Photo by Lola Sáenz
A favorite moment on Thursday evenings outside Village East by Angelika on Second Avenue and 12th Street — the changing of the letters on the marquee...
Thursday, December 21, 2023
(Sweet??) 16
Above: A joke from Sophie's a few years back
ICYMI (and 99.999999999% of people did), the item was a cut-n-paste from Page Six about the possible sale of Sophie's (Fifth Street!) and Mona's (Avenue B) ... and before Josie's (Sixth Street) was part of the family.
I'd spent some time at Sophie's and couldn't imagine an EV world without it. So, like any once-a-week bar regular would do, I created a Blogger site called Sophie's Bar Blog blog (honest, that's what the name was)... as a way to chronicle the sale of Sophie's (sorry, Mona's) and the possible end of its several-decades existence.
After a few weeks of under-the-radar chronicling on a site that no one was reading, we learned that Bob, the owner of the bars, was selling them to his brother Richard and another friend (hi, Kirk!).
That was that, or so I thought. Now I've told this story a few times, so if you've already read it, I'll make some shit up to make it seem more interesting than it actually was.
I announced the end of Sophie's Bar Blog blog. [Crickets] Vanishing New York author/blogger Jeremiah Moss somehow had seen the site (thanks, Google!), and he encouraged me, just because Sophie's and Mona's were going to be OK, to keep the site going, covering other comings and goings.
So Sophie's Bar Blog blog was rebranded to EVG (I give this site six months!).
And here we are 16 years after the first post.
Two people recently told me they started reading the site in high school and were in their late 20s/early 30s. Which is really cool and obviously terrifying.
A sincere thank you to everyone who has read the site and continues to read it, sharing comments and tips and creating a sense of community.
A BIG thank you to everyone who contributes to the site, particularly Derek Berg and Steven, for their ongoing daily dispatches... and to Stacie Joy for her intrepid reporting from bell towers, abandoned schools or former motorcycle clubs.
May your holidays be filled with warmth, peace, and joy ... and had we created an Etsy account 16 years ago, Sophie's Bar Blog blog T-shirts, hoodies, and customizable tabletop beer pong games.
Home for the holidays: The East Village Community Cookbook is ready for pre-order
As EVG's Stacie Joy first reported in August, the cookbook was the idea of three East Villagers who bonded during the pandemic — Will Kroeze, pastor at Trinity Lower East Side, Dan Hyatt, a middle school teacher, and Will Horowitz, a chef and author who co-founded Ducks Eatery and Harry & Ida's Meat and Supply Co.
The final product includes more than 100 recipes from an array of local restaurants (C&B Café, Katz's, Nom Wah Tea Parlor, Russ & Daughters, SMØR, Superiority Burger, and Veselka, among many others) and residents (Alan Cumming and Richard Hell, to name two).
Donations for the East Village Community Cookbook start at $30. Proceeds will benefit Trinity Lower East Side Services and Food for the Homeless (SAFH) and community fridge on Ninth Street and Avenue B.
Per the organizers: "Each pre-order comes with a certificate of purchase to send as a quick holiday gift to a loved one!"
You can pre-order a copy here.
A mass and inauguration for the new bell tower at Most Holy Redeemer
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
There's a dedication ceremony this Saturday evening for the recently restored bell and clock tower at Most Holy Redeemer/Nativity Parish on Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.
Timothy Cardinal Dolan, archbishop of New York, will preside over a 5:30 p.m. mass and ceremony that will feature a procession on Third Street (the block will be closed to traffic during this time).
Cardinal Dolan will bless the bell tower, which will be illuminated for the first time. The new electronic carillon system will also play a rendition of "Silent Night."
No more love for Cinnamon Girl on 2nd Avenue
Photo by Lola Sáenz
We're closing the book on Cinnamon Girl at 73 Second Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street.
The cafe-bakery has been closed since late summer... (we were keeping an eye on the gradually rotting apples in a refrigerated unit inside the front door) ... and most recently someone finally began to remove the contents of the interior. Google now lists them as Permanently Closed.
Opening in November 2021, this was the first Manhattan outpost for the Brooklyn-based business with several shops in that borough.
