Afternoon bringing Korean hot dogs, mochi doughnuts and croffles to St. Mark's Place

Afternoon is setting up a one-stop trendy-food eating destination at 34 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue (thanks to Steven for the photos)...

Here's more about Afternoon via their website:

Anytime is the right time to visit Afternoon, the ultimate one-stop destination for what you're craving. Our well-curated selection of the hottest food and beverage brands allows you to enjoy multiple drinking and dining destinations all under one roof. There's something for everyone at Afternoon…what are you in the mood for today?

Brands under this roof will include Jongro Rice Hotdog, Machi Machi (bubble teas, etc.), Mochi Mochi Donut, Brooklyn Roasting Company and Croffle Haus (croissant dough baked in a waffle iron).

Afternoon currently has outposts out in Bayside and in Koreatown. Five more area locations (including St. Mark's Place) are in the works.

Meanwhile, the like-minded Mochinut, the quickly expanding California-born chain known for its mochi doughnuts and Korean-style hot dogs, just opened around the corner on Second Avenue.

Afternoon is taking over half of the former Khyber Pass space. (The other half is Lucky Star, the recently opened 1950s-style ice-cream shop.)  Khyber Pass, which dated to the mid-1980s, quietly closed during the pandemic. 

The new-look SW corner of 1st Avenue and 3rd Street

From the EVG tipline... the plywood came down yesterday on the southwest corner of First Avenue and Third Street... providing a look at the renovated storefront.

As previously reported here, a cafe "specializing in small, handmade wines" is in the works for the space from the owners of Urban Wine & Spirits a few storefronts away. 

Old-timer Exquisite Cleaners shut down here in the summer of 2020 as the pandemic wreaked havoc on the dry-cleaner business.

Desi Stop Deli signage arrives on 2nd Avenue

Two weeks ago, we mentioned that a new Indian restaurant called Desi Stop was coming to 75 Second Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street. 

The signage is now up... and it's actually going by Desi Stop Deli...

Signage points to a 100-percent vegetarian establishment... though we don't know if this will be a quick-serve place (as the Deli name implies) or a restaurant with a dining room. Or maybe both! We should find out quickly enough with the promise of an "opening soon" sign on the door. 

Desi Stop takes over for Nostro Ristorante, which debuted in October 2019. The Italian restaurant reopened briefly late in the spring of 2020 for pandemic-era takeout and delivery but closed soon after.

Thanks to Steven for the photos! 

The Mayfly debuts on East Houston

The Mayfly debuted yesterday at 269 E. Houston St. 

As previously reported, the bar-restaurant is from the team behind Gael Pub, Trinity Pub and Juke Bar, among others. This place has been in the works dating back to the fall of 2019. (There was previously an April 2020 opening date, though the pandemic put all that on hold.)

You can follow them on Instagram for updates. (Checking on hours of operation. They opened yesterday at 4 p.m.)

The space on the southeast corner of Houston and Suffolk has seen its share of bars come and go through the years. It has sat empty since Suffolk Arms shuttered in 2018 after two-plus years. 

Thanks to Vinny & O for the photo!

Scone mania: At Mary O's, an Irish blessing and 20,000 pounds of self-raising flour

Photos by Stacie Joy

As you may recall, Humans of New York featured Mary O'Halloran, the proprietor of Mary O's, the 11-year-old Irish pub at 32 Avenue A between Second Street and Third Street, in early August. (Here's her story, courtesy of Brandon Stanton, about trying to keep her business alive while also caring for her six children.)

On a Thursday evening in August, Stanton followed up with a special promotion — the limited edition Mary O's "HONY" Irish soda bread scones. Stanton shared the deal with his more than 20 million social media followers worldwide. According to an Instagram post from Stanton, they took in more than $1 million in orders for scones by the end of the night.

Impressive, but there were some immediate logistical concerns. Such as! How to bake roughly 200,000 scones from Mary O's small kitchen.

There is a solution: Over the next two months, O'Halloran and some helpers will use the large ovens in the basement kitchen of St. Francis Xavier Church on West 16th Street to create these orders.

Fast forward to early last week, when 20,000 pounds of self-raising Irish flour was delivered (via Dublin) to Mary O's. To start the project, "the flour was infused with an Irish blessing by Mary herself, in an ancient ceremony featuring electric candles," as Stanton wrote in a Facebook post. (You can watch a video of the ceremony on Facebook.)

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by Mary O's to watch part of the flour-blessing ceremony...

The next steps will include packing up boxes of scones for delivery and preparing the 7,000 pounds of homemade blackberry jam to accompany them...

Airbnb strike: Authorities impound vans used for overnight stays in the East Village

You may have noticed fewer vans parked on East Village streets. 

Late last week, the city Sheriff's office and the NYPD Document Fraud Unit discovered an "operation of alleged fraudulent and illegally registered vehicles being used as Airbnb rentals," Sheriff Joseph Fucito told the New York Post. 

Five of the seven vans, which reportedly had New Jersey plates and expired tags, were parked in the East Village.

Sheriff's Road Patrol Deputies were busy this week impounding seven alleged fraudulent and illegally registered vans being used as Airbnb rentals on various streets in Manhattan. 🛑🚦🚔 pic.twitter.com/rBZ1TBZ2xt

— NYC SHERIFF (@NYCSHERIFF) September 25, 2021

California-based journalist/video creator Uptin Saiidi recently slept in a 1999 Ford Econoline parked on Second Street — for $97 a night. 

Spoiler: He was glad he did this for a night but would never do it again...

   

As for the recently confiscated vans, it wasn't clear if the same person owned all of them. 

Back to the Post:

Sleeping overnight in a van is legal, according to the city's Department of Transportation — provided it’s not parked in the same spot for 24 hours in restricted areas. 

