If you are looking for Smoke & Beer on Avenue A, then this store is for you

Do you remember back in December, when we reported that the former nail salon on Avenue A between East 13th Street and East 14th Street was going to become a smoke shop?

Well, anyway, that smoke shop is now open... Correction! Make that Smoke & Beer shop...



As you can see on the marquee, the shop sells E-cigarette, Cigar, Tobacco, Craft Beer, Cigarette and Lotto.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Smoke shop, the new nail salon, opening in former nail salon on Avenue A

Police looking for suspect in a string of area armed robberies

The NYPD has released an image from surveillance video of a suspect wanted in connection with five armed robberies in the West Village and the East Village dating back to Dec. 13.

According to published reports, the man has followed his victims into their apartment buildings... once in an elevator on East 12th Street and Third Avenue. Then per DNAinfo:

He followed a 28-year-old man into an apartment building at 381 East 10th St. about 5:25 p.m. on Jan. 19, threatened him with a knife and demanded his messenger bag, police said, but the victim refused to hand over the bag and the suspect ran off.

The media reports on the robberies did not include a physical description of the suspect.

Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online.

The return of the 'White Negro' tag

EVG reader Ronnie shared this photo from earlier today on East Fifth Street at Avenue B.

We don't recall seeing this tag since the spring of 2009, when it started showing up on walls around the neighborhood.


[EVG photo on Avenue A from 2009]

Empire Biscuit is taking a sabbatical for the month of February; will retool for the apocalypse

[Photo via dwg]

That's what the plate-shaped signage says here at Empire Biscuit at 198 Avenue A between East 12th Street and East 13th Street.

Here's the word from their Twitter account...

Empire Biscuit will be closed until March to retool for the coming apocalypse and make pastries.

— Empire Biscuit (@empirebiscuit) January 31, 2016

The quick-serve biscuit emporium cut back its hours during January. At the time, Empire Biscuit owner Jonathan Price told us that they were just taking a break for parts of this month. "It's a slow time of year," he said a few weeks ago. "We're doing some housekeeping. We refinished the floors in the kitchen ... for example."

Empire Biscuit opened on Oct. 30, 2013.

An 83rd birthday celebration for Ray at Ray's Candy Store

[Bettina May]

Ray Alvarez, the hard-working proprietor of Ray's Candy Store, turned 83 last month.



And, as is tradition, some of Ray's friends/regulars brought in entertainment — burlesque dancers Pearls Daily, Lilin Lace, The Maine Attraction, Bettina May and Lickety Split — for a birthday celebration, which took place last night at the shop at 113 Avenue A.

EVG correspondent Stacie Joy shared a few photos...


[Lickety Split]


[The Maine Attraction]


[Lilin Lace]


[Pearls Daily]







The Ray's birthday party celebration with dancers goes back to 2007. Check out Bob Arihood's photos from Ray's 74th birthday bash here.

Rumors: 348 Bowery will house new food market

You may have noticed in recent weeks that workers have built several kiosks/stalls inside the corner lot at 348 Bowery at Great Jones...







A tipster tells us that this will soon be home to a new marketplace showcasing several quick-serve food vendors.

On Friday, BoweryBoogie wrote about Essex Street's Cabalito Pupuseria raising funds to open a food stand in an undisclosed location. Per the crowdfunding campaign: "Cabalito will make its humble traditional mark in a new food collaboration project in NoHo. This project will house six up-and-coming passionate restaurateurs of different specialties."

There are a few clues about 348 Bowery's future via the DOB website (cutting and pasting their all-cap style):

INSTALL TEMPORARY STRUCTURES - FOUR(4)EXTERIOR KIOSKS AND TWO(2)INTERIOR. THE MARKET WILL BE USED FOR PREPERATION AND COOKING OF FOOD & SALE OF DRY GOODS.

