Blythe Anne’s (the former Lula’s Sweet Apothecary) has closed on East 6th Street

Another dairy-free dessert option is gone in the neighborhood. Yesterday, Bill the Libertarian Anarchist came across owner Blythe Anne Boyd cleaning out Blythe Anne's, her vegan ice cream shop on East Sixth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Boyd and her husband Derek Hackett, who opened Lula’s Sweet Apothecary together in 2008, were reportedly involved in an ugly divorce several years ago. The shop was closed for several months for a "reorganization" in 2013... Boyd eventually rebranded the space in 2014.

Blythe Anne's ice cream was also available for sale at Sustainable NYC, which closed for good back in August on Avenue A.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Divorce could force closure of Lula’s Apothecary on East Sixth Street

A new sign at Lula's Sweet Apothecary, which remains closed on East 6th Street

Image via

Bago hasn't been open recently on 1st Avenue

Nick Solares at Eater yesterday pointed out that Bago, the quick-serve Filipino restaurant on First Avenue between East 13th Street and East 14th Street, hasn't been open for the past few weeks.

Bago's Twitter account has been dormant since last summer... and on Facebook, the last update is from Jan. 4: "Our account has been hacked. We are noticing false posts. Please pardon the inconvenience for now. From all of us at Bago, have a lovely rest of evening and have a great New Year once again!" Seamless also notes that Bago is closed.

The restaurant opened last June in the former Hibachi Dumpling Express space (and a 2 Bros. before that).

Bago, which received a nice write-up in the Times back in November, is/was run by a daughter of Elvira Cinco, the proprietor of Elvie's Turo-Turo for nearly 12 years.

Avenue A on high alert for Ice-T sightings

That one of shows in the "Law & Order" family is filming around here was never really all that newsworthy... given how often they'd film around here through the years.

However, I am noting the fact that "Law & Order: SVU" is filming along Avenue A and Tompkins Square Park... mostly because I had no idea that NBC was still creating new episodes. (I thought the show only existed to help the USA Network fill 14 hours of programming a day.) But "SVU" is in its 17th season. So keep an eye out for cast members Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T today.

Now! Flashback to September 2011 when "SVU" filmed a scene at Sunny & Annie's on Avenue B...

[Photo by Bobby Williams]

And NBC has picked up the show for season No. 18, as Ice-T learned yesterday...

Did SVU officially get renewed for season 18??! Wow. Looks like I’m the last to know. That’s great news. I still gotta JOB.

— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) February 1, 2016

NY Village Deli reopens in new 1st Avenue home

[A few weeks ago]

As we noted a few weeks ago, the NY Village Deli closed its doors at 39 First Ave. after 25 years...ahead of a move a few storefronts to the north. (According to a store regular, the landlord of NY Village Deli raised the rent to an amount higher than the store owners could pay and stay in business.)

The new location recently opened at No. 45...



Meanwhile, the former NY Village Deli space is on the market. According to the listing, the asking rent is $18,000 a month.

If you are looking for Smoke & Beer on Avenue A, then this store is for you

Do you remember back in December, when we reported that the former nail salon on Avenue A between East 13th Street and East 14th Street was going to become a smoke shop?

Well, anyway, that smoke shop is now open... Correction! Make that Smoke & Beer shop...



As you can see on the marquee, the shop sells E-cigarette, Cigar, Tobacco, Craft Beer, Cigarette and Lotto.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Smoke shop, the new nail salon, opening in former nail salon on Avenue A

Police looking for suspect in a string of area armed robberies

The NYPD has released an image from surveillance video of a suspect wanted in connection with five armed robberies in the West Village and the East Village dating back to Dec. 13.

According to published reports, the man has followed his victims into their apartment buildings... once in an elevator on East 12th Street and Third Avenue. Then per DNAinfo:

He followed a 28-year-old man into an apartment building at 381 East 10th St. about 5:25 p.m. on Jan. 19, threatened him with a knife and demanded his messenger bag, police said, but the victim refused to hand over the bag and the suspect ran off.