When parking is not otherwise restricted, no person shall park any vehicle in any area, including a residential area, in excess of seven consecutive days, the agency's rules note. 

Fines typically start at $115, the NYPD has said. The Sheriff’s office did not comment further except to say the "investigation in this matter is ongoing."

The van listings have since been removed from Airbnb, per CBS 2. 

A few weeks back, EVG contributor Stacie Joy spoke with this traveler from Toronto who rented a van on Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B for $85 a night. (Not sure if the authorities confiscated this van.)

According to Stacie, the guest was excited about this Airbnb adventure. He was not worried about the lack of a bathroom or shower. (The Airbnb host leaves suggestions for nearby businesses to use the restroom and options for showers.)

Stacie climbed in for a moment and noted that it was clean but hot and stuffy. The front seats were empty — and drapes were partitioning them from the bed in the back. The keys also did not work in the ignition.

As ABC-7 noted, authorities dubbed this impounding as — no kidding — "Operation Room Service." 

Thanks to all the readers who shared these links. Top photo via @NYCSHERIFF.

Thinking about Blue & Gold Tavern

Updated 10/1: The bar is now OPEN as of tonight!

Blue & Gold Tavern remains closed here at 79 E. Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

The old-timer (circa 1958) shut down in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic ... and there hasn't been any word about its status. (The bar does not have a website or any social media. Yelp and Google both list it as temporarily closed.) 

EVG regular Paul Gale shared these photos and this observation over the weekend: "After 18 months, finally some signs they're not definitely gone for good. Looks like some work is being done, but the bar and the furniture remain intact."

As we understand it, the family who runs the bar also owns the building and has so for generations. (Some history here.) 

Blue & Gold is also one of the few remaining businesses whose status is unknown... others include Prune on First Street and Crocodile Lounge on 14th Street (that bar looks permanently closed, but there hasn't been any official notice). 

Top photo from the archives via @picturesofdives

Fall at the Tompkins Square Park mini pool

Outdoor city pools, including the mini pool in Tompkins Square Park, closed for the season back on Sept. 12. (Top photo from June by Steven.) 

EVG reader MP shared this photo... as you can see, a large branch recently fell into the now-empty pool in Tompkins Square Park...

Thankfully, the Parks Department has roughly nine months to remove this before the pool reopens for the 2022 season.

Checking in on the sunshiny sinkhole on 1st Avenue

Checking up on the sinkhole here on First Avenue at Fifth Street (last post here)... definitely gaining conversation-starter status...

The Wild Son plans for daytime expansion with a lunch counter next door on 1st Avenue

The Wild Son is taking over its neighboring space at 130 First Ave. here by St. Mark's Place. 

 

Robert Ceraso, the cafe's co-owner and creative director, provided details. 

"We're going to be doing a Wild Son lunch counter in that space — extending the daytime service that we currently only offer on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to all weekdays," he said in an email. "It's going to be breakfast and lunch service only." 

When the new space opens (projected for mid-October now), patrons can expect to find favorites from the current Wild Son menu as well as some throwbacks to when he ran the sandwich shop Animals adjacent to The Wayland on Avenue C. 

"Animals was actually the precursor to The Wild Son concept that we eventually opened on the west side and then moved here," said Ceraso, whose other East Village establishments include The Wayland and Good Night Sonny. "So it feels good. It feels like it's coming full circle." 

Hours for The Wild Son annex are expected to be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Despite opening during the pandemic (May 2020), The Wild Son, which relocated to the East Village from Little West 12th Street, has become a popular destination.

No. 130 was previously the pop-up restaurant called Nudibranch and Nightmarket.

Thanks to Steven for the photo and EVG reader Alyssa for the initial tip.

Good news-bad news for fans of Pouring Ribbons on Avenue B

Pouring Ribbons returned to in-person cocktail service back on Wednesday from the second floor at 225 Avenue B.

In the past 18 months, the bar had only offered to-go cocktail options from time to time. For now, Pouring Ribbons is open starting at 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays here between 13th Street and 14th Street. Walk-ins only; there aren't any reservations at this time. (This Instagram post has details on the vaccination entry process.)

Meanwhile, Joaquín Simó, partner and bartender at Pouring Ribbons, announced in an Instagram post that their lease is up in April, so this marks the last six months at this location.

We've missed our regulars, our industry friends, and our neighbors more than anything. Not being a COVID casualty like so many beloved bars and restaurants is something we are extremely grateful for. We're not taking this opportunity to say a proper goodbye for granted, so please join us sometime soon!

The bar from Alchemy Consulting opened here in September 2012. 

Thank you to Vinny & O for the tip about the reopening and upcoming lease expiration. Pic from the archives.

Looking at the new mosaics inside the 1st Avenue L stop

Back on Thursday, the MTA unveiled a mosaic series by local artist Katherine Bradford throughout the First Avenue (and Avenue A!) L stop. 

Per the MTA: "Reflecting the community of people who use the 1 Av-14 St station, vibrant compositions totaling about 400 sq ft of glass mosaic ... are installed throughout the station."

Here's more via @mtaartsdesign:

The intriguing, ethereal figures seen in the mosaic panels represent the riders of the L train, which transports creative folk pursuing their dreams and the real-life heroes who provide essential services. 

In New York, these riders are dressed most often in black, which the artist believes is "merely a cloak over an inner life that is wildly colorful and unconventional." This group of figures expresses the energy of camaraderie when people are gathered together and inspires viewers to consider the outward expression of one’s own interior vivacity.

Artist Marcel Dzama created a series for the Bedford stop. This post at 6sqft has more photos of the mosaics at the First Avenue and Bedford stations.

Art pics via @mtaartsdesign