A previous DOB permit had the following:

INSTALL TEMPORARY STRUCTURES - FOUR(4)EXTERIOR KIOSKS AND TWO(2)INTERIOR. THE MARKET WILL BE USED FOR PREPERATION AND COOKING OF FOOD & SALE OF DRY GOODS. IT WILL BE ON OCTOBER 15, 2015, JANUARY 15, 2016,
MONDAY - WEDNESDAY 7AM -12AM, THURSDAY - FRIDAY 7AM - 2AM, SATURDAY 9AM - 2AM AND SUNDAY 9AM - 12AM.

The address has been without a full-time tenant since Downtown Auto & Tire left in April 2012. The Deth Killers of Bushwick opened a pop-up shop here in February 2014, selling their brand of jeans and motorcycle stuff for several months.

There have been other proposed concepts for the space, which has been on and off the market for several years. In July 2010, a group aspired to open the first New York branch of Segafredo Zanetti Espresso Café, the Italian-style coffee bar, on this spot. They went before CB2, who rejected the proposal, which included a patio with a retractable roof with soundproofing as well as sound-resistant sliding doors.

The Alchemist's Kitchen takes over the short-lived NatureEs space on East 1st Street

[EVG photo from October]

A new tenant has taken over for the short-lived NatureEs, the juice bar/cafe/wellness center combo at 21 E. First St. in Jupiter 21, the residential building that rose from the former Mars Bar and several other businesses on Second Avenue and between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

Signage arrived late last week for The Alchemist's Kitchen...





Here's more about them via their website:

The Alchemist's Kitchen is dedicated to connecting you with the power of plants. We work with the finest herbalists who are producing high quality botanical medicines, herbal remedies, and whole plant beauty products. We celebrate artisanship, sustainability, and conscious living. We look to support the global need to increase plant diversity, and the sharing of ancient wisdom from indigenous cultures.

We believe strongly in the education and instruction on the use of all whole plant formulations and herbal remedies. We consider our suppliers part of our extended family, interactive, collaborative....creating one chain of supply from seed to tincture. We work closely with teachers and botanical experts, many of whom are our suppliers, to educate and inform our community.

It appears they've been in business online for some time, part of the Evolver Learning Lab... and this is their first brick-and-mortar (sorry, hate that term) storefront. An EVG reader stopped by the space last week, where he found them still getting up and running. Among other items, they are selling to-go bottles of REBBL elixirs, such as Turmeric Golden Milk and Maca Mocha.

For now, the Kitchen, which will eventually include a tonic bar, has limited hours... that will expand in the week ahead...



There are also an array of events/lectures at the space coming up...(you can find that list here).

As previously reported, there were plans plan to convert the NatureEs space into a Spanish bistro. The applicants withdrew from the November 2015 CB3-SLA meeting. The name of former Mars Bar owner Hank Penza, who died this past Oct. 29, is one of four principals listed on the active liquor license for the space.



Several people had noted that the address was home to some kind of invite-only club in the basement space. Not sure of the status of that...

Previously on EV Grieve:
NatureEs calls: About the organic cafe coming to where Mars Bar 2.0 was in the works

A quick look inside NatureEs, the new organic cafe coming to 21 E. 1st St.

At NatureEs, the Mars Bar replacement that apparently is no longer open

The Baker's Pizza signage is up on Avenue A

A few weeks back, Jordan Baker introduced himself as the new owner of the former Nonna's Pizza space on Avenue A between East 12th Street and East 13th Street.

Here's part of the comment that Baker left us:

I love Avenue A and the small businesses that comprise it (with the exception of two franchises that have recently opened that are eye-sores) and I want to keep it small-business friendly as long as possible! I had a good relationship with the previous owner, as a customer and a friend, and I’m taking the spot over, partially as a favor to him (for personal reasons), and partially because opening a pizzeria has been a dream of mine as long as I can remember.

As you can see the sign arrived at the shop this past week for Baker's Pizza... we'll check in with him a little closer to the official opening... and we want to know more about that piano!



Nonna's closed at the start of the year.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The new owner of Nonna's Pizza on Avenue A says hello

The Marshal seizes Tut on East 3rd Street

The landlord has taken legal possession of the hookah bar-restaurant Tut at 189 E. Third St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

There isn't any information available about the closure at the moment. As always in these cases, this doesn't necessarily mean the end for the restaurant.