The media reports on the robberies did not include a physical description of the suspect.

Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online.

The return of the 'White Negro' tag

EVG reader Ronnie shared this photo from earlier today on East Fifth Street at Avenue B.

We don't recall seeing this tag since the spring of 2009, when it started showing up on walls around the neighborhood.


[EVG photo on Avenue A from 2009]

Empire Biscuit is taking a sabbatical for the month of February; will retool for the apocalypse

[Photo via dwg]

That's what the plate-shaped signage says here at Empire Biscuit at 198 Avenue A between East 12th Street and East 13th Street.

Here's the word from their Twitter account...

Empire Biscuit will be closed until March to retool for the coming apocalypse and make pastries.

— Empire Biscuit (@empirebiscuit) January 31, 2016

The quick-serve biscuit emporium cut back its hours during January. At the time, Empire Biscuit owner Jonathan Price told us that they were just taking a break for parts of this month. "It's a slow time of year," he said a few weeks ago. "We're doing some housekeeping. We refinished the floors in the kitchen ... for example."

Empire Biscuit opened on Oct. 30, 2013.

An 83rd birthday celebration for Ray at Ray's Candy Store

[Bettina May]

Ray Alvarez, the hard-working proprietor of Ray's Candy Store, turned 83 last month.



And, as is tradition, some of Ray's friends/regulars brought in entertainment — burlesque dancers Pearls Daily, Lilin Lace, The Maine Attraction, Bettina May and Lickety Split — for a birthday celebration, which took place last night at the shop at 113 Avenue A.

EVG correspondent Stacie Joy shared a few photos...


[Lickety Split]


[The Maine Attraction]


[Lilin Lace]


[Pearls Daily]







The Ray's birthday party celebration with dancers goes back to 2007. Check out Bob Arihood's photos from Ray's 74th birthday bash here.

Rumors: 348 Bowery will house new food market

You may have noticed in recent weeks that workers have built several kiosks/stalls inside the corner lot at 348 Bowery at Great Jones...







A tipster tells us that this will soon be home to a new marketplace showcasing several quick-serve food vendors.

On Friday, BoweryBoogie wrote about Essex Street's Cabalito Pupuseria raising funds to open a food stand in an undisclosed location. Per the crowdfunding campaign: "Cabalito will make its humble traditional mark in a new food collaboration project in NoHo. This project will house six up-and-coming passionate restaurateurs of different specialties."

There are a few clues about 348 Bowery's future via the DOB website (cutting and pasting their all-cap style):

INSTALL TEMPORARY STRUCTURES - FOUR(4)EXTERIOR KIOSKS AND TWO(2)INTERIOR. THE MARKET WILL BE USED FOR PREPERATION AND COOKING OF FOOD & SALE OF DRY GOODS.

A previous DOB permit had the following:

INSTALL TEMPORARY STRUCTURES - FOUR(4)EXTERIOR KIOSKS AND TWO(2)INTERIOR. THE MARKET WILL BE USED FOR PREPERATION AND COOKING OF FOOD & SALE OF DRY GOODS. IT WILL BE ON OCTOBER 15, 2015, JANUARY 15, 2016,
MONDAY - WEDNESDAY 7AM -12AM, THURSDAY - FRIDAY 7AM - 2AM, SATURDAY 9AM - 2AM AND SUNDAY 9AM - 12AM.

The address has been without a full-time tenant since Downtown Auto & Tire left in April 2012. The Deth Killers of Bushwick opened a pop-up shop here in February 2014, selling their brand of jeans and motorcycle stuff for several months.

There have been other proposed concepts for the space, which has been on and off the market for several years. In July 2010, a group aspired to open the first New York branch of Segafredo Zanetti Espresso Café, the Italian-style coffee bar, on this spot. They went before CB2, who rejected the proposal, which included a patio with a retractable roof with soundproofing as well as sound-resistant sliding doors.