Openings: Chick-N-Smash on 1st Avenue
Photo by Pinch
The Chick-N-Smash outpost is open at 231 First Ave. between 13th Street and 14th Street.
The quick-serve establishment is currently offering a spicy chicken sandwich, a smash cheeseburger, or chicken tenders plus fries, and a can of soda for $8.99. Posted hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Not sure who's behind Chick-N-Smash (it seems like a one-off place and not part of a chain) at the moment.
As previously noted, this is the latest business for the storefront in the past 12-plus months. Tony's Famous Pizza closed late last year ... then came signage for Deli Convenience in the spring... which turned into Dispensary ... before the same signage for Deli Convenience returned by late May. Their grand opening lasted a few months.
Vinny Vincenz had a solid run here for 18 years until the spring of 2021.
Wednesday, December 20, 2023
Wednesday's parting shot
New Yorkers Foodmarket is closing soon on 2nd Avenue
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Updated 12/30: The grocery now appears to be closed.
New Yorkers Foodmarket will shut down in early January on Dec 31 now at 107 Second Ave., owner Michael Schumacher confirmed.
Schumacher, 63, who lives in the neighborhood, said that the grocery store's lease was up in August, and he has been operating without one since then. Although landlord NYU provided a six-month rent concession, he's not in any financial position to negotiate a new lease for the 38,000-square-foot space between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.
Business has dwindled recently, and new competition like the Wegmans nearby on Astor Place hasn't helped.
Schumacher, who teared up several times during our conversation, cited some ongoing health issues that have prevented him from putting in the hours necessary to make the business more profitable. He also doesn't have any money to hire staff. His cashier, Rosa, is the sole employee.
When a crowdfunding campaign is mentioned, Schumacher flatly refuses the idea.
He is vocal about the space staying as a supermarket, where one has been since 1974. He and his brother Steven bought the business in 1987 when it was an Associated before changing it to Met Food. (There were some tense moments in 2008 when Met Food's future was in jeopardy.) In 2014, it became New Yorkers Foodmarket following the bankruptcy of the previous food coop (White Rose) the Schumachers were part of.
"I'm here to give it back to the community. I have no personal guarantors, I have no more money," he said. "NYU has a commitment to the community to leave a supermarket on site. A younger person could come in and set up. It needs to be less transactional and more about the community."
For now, he's looking at a Jan. 4 closing date. Schumacher would like people to buy up whatever stock is left, and he believes he'll put merchandise at 50% off soon.
As we started our conversation at the store yesterday, an unhoused man approached Schumacher at the deli counter and asked him for some food, specifically milk or yogurt. Schumacher gave the man his change bags of coins — between $20 and $30 — and told him to buy whatever he needed.
"I put my life into this store," Schumacher said. "The community here has been my family."
A new name and expanded space for Downtown Threads on Avenue A
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
The recently opened Downtown Threads is ready to expand at 66 Avenue A between Fourth Street and Fifth Street.
Owner Angel Ramirez has changed the name to Angels on A... and will move part of the operation to the space that was, most recently, the Halloween pop-up shop at 70 Avenue A.
No. 70 will be a buy, sell, and trade shop ... where you can bring your vintage, high-end luxury, one-of-a-kind thrift and designer stuff to be sold for cash or traded for store credit. (There isn't any consignment.) The new space is slated to open next week.
Meanwhile, Angel plans to create more room at 66 Avenue A by removing some walls.
He says he'll continue "to keep prices reasonable." New merchandise will be added daily.
You can also enter a free raffle at the store for a Chanel jacket, a Dior or Louis Vuitton suitcase or $500 in store credit...
Downtown Threads opened in the fall. Angel also runs Cafe Social 68 on the block.
Petopia close to reopening on Avenue A
Photos by Stacie Joy
After nearly four months of repairs, Petopia is expected to reopen at 29 Avenue A at Second Street next week. (Updated: Opening date is Dec. 26 at 11 a.m.)
Workers have been restocking the shelves here...
Signage on the storefront noted the closure was so "the landlord can perform emergency repairs to the ceiling in our store."
Workers have been doing roofing and façade-repair work in the city-owned First Houses on Avenue A between Second Street and Third Street.
The Petopia outposts on 14th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue and Third Avenue at 29th Street have remained open.
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