Since May 2014, the address has been home to Lumiere, Casablanca and now Tut.

The proprietors are on CB3's SLA docket for a license renewal under the "renewal with complaint" category.

H/T @salim

Last night for Cafecito

As we first reported on Friday, Cafecito was calling it a day after nearly 14 years at 185 Avenue C near East 12th Street... EVG regular Peter Brownscombe stopped by the Cuban-specialty restaurant last night as the doors closed for good...





The ownership team is also involved with Royale a few blocks away at 157 Avenue C.

Meanwhile, there's already a suitor lined up for the Cafecito space. An applicant will appear before CB3's SLA committee on Feb. 16. At this point, the applicant's identity hasn't been revealed.

Report of a fire at 124 Avenue C

There was a report of a fire late this afternoon at 124 Avenue C... at the southeast corner of Eighth Street ... in the building that houses the laundromat...



The FDNY was on it quickly, and there doesn't appear to be any major damage at the moment, per eyewitness accounts ... ( and there isn't any mention of the fire on the @FDNY Twitter account... )



Thanks to @cj__ts for the photos...

Week in Grieview

[Hat season outside Gem Spa via Derek Berg]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

PYT has closed on the Bowery after just three months (Monday)

Shoveling snow for a cause (Wednesday ... Thursday)

Here's the 6-story condo building for East Sixth Street (Thursday)

RIP Cowboy Jim (Friday)

Cafecito is closing for good on Avenue C (Friday)

Out and About with Leslie McEachern, owner of Angelica Kitchen (Wednesday)

DF Mavens has closed on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place (Wednesday)

Hole watch on Avenue C and East Sixth Street (Friday)

PP&J as art (Friday)

Rent increase KOs Poppy's Gourmet Corner (Saturday)

Alumni Day: Cycle 19 of the Centre-fuge Public Art Project is underway (Monday)

More David Bowie tributes (Tuesday)

Broadway Panhandler to close (Wednesday)

Virgola wants to open a location on Avenue B (Wednesday)

NYPD cruiser stuck in snow in Tompkins Square Park (Monday)

Teavana turning into a Starbucks on Broadway (Tuesday)

Woman has her face slashed on the 6 train at Bleecker Street (Monday)

Here's Suffolk Arms (Friday)

Landmarked East 13th Street building sells for $21.5 million (Tuesday)

Police shoot man with knife in Jacob Riis housing complex on East Sixth Street (Tuesday)

The $20k penthouses that rose from the ZP Auto Repair Shop on Lafayette (Monday)

Coming soon signage arrives at Mamoun's new St. Mark's Place home (Monday)

Reader report: Why does this block of East Fourth Street smell? (Friday)

Ben Shaoul's 100 Avenue A ready for tours (Thursday)

... and we didn't get a chance to mention that the former Sunset Cleaners on East Third Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue has been reborn as Sunsweet Cleaners...





An EVG reader and Sunrise customer reported in October 2014 that the landlord (Tomar Equities) offered Susan the Sunset owner a 5-year-lease renewal with a 66-percent rent increase.

Today in photogenic dogs on Avenue A

Avenue A and East Fourth Street today... apparently the dog just came from a photoshoot #fashion ...

Report of a fire this morning at 100 E. 7th St.

MAN ALL HANDS 100 E 7TH ST, MULTIPLE DWELLING FIRE ON 2ND FLR,

— FDNY (@FDNY) January 31, 2016

Several readers have told us about an early-morning fire at 100 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. The official FDNY Twitter account announced the fire at 7:17 a.m., and gave the "under control" at 7:30 a.m.

MAN ALL HANDS 100 E 7TH ST, MULTIPLE DWELLING FIRE ON 2ND FLR, UNDER CONTROL

— FDNY (@FDNY) January 31, 2016

Unfortunately, we don't have any further information about the cause of the fire, which started in a second-floor apartment. A reader at the scene said that there didn't appear to be any injuries.

You can see the fire-damaged unit in the photo from later this morning...


[Photo by Derek Berg]

H/T Bill the Libertarian Anarchist