Vegan mainstay Caravan of Dreams is back open on 6th Street

Caravan of Dreams, the vegan-raw food mainstay (since 1991) at 405 E. Sixth St., has reopened here between Avenue A and First Avenue.

For now, this EVG favorite is open daily from 1-8 p.m. for takeout and delivery. You can visit their Facebook page here to check out their current menu options.

Checking in on Anyway Cafe

Anyway Cafe, the wholly unique Russian restaurant-vodka-bar-live music venue at 34 E. Second St. near Second Avenue, is currently closed ... and management recently launched a crowdfunding campaign to help make it through the COVID-19 crisis.

I asked Natasha Stolichnaya, a bar manager who's also one of Anyway's performers, how things were going.

Well, I wish I could give you some uplifting quote ... but the reality is that just like most people nowadays we have a lot of anxiety going on. And of course, there are more questions than answers. Even though we have a lot of regulars, would they come back? And if some of them do, would it be enough for us to stay afloat until better times?

And what about our musicians, the soul of our place? Will it be OK for them to perform, maybe not the full bands but maybe duos or trios? We absolutely have to and will support them to the best of our ability!

It's certainly an emotional rollercoaster. One day it's all doom and gloom, and the next day we say — no worries, we'll be fine, just gotta get creative. After all, we are New Yorkers damn it — we've been through so much already.

For the dogs: Shake and Tail now open on 11th Street

From the inbox: Longtime EVG regular Liberation Iannillo brings us word of a new dog-grooming (and walking!) business that opened recently at 330 E. 11th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. They were originally set to open in March, but that didn't happen.

You can find the website for Shake and Tail right here.

A sunny spring day disrupted by SantaCon flashbacks

As seen on First Avenue and 10th Street today by Mary Jane Glaser...

Faces of 2nd Avenue

A moment today on Second Avenue near St. Mark's Place via Derek Berg...

These East Village residents are helping feed families in Queens during the COVID-19 crisis

A group of longtime residents have come together to form East Village Loves Queens.

Here's more about their volunteer mission via the EVG inbox:

Although the East Village has taken a significant hit from COVID-19, our neighbors in Queens have been completely devastated. Our friends at Hungry Monks in Ridgewood, Queens, are one of the only pantry and food services still standing, and they have fed more than 10,000 families since COVID-19 hit, using up a year's worth of their budget in a month.

As long time East Villagers, we wanted to find a way to support our friends there. We’ve been volunteering to create and run a number of local campaigns and the response and generosity from East Villagers has been amazing. When it came to getting support for the Hungry Monks, we wanted to create something that felt more local for people, so that they felt more connected and inclined to support.

Thanks to our building manager, we were able to turn our basement into an East Village outpost where local residents can drop off pantry items or mail them to us, and we deliver them directly to Hungry Monks in Queens twice per week. So far the response has been great and our network has been extremely generous.

On two recent Mondays, Ali Sahin, the owner of C&B Cafe on Seventh Street near Avenue B, has donated his space to the group. On May 4, EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by C&B to document the volunteers, who were aiming on this day to cook 700 meals and prepare 100 family-size pantry packs.















If you're interested in helping, the group is collecting pantry items and other donations. Visit their website here for more details and contact information.

Cafe Mogador is open now in the evenings for takeout and delivery

Cafe Mogador, a mainstay of St. Mark's Place these past 37 years, reopened last evening here between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Moving forward, they'll be open nightly from 5-10 for takeout and delivery.

Meanwhile, more and more East Village restaurants-bars-cafes are back in action of late, a fairly lengthy list that includes Kanoyama, Davey's Ice Cream (now with sandwiches for lunch!), El Camion, Takahachi, China Town Chinese Restaurant, East Village Social and Mighty Quinn's Barbecue, among others.

To help you sort out all these reopenings, the volunteers are continuing to update the map created in collaboration with the East Village Community Coalition. You can access the map at this link.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Updating: Here's a map of what's open in the East Village

Jewel Bako is permanently closing

Jewel Bako, the celebrated sushi restaurant on Fifth Street, will not be reopening after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.

Multiple neighbors and Jewel Bako fans have pointed out the sign on the restaurant's front window between Second Avenue and Cooper Square that notes an open house sale.

Up for grabs: Kitchen accessories and appliances — as well as some bottles of wine...



An employee at the restaurant confirmed the closure, but didn't have any other information.

New York magazine called Jewel Bako, which has maintained a Michelin star for the last 15 years, "one of the most enjoyable places to enjoy sushi in the city."

Jack and Grace Lamb also operate the well-regarded Restaurant Ukiyo next door on Fifth Street. No word on the status of Ukiyo, which opened in the spring of 2018.

After the rain

The resident red-tailed hawks of Tompkins Square Park, Christo (on top in the first pic) and Amelia, grab some of the fading sunlight early this evening after the showers passed through ...

Owner of Taste Wine leaving the business to help save his young sons Benny and Josh

You've likely noticed the for rent sign hanging at Taste Wine on Third Avenue between 10th Street and 11th Street.

It went up in early March ... followed shortly by another sign — a heartfelt letter from owner Gary Landsman that details his family's fundraising efforts to help find a treatment for the fatal genetic disease that his two young sons have.



The letter reads:

I launched Taste Wine Co back in 2015 with much excitement.

Earlier that year I married Jennie, the woman of my dreams & with her support we built a beautiful store, hired a great staff and loaded up the store with great wine and spirits. The future was bright!

The store experienced growing pains, but we were committed to making it work.

Then, about two years after we opened we learned that our first born son, 1 year old Benny, and his two-week old brother Josh both had a fatal genetic disease called Canavan. I was in denial & wouldn’t allow myself to think about what the doctor told us; that our sons will never walk, never talk and live a short and challenged life.

While still attempting to make Taste Wine Co successful, my wife and I launched a public campaign to raise money to #SaveBennyAndJosh. We found a researcher with 20+ years of experience who’d been working on a cure who believed she could treat my boys. The problem? We needed to raise LOTS of money.

My family is now working tirelessly to raise the final $1.8M needed (above the nearly $4M raised so far), to pay the remaining costs (due over the next 90 days) and treat our boys. If all goes well, the experimental gene therapy to treat their Disease will take place at Dayton Children’s Hospital this May/June.

This ordeal has reinforced a belief that much as I cherish the business and my customers (many of whom have become good friends), family must come first.

And so I’ve made the decision to give up the business.
We hope someone will want to take it over, but we realize that might not happen. As such, you may notice fewer products in store and special sales we’ll run to help sell as much of our inventory as possible.

We hope you’ll continue to buy your wine and spirits at Taste Wine Co. as we go through this transition and figure out what comes next.

To my loyal customers and friends, I thank you with all my heart for your years of support. It is time to be with my family. Wishing you peace, health and happiness.

Yours, most sincerely and appreciatively,
Gary Landsman

Landsman's time with the shop is winding down this week, and there are sales: 20-percent off all bottles of wine (minimum three-bottle purchase) and 10-percent off spirits. Hours: Noon to 6 p.m. today through Friday.

Landsman told me that he remains hopeful that he can sell the business before taking the family to Dayton Children's Hospital in Ohio later this spring. (If he can't find a buyer, then he'll be forced to closed.)

"There are three parties that seem serious about purchasing the store, and keeping things going, which our customers have let us know they would love to see happen," he said. "After [this] week, I'll likely come in a bit to try and close things out, but my goals at this point are to sell everything we have left in stock and consummate a deal with one of the prospective buyers."

You can read more about the campaign to save Benny and Josh — as well as others with Canavan — at this link.