So, there won't be a
Five Guys coming to 171 Avenue A. (However, we're certain to see them pop up somewhere else in the East Village.) After that post, a tipster said that the fishmonger was coming back...
Indeed, Keith Masco confirms that he is
moving forward with his plans for Sea on A in this space despite his last go-around with CB3.
A quick recap!At the April CB3/SLA meeting, the committee approved a full-liquor license (within a resolution area) for Masco's seafood market/restaurant/high-end cocktail bar at 171 Avenue A.
Masco will sell fresh fish in the front of the space during the day ... with room for 48 diners in the back along with a bar selling specialty cocktails.
However, the full CB3 rejected the plans. So it was back to the CB3/SLA in June ... and they denied his applications.
Via e-mail, I asked Masco if he was amending his original plan that the CB3 denied.
"We are going ahead exactly as planned. I see no reason to bow to the communists at the community board.
My business plan is perfect, it is exactly what the vast majority of residents here want and need."
And if CB3 says no?
"If the SLA doesn't see it the same way, I will be locked into a ten-year lease anyway. So if that be the case,
I will give the under-represented and underage residents something they don't have — an all ages 24-7 diner/arcade. Having raised two children here, I know there is absolutely nothing for these kids to do, and by kids I mean even 18-20 year olds, whom despite having thier own apts, can't even hang in the park after midnite. We would have an entire dessert bar and juice bar as well. It will also be a great place for all those AA people who can now hang in an alcohol-free bar."
