Aug. 18

Spotted on Sixth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... hiding the Christmas tree with the recyclables ... thanks to Riian Kant-McCormick for the photo! (And thanks to everyone else who pointed this one out, including Sally Long Dog!)

'In The Realm Of Anansi From Assisi' continues on at Le Petit Versailles

"In The Realm Of Anansi From Assisi," an installation by longtime East Village resident Peter Cramer, continues through Sept. 13 at Le Petit Versailles, the community garden and arts space at 247 E. Second St. (aka 346 E. Houston St.) between Avenue B and Avenue C.

There is limited public access (three mask-wearing people at a time while keeping social distance) Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 8 to 10. Otherwise, there is viewing daily from outside the fences on Second Street.

Here's more about the installation via the EVG inbox:

In The Realm of Anansi From Assisi (ITROAFA) is an immersive environment of the storyteller Anasi, a mythical African spider god, a fantastical garden landscape of light and line — a place of pilgrimage and healing where visitors may wander finding solace and respite during this time of disease.

The sculpture, visual elements, moving images, and sounds created by the principal artists reconcile science with mythology; from the evocation of the creation of the universe to the emergence of hominid creatures and culminating with the emergence of language represented by Anansi.

On Thursday (Aug. 20) evening at 7:30, Le Petit Versailles is hosting a live concert by NYOBS, the alternative experimental free association "kitchen" band featuring Mike Cacciatore, Peter Cramer, John Michael Swartz and Jack Waters.

You may listen from the sidewalk outside the garden or enjoy the sounds via Zoom. Find more details at the events page on Facebook.

Friends and neighbors come together to help Chef Lek at Lui's Thai Food

[Photo from early August by Stacie Joy]

East Village resident Pimnapa "Lek" Sunthatkolkarn, the chef/owner of Lui's Thai Food on Fourth Street, was hospitalized late last week. She remains in the hospital in stable condition, per EVG contributor Stacie Joy.

Lek's friends and neighbors have come together and launched a crowdfunding campaign to help her and her family with expenses.

Per the campaign:

Lek, who grew up in Bangkok, has lived in the EV for more than 30 years and previously owned the much loved Thai restaurant, Holy Basil, before opening Lui's Thai Food. At 62 years old, Chef Lek is a powerhouse and a beloved neighbor in the community.

You may find the GoFundMe link here.

The restaurant at 128 E. Fourth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue remains closed for now...



Previously on EV Grieve:
• A visit to Lui’s Thai Food on 4th Street


[Photo from March 2019]

Baked Cravings opening an outpost on St. Mark's Place

The neon signage arrived yesterday for Baked Cravings, coming soon to 102 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue.

This will be the second location for the bakery that specializes in fresh-baked nut- and peanut-free cupcakes, cakes, brownies and cookies. (Founder Craig Watson has a daughter with food allergies.) Baked Cravings opened in East Harlem on Lexington at 105th Street in 2017.

The bakery takes over the space from Dun-Well Doughnuts, which concluded its three-plus-year run here in February.

Thailand Cafe will not be reopening on 2nd Avenue

A for lease sign now hangs outside what is the former Thailand Cafe here on Second Avenue between Fifth Street and Sixth Street.

The inexpensive-eats spot, seemingly around for years under several different owners, had been dormant since the COVID-19-related PAUSE. The restaurant's phone and website are no longer in service.

And the rent for the 1,300-square-foot space is available upon request.

UPS delivering a retail outlet to 1st Avenue

A UPS Store is coming this fall to 108 First Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. (And good timing in case the U.S. Postal Service collapses.)

Until March 2018, this storefront next to the McDonald's had been a Subway (sandwich shop) for six foot-long years.

The last of the COVID-19 memorial has been removed from the corner of 10th and A

The last piece of the COVID-19 memorial that has been on the southeast corner of Avenue A and 10th Street since March 26 is gone.

In recent weeks, only the memorial — titled "Beacon of Hope" — atop the brick column remained. This was after someone vandalized the work once again a few weeks back. (This happened multiple times in the spring.)

It was originally erected in honor of Edd Conboy, a licensed therapist and director of social services at Broad Street Ministry in Philadelphia, who died on March 20 of a stroke. He was 69. His brother Jim, an East Village artist, created the memorial after his family was unable to hold a funeral in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The memorial continued to evolve this spring to honor those who died during the pandemic.

[April 13]


[June 11]

The former Gem Spa space is for lease

[Photo from Saturday]

The former Gem Spa storefront on Second Avenue at St. Mark's Place is now officially on the rental market, billed as "First time available."

The listing at RIPCO doesn't have much info, other than square footage, location, etc. Pricing is available by request.

And while Gem Spa's address was 131 Second Ave., the marketing materials list this as 36 St. Mark's Place.

Potentially concerning (and confusing) is that the listing includes Paul's Da Burger Joint next door. The listing notes that the two spaces are available separately or combined...



The fact that the space was on the market was news to the owners of Paul's, who have a few more years left on the lease.

