. (Thursday)

 ... and the latest via Optimo at the Bowery Mural Wall... which has been on "pause" from officially sanctioned murals since May 2022...

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Follow EVG on Instagram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics. 

Tuesday is the last day for East Village mainstay Ink on Avenue A

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Tuesday will be the last day in business for Ink, the decades-old newsstand on Avenue A between Fourth Street and Fifth Street. 

Owner Ben "Benny" Dahud told us last night that everything is going on sale ahead of the closing. 

As we first reported here and here, Benny has been in a legal tussle with the private equity firm that bought the block-long building last fall for $64 million. 

Despite what has happened, Benny seems at peace with the development ... as the Marshal is expected to padlock the storefront on Wednesday. 

"There is an end to everything," he said. "I’m happy, [it's] just not easy."

Benny reiterated how grateful he is for all the support at the shop through the years.

Ink's hours are 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Updated: The sales sign is up...

Sunday's opening shot

In the past week or so, multiple readers have shared photos of the incoming Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen at 442 E. 14th St., just west of Avenue A ... as you can see, the storefront has been tagged multiple times.

This will be the second EV Popeyes: an outpost opened in October 2020 at 39 First Ave. between Second Street and Third Street.

And while we don't have any photographic evidence of this, there was a Popeyes on First Avenue between 13th Street and 14th Street at some point like 15+ years ago.

Saturday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

A moment with Wolfspeak today on Astor Place... performing during the annual WitchsFest USA.

Angelina Jolie is creating a collaborative space for designers and artisans in Basquiat's former studio on Great Jones Street

Angelina Jolie has announced a new venture, Atelier Jolie — "a creative collective for self-expression" — opening this fall at a notable address — 57 Great Jones St. between the Bowery and Lafayette. 

The two-level building was once owned by Andy Warhol ... and Jean-Michel Basquiat was living and working in the second-floor studio at the time of his death in 1988. 

Jolie made the announcement on Instagram last night...

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Angelina Jolie (@angelinajolie)

This space had been on the rental market since last November. The back of the ground-floor space was home to Bohemian, an invite-only Japanese restaurant that provided some intrigue for food writers 10-plus years ago. (As we understand, Bohemian's parent company, Play Earth Inc., owns the building.) 

Atelier Jolie will serve as a workshop for under-represented tailors and designers who will then be able to showcase their work from 57 Great Jones.

Here's a more detail description of the business via the Atelier Jolie website: 

I am building a place for creative people to collaborate with a skilled and diverse family of expert tailors, pattern makers and artisans from around the world. A place to have fun. To create your own designs with freedom. To discover yourself. 

We will use only leftover, quality vintage material and deadstock. You will be able to repair or upcycle pieces from your closet you wish to revive, perfecting fit, breathing new life into what could have been thrown away, and creating quality heirloom garments with personal meaning. 

We hope to create a community of creativity and inspiration, regardless of socio-economic background. We will spotlight the people who play a part in each creation. We will bring together a diverse team, including apprenticeships for refugees and other talented, underappreciated groups, with positions of dignity based on skill. And as we work with global artisans and creators, we hope to help share the richness of their cultural heritage and support the development of their own businesses.

It's all new, and I'm more of an artist than a businesswoman. I hope to see you there, and to be one of the many creating with you within our new creative collective. 

Jolie's social media and website note the building's history: "A privilege to be in this space. We will do our best to respect and honor its artist legacy with community and creativity."

The building's façade has served as an ad-hoc memorial to Basquiat through the years. On the 30th anniversary of Basquiat's death in 2018, his friend and SAMO© collaborator, Albert Diaz, along with Adrian Wilson, created a mural that read: "I didn’t sign up to be used as a face for name brand crap." (Wilson also curated a pop-up gallery here.) 

In February 2022, workers painted over all the tributes... though, the various wheatepastes and tags eventually made a comeback, as the top photo from this morning shows. Jolie will reportedly leave the building's exterior as is. 

You can read this post at Village Preservation for more history of the building, which once served as the HQ for Five Points Gang ringleader Paul Kelly.

A Summer Celebration today at the 11th Street Community Garden

The 11th Street Community Garden is hosting a Summer Celebration today (July 8!) here between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

Expect some live music and other activities from 3-7 p.m. ...

A trip 'Wire'

 

Bush Tetras, the influential post-punk/no-wave band that got its start on the Lower East Side in the late 1970s, just released a new video for their single "Bird on a Wire." 

The video, featuring singer Cynthia Sley in front of EV storefronts that housed some iconic businesses, also includes a supporting role from East Village-based photographer GODLIS. 

The track is from the band's new LP, They Live in My Head, out on July 28. 

And catch Bush Tetras — with new members bassist Cait "Rocky" O'Riordan and drummer Steve Shelley joining original guitarist Pat Place — on Sept. 15 at Le Poisson Rouge on Bleecker Street.

Art that speaks the 'Language' of sanitation

All Street Gallery has an interesting-sounding new show starting tomorrow that features the work of interdisciplinary artist sTo Len, who was the 2021-2022 Public Artist in Residence for the NYC Department of Sanitation. (This CBS feature has more about his work with the DSNY.)

Here's what to expect at the show, titled "Sign Language" ...

During his residency, Len started the Office of In Visibility, an art project that bears witness to the unseen labor of sanitation and its extensive role in New Yorkers' lives. He has been using this as a platform to research and re-contextualize the department's archival material from film and video to printmaking and photography. 

For this exhibition, Len focuses on his work revitalizing an old sanitation screen printing shop in Woodside, Queens, that housed hand-printed street signs, trucks, and posters dating from the 1960s. 

Reusing the old equipment and leftover designs, Len has created a series of mono prints on paper, aluminum, and wood that remix old DSNY slogans and symbols with his own marbling techniques. The results are bold, messy, and psychedelic updates to the originals with messages that remain relevant and speak to on-going sanitation issues such as illegal dumping and littering. 

The opening reception is tomorrow (Saturday!) evening from 6-9 at the gallery, 77 E. Third St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue (in the former HA HQ). 

City removes the curbside dining space outside Theatre 80 on St. Mark's Place

This morning, city workers began removing the curbside dining structure from outside the former Theatre 80/William Barnacle Tavern on St. Mark's Place just west of First Avenue. (Thanks to the reader for these photos.) 

On April 7, the Department of Transportation issued a "Termination" notice for the curbside space — just two days after a court-appointed bankruptcy trustee locked the longtime owners out of the premises. 

Several readers-residents previously noted that it seemed cruel to issue the notice so soon after the court-sanctioned removal of owners Lorcan and Genie Otway. It also showed a remarkable steely precision by the DOT, not known for staying on top of the multiple unused or abandoned streeteries around the neighborhood.

The owners of Foxface, current residents and former commercial tenants of the building housing Theatre 80, were reportedly the high bidders for 78-80 St. Mark's Place during its bankruptcy auction on May 9.

Their new venture, Foxface Natural, debuted in May at 189 Avenue A between 11th Street and 12th Street.

Updated: 

Thanks to Steven for this photo...