Thayer is opening a bookstore and cafe at 99 Avenue B

This spring, Thayer, an independent press, is opening a bookstore-cafe at 99 Avenue B between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.

Thayer founder Matt Lally confirmed the arrival in an email, noting the space will serve as its HQ along with a storefront offering books, coffee and pastries as well as beer and wine in the evenings. (They are on this month's CB3-SLA docket for the beer-wine license, though, having received administrative approval, they will not appear before the committee.) 

Thayer currently publishes a biennial magazine of short fiction, poetry and photography ... with plans for a debut novel this spring. 

No. 99 was previously Manitoba's, Handsome Dick Manitoba's namesake bar, which closed in June 2019 after 20 years in service.

Lally, who described himself as a punk rock kid in his youth, said that he wanted "to do right by the legacy of the space." 

You can keep tabs on Thayer via Instagram.

H/T Stacie Joy!

[Updated] Pizza Girls coming soon to Avenue B

Coming soon signage arrived late last week on the SE corner of Avenue B and Second Street for Pizza Girls (thanks to Salim for the pics!)

We don't know anything just yet about the incoming business (other than the name!). Checking for more info. Update! "Pizza Girls" is a reality TV series about women in the pizza business in Italy. A new season will apparently be filmed here. Follow them on Instagram for more. Filming is expected to start this spring. (Thanks to Matt for the tip.) 

Here's more via an interview with series director Carlo Fumo (this Q&A is from a year ago, and some of the info may be outdated now):

You told me the tv format is also destined for a foreign market: you mentioned the United States, where you regularly go for the movie festival you organize. What kind of interest are you expecting abroad?

We’ll probably see a Pizza Girls USA already in 2021. And we will shoot it on location, in a pizzeria in the heart of Manhattan that will be named after the show. It is a topic of interest for other countries: pizza is a universal brand, earning large profits around the world. It's a wonderful thing, the same way, I always say, women are the wonder of our world: these two things together guarantee a powerful project. That's why we wanted to talk with the foreign market from the beginning. The format will be the same, of course, it will adapt to the country, based on the audience's taste in terms of TV and pizza.

This corner space was home to the Wafels & Dinges cafe (and corporate office) for nearly eight years. W&D, which still operates from kiosks and food trucks around the city, moved out last March.

Openings: A trio of quick-serve vegan options

Three new vegan options opened around the neighborhood last week. (H/T to Matt @vegan.nyx)

A quick recap: 

• PLNT Burger's first NYC outpost opened last Monday at 139 Fourth Ave. between 13th Street and 14th Street. (Previously on EVG.) 

The Virginia-based chain, started by celebrity chef-Food Network star Spike Mendelsohn, has multiple locations in the mid-Atlantic region. You can find the PLNT menu here. 

The space, with room for several diners, is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. 

• Raíz Modern Mexican is up and running at 120 First Ave. (not 120A and 120 1/2!) between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place. 

As previously noted, Raíz is a plant-based, fast-casual restaurant featuring burritos, tacos, salads and bowls. You can find a menu here. 

They are open Tuesday-Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. 

• Vegan Grill, a quick-serve, plant-based restaurant, debuted Thursday at 58 St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue. (First reported in October.) 

The business got its start in late 2019 on Castle Hill Avenue in the Bronx; this will be its third outpost after a grand opening in Williamsburg earlier this month. 

You can find a menu here and some food pics on Instagram. 

Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Top pic via Instagram

Noted

As seen today on the NE corner of Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place... thanks to @unitof for the photo. 

Annnnd some background here.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with takeout for two via Derek Berg) ... 

• RIP Billy the Artist (Sunday) 

• More details about the fire that destroyed the Essex Card Shop (Wednesday) 

• Behold the 21-floor office building that's replacing the B Bar & Grill on the Bowery (Tuesday) 

• RIP David Simon (Wednesday) 

• Report: Madison Realty Capital can proceed with takeover of long-empty P.S. 64 (Wednesday) 

• Hekate Café & Elixir Lounge debuts on Avenue B (Thursday) 

• Last weekend in business for Dress Shoppe II (Friday) 

• Oddly configured Walgreens is closing on Union Square (Monday) 

• Nai Tapas Bar set to open in new 2nd Avenue home (Monday) 

• The latest at East River Park: night work at Delancey; passive lawn set to debut (Monday) ... Reader report: The new passive lawn in East River Park is a 'sodden mess' (Tuesday) 

• [plant-baked] returns today with limited hours (Friday) 

• A new broker for 20 St. Mark's Place (Wednesday) 

• The Bronx Brewery announces itself on 2nd Avenue (Thursday) 

• Openings: TLK on 3rd Avenue (Friday) 

• TD Bank is shrinking on 3rd Avenue (Thursday) 

• Another taker for 179 Essex St. (Monday)

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

Sunday's opening shot

View from Tompkins Square Park this morning... and several vendors are setting up for the Greenmarket today on A and Seventh ...

Snow day

Here are some scenes from today... whatever this was — nor-easter! blizzard! bomb cyclone! winter storm Kenan! ... that left a reported 7.5 inches of snow in Manhattan... thanks to Derek Berg for the pics!

EVG Etc.: Nor'easter updates; red-tailed hawk archives

Photo yesterday by Derek Berg

• Nor'easter updates (Gothamist)

• Marking the 50th anniverisary of the murders of rookie officers Gregory Foster and Rocco Laurie, who were gunned down on Avenue B and 11th Street while on foot patrol (Daily News) 

• NY mask mandate extended to Feb. 10 (NBC 4)

• NYCHA's shift to private management may drive evictions (City Limits) 

• Chef Jae Lee of Nowon on Sixth Street talks about the decision to give up drinking (Eater) 

• Goggla has an archive page dedicated to the resident red-tailed hawks of Tompkins Square Park dating to 2013 (Laura Goggin Photography) 

• Check out some Essential Cinema at Anthology Film Archives on Second Avenue and Second Street (Official site)

• More about Empire Cannabis Clubs, which recently expanded to the LES (NY1 ... previously on EVG) 

• More about the Kim's Video series at Metrograph (WNYC ... previously on EVG) 

• Hannah Traore Gallery debuts on Orchard Street (Hypebeast) 

• Reviews/thoughs on the "Meet Me in the Bathroom" documentary (Pitchfork ... Variety ... Brooklyn Vegan)

Mid-morning check-in: Still snowing

A reader shared a scene from along 10th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B... as of mid-morning, sources in Tompkins Square Park are putting the snow totals at 6 inches. The city is under a winter storm warning until 7 p.m.

First look at East Village streets that are snowy, empty

As you likely noticed, the winter storm is upon us. 

The latest... a winter storm warning is in effect until 7 this evening, with totals of 5-8 inches expected (though some reports already have the city at more than 5)...

.@NWSNewYorkNY has issued a Winter Storm Warning for NYC: Until 7:00 PM on 1/29. 5-8" of snow with wind gusts up to 45 mph expected. Avoid unnecessary travel. If you must travel, use mass transit. Info: https://t.co/ytwmuQS4K4. https://t.co/3AmmBFaUN5

— NYCEM - Notify NYC (@NotifyNYC) January 29, 2022

Here are a few random photos from this morning (7:30-8ish)...