Out with Lunasa and in with The Grafton on 1st Avenue

The bar-restaurant at 126 First Ave. between East Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place will close as Lunasa after service tonight. But the place will remain the same, except for the name.

The owners offer this explanation on Facebook:

We have some really sad news, today is the last day of Lunasa. After almost 12 years in the East Village, Lunasa will cease to exist from closing time tonight forth. We want to take this opportunity to thank all of our loyal customers, our not so loyal customers and even the irregulars that have graced our door over this time. You all mean so much to us and you are the reason we have managed to stay open for more than a decade. We feel so blessed to have met you all and we will cherish the memories (well some of them anyway).

The truth is very few of you could pronounce the bloody name so you lot are partially responsible for its demise, we never thought for a second all that time ago that 6 letters would be so difficult to say properly, it's only 3 syllables for feck sake! Now we know why so many immigrants changed their names after arriving in this beautiful new world.

Well now is the time for us to do the same (this is not all bad news), while the name Lunasa is getting buried, a new name has been carefully chosen with pronunciation as the primary element in the rebranding process. It is a 7 letter word but the key is it only has two syllables, so we are mildly confident that we won't hear similar abominations we heard with our beloved Lunasa.

Ladies and gentlemen we'd like to introduce you to The Grafton. Named after one of Dublin's most famous streets, The Grafton will be very much like Lunasa, except you just won't have to repeat yourself four times to your friends when your telling them where you are.

Tonight is Lunasa's last night and we'd love to see you, swing on by to say so long and tomorrow is the first day of a new era as The Grafton, so swing on by to say hello.

The V-Spot coming soon to St. Mark's Place

Here are more details about the new restaurant opening at 12 St. Mark's Place.

The V-Spot, with a location in Park Slope, offers Latin vegan cuisine. Here's a description via their website:

For people who eat vegan or kosher, or both, it's not always easy to enjoy tasty Latin dishes, but a one-of-it's-kind restaurant in Park Slope is changing that. The V Spot is a vegan restaurant specializing in Latin cuisine that is Kosher certified under IKC Kosher. We serve delicious meatless and dairy-free dishes that use traditional Latin seasonings, like adobo & sazon made from scratch. Instead of meat, we use our homemade seitan, which is wheat-based, full of protein but doesn't contain any carbohydrates. Our menu is full of flavor, cholesterol-free & no animals were harmed in the making of your dish.

We also offer gluten-free options such as Kale Tostadas or our Quinoa Curried Kale. If you have a sweet tooth you can try one of our soy milkshakes, fresh vegetable juice, fruit smoothies & vegan desserts. ​Our empanadas are famous through out New York City & also available via FreshDirect's online delivery system. Our current flavors are Colombian style, Black Bean, Jamaican Jerk, Philly Cheese Style & Breakfast Scramble.

The V-Spot menu is here.

No word on an opening date, though they are hiring now... the signs arrived yesterday...



The address here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue was previously home to Hanjoo, which closed in February after nearly three years. No. 12 has also been home to a number of bars-restaurants in recent years, including Hirai Mong, Gama, San Marcos, Siren and @Cafe.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Organic omnivore, vegetarian or vegan restaurant wanted at 12 St. Mark's Place

The St. George Ukrainian Festival is this weekend

It's the 39th year for the festival, held on East Seventh Street between Second Avenue and Cooper Square.

Here are a few highlights for 2015 (via the EVG inbox):

• A portion of the festivals profit will be donated to the victims of the deadly gas explosion on March 26

• Street vendors from the community will be selling a range of Ukrainian food and merchandize to support the local church and community

• More than 100 performances from professional Ukrainian dance ensembles, singers and musicians.

Look for an interview here with Andrew Stasiw, chairman of St. George Ukrainian Festival, later this week.

Turntable Retro Bar & Restaurant ready to play on 4th and B

[EVG photo from March 12]

On Saturday, EVG regular Salim noted that workers removed the plentiful plywood surrounding the under-renovation storefront at the northwest corner of Avenue B and Fourth Street … to reveal the new tenant at 58 Avenue B …



It's another Manhattan location of Turntable Retro Bar & Restaurant, a sibling of the Flushing-based Mad For Chicken operation.

Here's a little on the Koreatown location of Turntable via New York magazine:

Presentation is key: Tables come with little metal buckets for chicken bones, mojitos and margaritas are garnished with appetizing fresh fruit, the traditional Korean soju (which you can get in a variety of fruity flavors) comes in a special ice-filled bowl, and is bedecked with flowers and umbrella-speared garnishes. But, best of all is the beer dispenser for Killians – it bubbles and gurgles with different colors and allegedly keeps your beer from getting warm and flat.

And?

In short, this place is perfect for drunk people looking to lounge and eat Korean fried chicken.

Well, they do have pitchers of Jager bombs on the menu. (In case you were wondering, this item was on the November 2014 CB3/SLA docket, but it was not heard during the committee meeting for whatever reasons.)

The New Yorker recently had nice things to say about Turntable's fried chicken here.

The previous tenant at this address, Vella Market, lasted just six months here, closing in October 2013.

The 16-year-old vegetarian restaurant Kate's Joint closed here in April 2012.

Avenue A wants its sidewalk back

The New York Sports Club opened at 28 Avenue A back in early March... and the space outside here between East Second Street and East Third Street ...



... remains a work in progress... drawing the ire of at least one person (or more) asking for the release of the sidewalk...



