A report of a small fire at Dua Kafe on 14th Street

Updated the location of the fire. And an update via Dua: "We should be opening up again very soon (the plan is tomorrow!) since the damage was relatively minimal outside of the bathroom space."

On Wednesday night around 10:30, there was a report of a fire in the bathroom at Dua Kafe, 520 E. 14th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. (Thanks to EVG reader Russell K. for the top photo.) 

The FDNY reported an "under control" from the scene in less than 15 minutes. (Dua has a posted closing time of 10 p.m.)

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by yesterday... fortunately there was little evidence of any fire, including smoke or water damage. 

Workers at a neighboring business said that there was a small electrical fire in the back and "everything should be fine again soon." 

In the meantime, there are there is a "closed for renovation" sign up at the restaurant specializing in Albanian cuisine (read a Times review of the space here) ...

Bagel Market replacing Bagel Boss on 14th Street

Signage (likely not the final product) is up now for a Bagel Market at 238 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

This will be the fifth NYC outpost for the brand that started in the summer of 2020 ... please chime in the comments if you've tried their bagels.

The business takes over for Bagel Boss, the chainlet that opened a location here in July 2021. They closed several months later in October for, per management, "gas and electric problems" in the building. Bagel Boss never reopened here.  

What's happening at the ConEd substation?

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

There has been a lot of activity this past week around the ConEd substation along Avenue A and on Fifth Street and Sixth Street. 

ConEd hired people to block parking spots on both sides of the facility (many of the vehicles had car alarms that liked to go off for no apparent reason, per neighbors). 

A ConEd employee told this to EVG contributor Stacie Joy: 

"We're replacing a transformer in the station. Since it's so small in there, they set up remote units for the employees. Not all the employees but some of them. We will be here for maybe one to two months, I believe. We will try to keep things quiet! It's a big job." 

Here's a look at the Fifth Street side (and the top pic) ... with the two tanker trucks all but obscuring Sophie's...

... and the Sixth Street side...

Spring cleaning this winter at B-Side

Photo by Stacie Joy 

Updated: B-Side reopened on Feb. 25!

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Paper covers the windows now at B-Side at 204 Avenue B between 12th Street and 13th Street... causing some speculation among a few readers that the neighborhood bar had closed. 

Not to fear. 

In an Instagram message, ownership told us: "We'll be back in a week or two. Just doing a deep clean for the spring." Which they admitted it needed after 20 years in service.

The bar opened in 2003 ... with new owners taking over in January 2021.

H/T Sonya

Preview 2023: Target Union Square

Back in February 2020, news broke (via the Post) that Target had signed a lease for a 33,000-square-foot outpost at 10 Union Square East in the base of the Zeckendorf Towers. However, the takeover wasn't going to take place until 2023.

That sure seemed like a like way off... and the current tenant at the time, Food Emporium, had a lease until April 2023. Ultimately, the grocer shut down early — in May 2021. 

Meanwhile, unlike Wegmans on Astor Place, who placed signage here the same day they announced the Kmart takeover in July 2021, there wasn't any coming-in-2023 notice for the new Target.

While there still isn't any Target branding at the under-construction site, this location is now on the company's "Future store openings" page...

In walking around the Zeckendorf Towers, it appears the space that was once pub-crawl hotspot SideBar on the SW corner of 15th Street and Irving Place has been incorporated into the incoming Target...

No official word about an opening date, though the construction sign on the 15th Street side notes an August 2023 completion date...

Target opened on 14th Street and Avenue A in July 2018 ... complete with a replica CBGB storefront — called TRGT. 

Parting thoughts on being a small-business owner as Love Thy Beast departs the East Village

As we noted this past summer, Love Thy Beast, the 5-year-old dog boutique at 300 E. Fifth St. just east of Second Avenue, was moving to a larger (by 4x) space in Williamsburg.

This departure is now official as of the end of December.

Owner Tiziana Agnello left behind a poster in the window with details about the new location... as well as some thoughts on the frustration of being a small-business owner in NYC. It reads in part:

We have searched and searched for over 16 months for a bigger location but the truth is landlords do not care to keep NYC colorful and full of artists and small business.

If we did secure a lease brands like Blank Street Coffee would overbid and steal our lease. This happened at more than 1 location.

Agnello, a former prop stylist, started selling her homemade creations online and in several pop-up locations back in 2012 ... before opening here in the spring of 2017. 

As for Blank Street, which some residents presume is a mom-and-pop enterprise, the brand raised $67 million in 2021 thanks to high-profile venture capital funds like General Catalyst and Tiger Global, the founders of Allbirds and Warby Parker, and real-estate titan Tishman Speyer, as The New York Times reported this past September.

Belse has closed on the Bowery

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Belse Restaurant Bar & Brewery has closed its doors at 265-267 Bowery.

A sign for patrons of the high-end vegan restaurant notes the permanent closure ...

Despite that note, the restaurant's Instagram account states: "We are excited to announce that this location will transition to a new vegan restaurant. More information will be upcoming, but we think you'll be happy with the change."

If one vegan concept doesn't succeed...   

Belse debuted here between Houston and Stanton this past June ... the storefront had been empty since Paulaner shuttered in early 2018 after four years in service. 

Signage alert: Wild Rabbit Coffee on 7th Street

Photo by Steven

Coming-soon signage arrived this week for Wild Rabbit Coffee at 110 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

We don't know anything about the establishment at the moment.

This all comes quickly following Jell & Chill's closure here at the end of 2022 after three-plus years in business.

Wednesday's parting shots

Photos by Steven (top) and EVG 

Today in venting the CO2 tanks that were downstairs at the now-closed Dallas BBQ on St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue... with a bonus pic of the almost-empty back dining room...

Feeling blue over this shattered glass

Photos by Stacie Joy

You may have noticed the act of vandalism over at Blue Door Video/DVD, home of the finest window displays south of Bergdorf's ...

A manager said that on New Year's Eve, "a drunk person" tossed a rock into the display here at 87 First Ave. between Fifth Street and Sixth Street.