"I’ll assume at the moment it’s a mistake, as I spoke to the landlord today about something unrelated and nothing was mentioned," Matt Wardrop, who has been running Paul's since 2007, told EVG contributor Stacie Joy on Friday.

He added this on Sunday: "It seems as if that listing was created like that to draw more potential tenants for the corner. Someone can express interest for the whole lot and then the broker can say that only the corner is available. We are still here, doing the best we can given the current state of events. We enjoy serving the community and our loyal customers. We look forward to staying open and continuing to do what we love the most — feeding our loyal friends!"

Stacie stopped by Paul's on Friday...



Here's Angel, who has been here nearly the entire time since the restaurant opened in 1989, with his daughter and co-worker Daniella...



Gem Spa officially closed on May 7 amid ongoing financial challenges worsened by the COVID-19 crisis. The corner has a long history as a candy store and newsstand.

Ravi DeRossi plans vegan Mexican restaurant for former Violet space on 5th Street

[Photo from July 30]

East Village restaurateur Ravi DeRossi has plans for a vegan Mexican restaurant at 511 E. Fifth St., the former Violet space between Avenue A and Avenue B.

DeRossi is on tonight's virtual CB3-SLA agenda for a new liquor license for the address. According to the questionnaire for public viewing at the CB3 website, the working name is Spider in the Garden. (The space has a garden in the back, which a previous tenant, GG's, would use to harvest several ingredients.)

The proposed hours are 5 p.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday, with a 1 a.m. close on Friday. Proposed weekend hours: Noon to 2 a.m. on Saturday and noon to midnight on Sunday.

Reps for DeRossi did not respond to an email seeking more information about this venture.

DeRossi's other EV establishments include Avant Garden, Ladybird and Amor y Amargo.

Violet, the restaurant by the Pizza Loves Emily Group and chef/owner Matt Hyland, did not reopen after the COVID-19 PAUSE.

The address has been home to several restaurants since Le Tableau closed in December 2007. Before Violet, there was Goat Town, Seymour Burton, Butcher Bay and GG's.

Sanshi Rice Noodle coming to 2nd Avenue and 7th Street

There's a new restaurant tenant for the northeast corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street... signage arrived on Friday for Sanshi Rice Noodle...



We don't have any information about the restaurant at the moment.

This prime corner space has been vacant since Bar Virage closed in December 2018 after 20-plus years in business. Ravi DeRossi had designs on a vegan diner here, though those plans didn't get past the Community Board stage.

SLA temporarily suspends the liquor license at St. Dymphna's on Avenue A

[Photos by Stacie Joy]

Updated 10/14: St. Dymphna's has reopened.

St. Dymphna's is temporarily closed now on Avenue A between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.

According to the paperwork from the State Liquor Authority posted on the front windows, the Irish-style pub had previously been warned — on June 18 and Aug. 5 — for patrons "lingering and/or congregating" outside the establishment.

The paperwork also states that on Aug. 11, an SLA agent saw patrons drinking "without accompanying appropriate food orders" ... and that "the licensee was unable to produce any receipts for food to comply with the requirement that the licensee serve food with any alcoholic beverage purchase."







Co-owner Brendan McElroy addressed the closure in an Instagram post yesterday:

With a heavy heart, I have to announce to you all that St Dymphna’s will be closed, pending a hearing for our liquor license suspension. We were unfairly targeted by the state liquor authority, and issued baseless citations — similar to what has happened to several other bars in the neighborhood. Our attorney is on the case and we will fight this. Looking forward to the day we when we reopen and hang out in our new backyard space...

St. Dymphna's opened here last August, relocating from its home of 24 years on St. Mark's Place.

Several other East Village establishments, including Lucky, the Hairy Lemon, Maiden Lane and the Wayland, had had their liquor licenses temporarily suspended in recent weeks.

Lucky owner Abby Ehmann had started a petition calling for Gov. Cuomo to reverse the state's new mandate that bars must serve substantial amounts of food with any alcohol purchase.

Updated 5:30 p.m.

The SLA posted this about their actions at St. Dymphna's:

On August 11th, investigators with the state's multi-agency task force observed numerous patrons standing, drinking, and ignoring social distancing guidelines outside the premises, with multiple customers observed ordering beverages from a takeout window. Investigators checking sales receipts found that practically no food was purchased with orders that evening, in violation of the Governor's Executive Orders. This was the third strike for this business, a repeat offender that the SLA had charged for violating the Governor's Executive Orders on June 26th and on August 10th.

The Horsebox closes on Avenue A

A for lease sign is now draped across the front of 218 Avenue A here between 13th Street and 14th Street (the listing via Meridian Retail Leasing is not yet online).

The signage officially marks the end of the Horsebox, the sports bar that opened in the spring of 2010 ... and that celebrated its one-year anniversary with a toga party.

The bar had been closed since the PAUSE went into effect in March. This also makes the third consecutive storefront for lease on the east side of A between 13th Street and 14th Street...