Monday, March 14, 2022
Meanwhile on 1st Avenue and 5th Street...
That's the answer to the (rhetorical) question posed in a headline on Saturday: Have we seen the last of the sinkhole on 1st Avenue at 5th Street?
Despite the arrival of a freshly painted crosswalk and bike lanes on Fifth Street at First Avenue, a crew is back on the scene today doing more work at the intersection...
Thanks CHurt for the tip!
Holyland Market is closing on St. Mark's Place; owner to focus on hummus biz
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Holyland Market, the Israeli grocery at 122 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue, closes at the end of the month after 18 years in business.
Moving forward, owner Eran Hileli (pictured above and below) will focus his time and attention on his blossoming hummus business — the 4-year-old Holy Hummus, now available at 700-plus stores in the United States, including locally at Westside Market, Union Market — and Holyland Market. (He said he has 12 new products/flavors on the horizon, including spicy w/red s'chüg, roasted pepper, roasted garlic, za'atar flavored and green s'chüg.)
In an interview with EVG contributor Stacie Joy, Hileli said that he was having challenges finding help and felt burned out after working through the pandemic. (He was also unable to find a buyer for the market.)
From Friday, here's a look around the shop, stocked almost entirely with Israeli products ... 
Hileli first opened a record store — House of Trance — at this location in 1998 before pivoting to the market.
As he told The Times of Israel in an August 2020 feature:
"The industry was changing. People weren’t really buying music anymore," he lamented, saying customers would enter the store, listen to music and then go home to purchase it on the computer. "But you can’t download Bamba," he joked, explaining his decision to start selling the peanut butter-flavored puffed corn snack along with the hundreds of other Israeli products that line Holyland's shelves.
[Updated] An uncertain future for these Stuyvesant Street businesses, including Angel's Share and Sunrise Market
Photos by Steven
Updated 3/16: Landlord Cooper Union says the tenants have "informed us of their decision to vacate the property." The landlord also said the tenants haven't paid any rent since 2020. Read more here.
-----
This impacts four retail spaces — Angel's Share, Village Yokocho, Panya Bakery and Sunrise Mart.
Alex Vadukul, a correspondent for The New York Times, broke the news on Twitter the other night...
Public records show that Cooper Union is the landlord here. So far, Cooper Union and the owners of the four businesses, Yoshida Restaurant Group, haven't commented, which has fueled more speculation.
The forecast looks grim, I’m told, although there’s a slight chance some agreement may be brokered yet. The trigger for these events, apparently, is that a very old and longterm lease arrangement has finally come to its end. pic.twitter.com/wMKfHyBSd4
— Alex Vadukul (@AlexVadukul) March 10, 2022
Other outlets, including Grub Street and Gothamist, had follow-up pieces on Friday.
There's hope for a lease renewal. Otherwise, a relocation is likely in the plans. An employee at Angel's Share told this to Gothamist:
A bartender there sounded somewhat optimistic, telling Gothamist of the current situation, "it's between the owner and the landlord, but we're either relocating or staying here."Another bartender told this to Grub Street: "There's an 85 percent chance that we close. It's okay, though, because we're gonna relocate."
As for speculation, an employee at Panya said Friday that Cooper Union had plans for a new building on the site (there is nothing in Department of Building records that shows permits for new construction) and that they'd be moving.
Adjacent to this space is the 29 3rd Avenue Student Residence Hall, which offers apartment-style housing for 170-plus Cooper Union students. The 15-story building opened in 1992. Retail tenants here include the Bean and Sunrise Mart. (In 2011, Cooper Union and tenant St. Mark's Bookshop were in a high-profile rent negotiation. The school eventually reduced the rent by $2,500 per month and forgave $7,000 in debt. The bookstore finally had to move to a smaller shop before closing in 2016.)
Coincidentally (or not) on Friday, workers were seen clearing out the former Autre Kyo Ya space (and, from 1989-2009, the diner Around the Clock) at 10 Stuyvesant St.
This corridor has been called a micro-center of Japanese culture. Angel's Share, the speakeasy-style bar, opened here in 1994, with Panya arriving next door in the same year. Sunrise Mart debuted in 1995. There are now also locations in Soho, Midtown and Brooklyn.
We hope to learn more about what's happening here soon.
La Fleur Café to set up shop on 9th Street
Photos by Steven
Signage is up for La Fleur Café at 437 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.
One source says this will be a coffee shop-CBD shop hybrid.
The Café's Instagram account describes the business this way: "Amsterdam ❌ Nyc. We are a minority and woman-owned business, with productivity and your health in mind!"
We reached out to the owners to learn more about what to expect here...
This retail spot was previously home to the Sullivan Street Bakery pop-up.
Avenue A Deli and Grill shapes up
Photos by Steven
The storefront at 123 Avenue A has been vacant since Tony (aka Abdul) died in the fall of 2018. Tony, who owned the building, ran the deli, which operated under various names in this spot for 25 years.
Sunday, March 13, 2022
Week in Grieview
Posts this past week included (with a photo from Tompkins Square Park yesterday by Steven) ...
• Two Boots supporting Ukraine with 2 new pizzas, including the Mr. Ze (Monday)
• Let's take another look at the eerie remains of the long-abandoned 6 Avenue B (Thursday)
• A visit to Arka, the 71-year-old Ukrainian gift shop on 2nd Street (Tuesday)
• A sign of spring amid the bulldozed remains of East River Park (Tuesday)
• Mayor Adams visits the EV (Monday)
• The art of East Village artist Tabboo! at Karma (Saturday)
• A sneak peek at El Colmado, opening soon on East Houston Street (Thursday)
• Ramen Setagaya's St. Mark's Place location looking very closed (Monday)
• Why the Fillmore East commemorative plaque is missing on 2nd Avenue (Wednesday)
• #Baonanas bringing their version of banana pudding to 7th Street (Wednesday)
• Chef Tan signage arrives on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)
• On 9th Street, wind sends sidewalk-bridge plywood onto 2 cars below (Tuesday)
• World party on 14th Street: Hello, Bong World! (Wednesday)
• Higher Empire announces itself on 1st Avenue (Thursday)
• Report: 'Rowdy teens' blamed for series of attacks at Sheen Brothers on 10th and B (Tuesday)
• Purple reign: Incoming Taco Bell now looking more like a Taco Bell (Monday)
• Today is the day for the new, smaller TD Bank to debut on 3rd Avenue (Thursday)
Indoor service is back at Abraço
The cafe had been selling their pastries and coffee drinks from a walk-up to-go system.
Abraço is at 81 E. Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.
Hours:
Tuesday-Thursday: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday-Saturday: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 12, 2022
A sign of spring!
Oh, and some daffodils too...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)