On second thought: Acme will just be closed for a few months of renovations now

This is all rather strange.

Earlier today, when a reader called the Acme Bar & Grill to ask about lunch hours, he or she was told that the restaurant had closed.

Fork in the Road confirmed this in a follow-up item:

So we called the restaurant and confirmed that unfortunately, it has indeed closed.
"We were here too long and there just wasn't enough business," Tony, the general manager, told us. "It's sad but true."

Patrick Hedlund at DNAinfo also got the confirmation. "The restaurant's manager Tony, who declined to provide his last name, confirmed the closure by phone but refused to elaborate on the situation."

However! Apparently not all Acme employees were made aware of the owner's plans. In a post from 6:30 tonight, Grub Street reports that Acme owner Bob Pollock commented, "[W]e are not closing for good. We need to renovate this place after 25 years, the place was built on a shoestring 25 years ago and needs a major over hall as the Board of Health would want me to do and the fans of Acme please be patient we'll be back after a few months."

There is a permit pending with the DOB for "RENOVATION OF EXISTING RESTAURANT."

Kenny Scharf mural bombed for the third time

Well, three by my count... once here ... and here..

[Updated] Acme Bar & Grill closes after nearly 25 years on Great Jones Place

Mainstay Acme Bar & Grill on 9 Great Jones Place has closed. An EV Grieve reader had called the Creole/Southern-style eatery about lunch hours today and was told they were no longer in business. "We've had our run and we're done."

Just last month they were approved for a full liquor license, as Eater reported.

[Updated]
Fork in the Road has more here.

[UPDATED 7:14 p.m.]

Guess everyone at Acme didn't get the memo — the owner now says they'll just be closed for a few months.

UCB's mail call

The Upright Citizens Brigade are apparently prepping for their move to the East Village by putting signs on mailboxes, such as this one EV Grieve reader Stacie Joy spotted on Third Street and Avenue B...

Meanwhile, as we mentioned last night, a resident is starting a petition to have the 'Hot Chicks Room' sign removed at the Upright Citizens Brigade HQ on Avenue A and Third Street.

We sent an e-mail to Alex Sidtis, managing director of the UCB’s Chelsea location, to learn more about when the EV location might open ... and what he thinks of the sign drama.

That color purple prompts the NYU fear

As EV Grieve reader Tom noticed during this past weekend, someone put a coat of primer on the plywood at the burned-out corner of 14th Street and Avenue A...

Then! Yesterday, someone painted the plywood various shades of purple and violet... Said Tom: "I thought, oh shit, maybe the rumor that NYU bought/was buying the property and turning it into dorms was true."

However! Tom noticed the two people painting the plywood... and talked with them...

They said that they were painting the construction wall as part of a fundraiser for an arts group. And they chose the color purple because they thought it would look nice....

Previously.

More fingers spotted on East Village streets

We noticed the digits on 10th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B the other day...

Now, EV Grieve reader Juan TRED sends along this photo from here on 11th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue....

Perhaps they can be used to turn the pages of the novels someone is putting up...

Dinner at Takahachi on Avenue A the other night

Photo by John Marshall Mantel.

Madonna in the East Village circa 1982

Out magazine’s Ladies We Love issue assembled an apparently never-before-seen photo portfolio from one of Madonna’s earliest photo shoots ... Richard Corman took photos of Madonna in the summer of 1982 in the streets and rooftops around her apartment at 234 E. Fourth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B... like this one...

[Richard Corman]

You can find all the photos right here at Out.com.

[Via EW.com]

CB3/SLA rejects application for music venue at 34 Avenue A

We've been writing about the plans to turn 34 Avenue A into a music venue in "the tradition of the old Knitting Factory and Tonic" the past few weeks.

Tonight, partners Todd P. and Phil Hartman made their case before the CB3/SLA committee.

While we weren't at the meeting, EV Grieve reader and frequent commenter RyanAvenueA was in attendance ... he just passed along word that the CB3/SLA committee rejected the application for the space.

Per Ryan: "There was tons of heated debate. You've never seen a more prepared bunch present to the board."

Residents on the northern stretch of Avenue A also spoke out against a license for 34 Avenue A.

Committee members Herman Hewitt, David McWater and Ariel Palitz voted in favor of the proposal. However, there were four no's lead by committee chair Alexandra Militano.

We're sure there will be a lot more about this tomorrow...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Phil Hartman bringing a 'performance venue' back to former Mo Pitkin's space

[Updated] Bringing 'the tradition of the old Knitting Factory and Tonic' to 34 Avenue A

Because you want to know more about the plans for 34 Avenue A

[Updated] Resident starting a petition to have the 'Hot Chicks Room' sign removed at the Upright Citizens Brigade

Last month, we discussed the new signage at the new home of the Upright Citizens Brigade on Avenue A at Third Street ...

The sign is a nod to a UCB skit. (Watch it here.) In any event, early word from tonight's CB3/SLA meeting is that a resident will be circulating a petition to ask UCB to change the sign for the sake of the children.

We don't have all the details just yet... (In fact, we're not even at the meeting!) However, a tipster there sent along an e-mail....

Jill at Blah Blog Blah attended the meeting, and said that Two Booths owner Phil Hartman offered to cover the cost of a new sign for the UCB.

Previously on EV Grieve:
About the Hot Chicks Room

NYPD responds to a disturbance on Avenue B and Seventh Street

EV Grieve correspondent Bobby Williams noted that six NYPD officers were on the scene on Avenue B and Seventh Street a little early today ... Police arrested the man ... witnesses described him as "disorderly."

The 'hipster trap' spotted in the East Village going viral, for some reason

By now you may have seen this photo of a cardboard trap by @WillHimself taken on Avenue A and Sixth Street during the weekend... "Just met this guy setting up 'hipster traps' in NYC, baited with PBR and American Spirits."

It was first posted on Reddit. Gawker linked to it. Time also linked to it. So far, the photos has been viewed more than 500,000 times.