Here's info about a Virtual Rat Academy for East Village business owners, gardeners and residents

Community Board 3, the Cooper Square Committee and the East Village Merchants Association are sponsoring a Virtual Rat Academy on Tuesday, Aug. 23 from 5-7 p.m.

You can register to learn about rat prevention methods (here come the curbside dining comments!) via this link.

Today in iconic hotel awning sightings

Photo by Lola Sáenz 

The iconic Hotel Chelsea awning made an appearance on 12th Street and Avenue A today... on the back of a truck for Five Start Awning in Ridgewood... 

Not sure if it's coming back. The Hotel Chelsea reopened in early summer after a decade of renovations. 

P.S.

Did anyone watch the documentary "Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel"????

Cafe Mocha, destroyed by fire in 2020, is reopening in a new East Village location

Cafe Mocha was wiped out by a three-alarm fire in February 2020 at 48 E. Seventh St./116 Second Ave. Any hopes for a reopening were dashed when another fire destroyed the corner building in December 2020.

However, the all-day cafe will be returning after all... with a new space at 111 First Ave. just south of Seventh Street.

Owner Ghasan Ballan received administrative approval from CB3 for a new beer-wine license for the address. (The previous Cafe Mocha also served beer and wine.) Paperwork filed with CB3 shows that the restaurant will be open daily from 7 a.m. to midnight, with nine tables for 30 diners.

No. 111 became available when Suki Japanese Kitchen relocated to St. Mark's Place earlier this summer.

Cafe Mocha first opened in the East Village in 2008. No word on when the new space will debut.  

East Village cafe AO Bowl closes, owner blames Sen. Schumer

Updated: See the comments for more from Zach the owner.

The Japanese health-food cafe AO Bowl has closed at 82 St. Mark's Place on the southwest corner of First Avenue. 

The quick-serve establishment, which offered a variety of bowls, smoothies and juices, opened in early 2021 (after a few delays). 

In a goodbye letter left on the door for patrons, ownership puts the blame on Sen. Charles Schumer...

The letter reads in part: 

Sen. Schumer stabbed us in the back after first promising and then failing to replenish the SBA Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF). This would have reimbursed us for costs we had to bear from the government-mandated closures. Many large restaurant chains got millions from the RRF while small businesses like us got nothing, even after being approved... 

Over the last year of hanging on, Sen. Schumer continues to use as as a bargaining chip and recently attempted to kill RRF replishment by taking it out of the budget to secure other projects. Small businesses and restaurants should not be political pawns. Business owners should not have to incur tons of debt and get thrown into bankruptcy territory because of government negligence and mismangement.

You can read the latest on the RRF funds here.

We first mentioned AO's arrival in July 2019 (previously going as 

Eiyō Bowl). The AO Instagram account listed an October 2020 opening, though that was pushed back several months. According to an announcement about AO, this was the "first-ever cafe in the U.S. to use vacuum blenders to create vacuum-pressed smoothies and juice on premise."

In 2019, workers gutted this single-level structure on the corner ... and divided the storefront into several retail spaces. The other new tenant here is the Brooklyn Dumpling Shop.

The former occupant, Foot Gear Plus, closed in July 2018 after nearly 40 years in business.

Manhattan Marketplace coming soon to 1st Avenue and 12th Street

Updated 8/10 — OPEN!

Manhattan Marketplace is expected to open as soon as today here on the SE corner of First Avenue and 12th Street. 

The corner market will be offering up the usual corner-market fare, with a variety of breakfast and lunch options and other grab-(pay)-and-go items. 

The Best Price Deli & Grocery closed here in the fall of 2020. 

H/T Lola Sáenz!

[solidcore] bringing the pilates to 14th Street

Described as "pilates on steroids," [solidcore] is opening a fitness studio at 500 E. 14th St. just east of Avenue A in the EVGB complex. (Thanks to EVG reader Jake for the photo!)

The national chain has multiple NYC locations, including at 250 Bowery. The EV location is scheduled to open at the end of the month.

This piece at PopSugar provides an overview of the [solidcore] workout.

And this is the latest business to join the EVGB retail landscape, which is anchored by the 4-year-old Target.   

Weekend parting shot

Steven spotted Christo, one of the resident red-tailed hawks of Tompkins Square Park, taking off from St. Brigid's on Avenue B and Eighth Street early on Friday evening... 

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo via Carol from East 5th Street on 11th Street)...

 • Report explores East Village storefront trends from 2019-2021; vacancies on the rise (Monday) ... An idea for this 'vacancy hotspot' on Avenue A (Wednesday) 

• Filling the shelves as Essex Card Shop moves closer toward a reopening on Avenue A (Tuesday) 

• A visit with East Village singer-songwriter Jim Andralis (Thursday)

• A visit with Hemingway, the sleepy kitty in the window on 3rd Street (Friday) 

• Openings: SMØR Bakery on 12th Street (Wednesday) 

• A mural representing the Ukrainian spirit at the Standard East Village (Wednesday)

• The 34th annual Tompkins Square Park Riot reunion shows are happening this weekend (Friday) 

• Kindred is closing on Aug. 14 (Tuesday) ... 6th Street wine bar Grape and Grain is closing (Thursday) 

• Theater for the New City ready to take it to the streets with a new production (Friday) 

• Last day for Panera Bread on Union Square (Tuesday) 

• Summer Streets return on the first 3 Saturdays of the month (Friday) 

• Reader report: Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen slated for the SW corner of 14th Street and Avenue A (Thursday) 

• Rock on: The memorial plaque is back outside the former Fillmore East on 2nd Avenue (Monday) 

• First sign of Davey's Ice Cream on 9th Street (Tuesday) 

• Came for 'Bullet Train,' stayed for Tara and Richie (Saturday) 

• Takahachi removes its curbside dining structure (Thursday) 

• On 9th Street, the former Central Bar is now an office space (Monday) 

... and be sure to visit the EVG Stories on Instagram for exclusive and crucial reader polls like this...

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

The barricades return to block off the chess tables in Tompkins Square Park

Photos by Steven

The barricades arrived once again (late last week) around the chess tables at the entrance to Tompkins Square Park at Seventh Street and Avenue A...

The city did this back in June, with a member of the Parks Enforcement Patrol saying that this section of the Park is "problematic." Eventually, the barricades are removed ... and nothing ever really changes.

This area was blocked off several times during the past two summers. During that time, there were reader reports about drug use, stolen property and fights. 

Sunday's opening shot

Summer Streets, early Sunday morning on First Avenue edition...