H/T to @fnytv for alerting us to the signs on Saturday.

There goes the Mecca of Hair

Workers have gutted the former Lugo Hair Center at 209 First Ave. between East 12th Street and East 13th Street…



Not sure exactly when they closed (with that cinderblock storefront, they never looked all that open).

But the place had fans. The Village Voice named them "Best Place to Get Hair Extensions" in 2013, noting: "The East Village's Lugo's Hair Center, which specializes in extensions and wigs, provides beautiful … manes made specifically for you. The process is long and taxing, but well worth it (they don't call themselves the 'mecca of hair' for nothing)."

The business, which apparently opened in 1976, still has a Brooklyn outpost.

The Bar Akuda sign arrives on 1st Avenue

Oh, Bar Akuda (sung to the tune of Heart's "Barricuda").

The sports bar-restaurant at 16 First Ave. between East First Street and East Second Street is looking closer to opening.

Bar Akuda is the latest from the owners of Murray Hill's Mercury Bar and Tonic East, among others. No word yet on an opening date for the space, which will serve lunch, brunch and dinner.

The address was previously home to Sutra Lounge.

Week in Grieview

[Photo on 2nd Avenue and East 5th Street via Derek Berg]

RIP Patrick Salt Ryan (Friday)

Cafe Pick Me Up expected to close for good after May 31 on Avenue A (Wednesday)

Omakase-style restaurant in the works for former Lan Cafe on East Sixth Street (Friday)

A visit to St. Mark's Comics (Friday)

Tiengarden closes after 20 years on Allen Street (Monday)

Out and About with Philip Van Aver (Wednesday)

The Sunshine Cinema is on the market (Friday)

"Tompkins Square Park," now a breakup song by Mumford & Sons (Monday)

Check out the new mural of MCA on East Seventh Street (Tuesday)

Virginia's opens on East 11th Street (Monday)

Spotting the sorta elusive night heron in Tompkins Square Park (Wednesday)

Sidewalk bridge arrives at 515 E. 5th St., site of Ben Shaoul's illegal penthouse conversion (Tuesday)

Common Ground has closed on Avenue A (Monday)

Modern American in the works for former Back Forty space on Avenue B (Thursday)

Christo and Dora are parents! (Again!) (Wednesday)

When someone parks a motorcycle in your hallway (Wednesday)

Rumor: Vegetarian sandwich shop in the works for former Dirt Candy space (Tuesday)

The Quad Cinema has closed for renovations (Monday)

Veggie friendly Avant Garden in the works for former Gingersnap's space (Tuesday)

Fourth Street Central has closed (Monday)

A 4-building parcel on East Sixth Street has been sold (Thursday)

Report: Retail announcements likely coming this summer for the IBM Watson building

[EVG file photo]

While the office component of 51 Astor Place/the IBM Watson Building/the Death Star is now fully operational leased, the retail spaces have remained empty for nearly two years. (Well, there is the showroom for Ian Shrager's incoming hotel-condo tower at 215 Chrystie, but that's just temporary. The showroom/sales office, not 215 Chrystie.)

The Real Deal explored some of the reasons why in an article this past week.

Such as!

Listing broker Patrick Smith of SRS Real Estate Partners said that the angular building presented a “bit of a puzzle” in terms of space configuration and said that Astor Place represents an “emerging retail corridor” that is forced to fill the gap between more popular retail destinations such as Union Square and Soho.

But! According to the article, expect to see some activity in this emerging 51 Astor retail corridor soon.

Three of the five retail spaces currently have leases out and they are in active pursuit on the other two — seeking a specialty fitness and a food tenant that sells prepared meals, according to Smith. [Developer Edward] Minskoff claims that Smith’s assessment of the leasing situation is modest, and that they are in fact finalizing leases for 100 percent of the retail space, to be announced within 30 to 40 days.

Previously on EV Grieve:
3 retail spaces available at 51 Astor Place (22 comments)

You can finally shop at 51 Astor Place!

The 6th & B Garden plant and bake sale continues today

Day 2 of the garden's annual plant and bake sale continues today from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. ... on the southwest corner of Avenue B and East Sixth Street...

As a garden rep told us, "It's our main fundraiser for the season and allows us to put on hundreds of free events throughout the season for the community."

The Cake Shop is celebrating their 10th anniversary on Ludlow; with plans for more years ahead

[Image via the Cake Shop website]

The Cake Shop turned 10 this month... to celebrate, the cafe/live music venue at 152 Ludlow St. between Stanton and Rivington celebrates with what co-owners Nick and Andy Bodor are calling a "house show"-themed lineup of shows, featuring the return of some favorite Cake Shop bands. (Find the schedule here.)

It hasn't always been easy here, with some financial troubles, which they were able to overcome with a crowdfunding campaign in 2012.

In an anniversary feature yesterday at DNAinfo, Lisha Arino reported that the Cake Shop's most recent call for investors in January yielded one unnamed person, who "stepped in and helped Cake Shop to pay back its debts and negotiate a new lease with their landlord, which they hope to sign next month."

Meanwhile, as for the anniversary ...

“We’re just really appreciative to the people who have walked in the door in the last 10 years. Every time somebody compliments us it’s such a rewarding thing,” Nick Bodor said. “It means a lot to us.”

Minding the 'STOP No Roof Access' sign

Spotted on East 11th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue… propped against a tree … and later discarded on the sidewalk…



H/T Shawn Chittle