'24 comeback for Elvis on Great Jones

Elvis is set to return to 54 Great Jones St. this fall. 

A stenciled Elvis sign is now above the doorway here between the Bowery and Lafayette...

The new project, a café and wine bar, pairs the teams of Paradise Projects (Boulton & Watt, Wiggle Room, Mr. Paradise) ... and Golden Age Hospitality (Le Dive, the new Lucy's). 

We don't know too much else about this Elvis. During the longtime run of the Great Jones Cafe here, a bust of the King of Rock and Roll was in the window. (The exterior has also been painted a similar orange as that of the Great Jones Cafe.)

There's a placeholder website and Instagram account, which shows a fall opening...

 

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Elvis was also on hand for the previous two ventures at the address via Gabe Stulman — Jolene and The Jones. 

No. 54 was home to the creole-flavored Great Jones Cafe from 1983 to 2018. The popular yet low-key spot never reopened after Jim Moffett, the longtime owner, died in July 2018 at age 59.

The multipurpose courts in Tompkins Square Park are closed for painting

The multipurpose courts in Tompkins Square Park are closed starting today... through next Tuesday, Sept. 3. 

Posted signage notes this is to accommodate — gulp — painting... (and H/T to @tf_report!)

This area along Avenue A and 10th Street was closed from Oct. 16 to Dec. 1 for renovations, which included new asphalt and amenities, including a high-low fountain that kids and adults can use simultaneously, three new basketball backstops, and benches.

The courts reopened without any markings — save for around the basketball area. 

As you may recall, the original reconstruction diagrams included a walking track marked by blue paint and painted lines for kickball.

We learned about all this over the weekend, and there wasn't anyone available at Parks HQ to ask. 

So, with this painting, we may see the arrival of a marked walking path and kickball court, something that likely couldn't have been added during the more unpredictable winter weather months. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Big changes are coming to the iconic skate spot in Tompkins Square Park

German supermarket powerhouse Lidl is opening an outpost on the Lower East Side

Lidl, the German supermarket chain with 12,000 stores worldwide, is opening a branch on Grand and Clinton on the Lower East Side. 

On Thursday, Lidl US officially announced that it had agreed on lease terms with affordable housing nonprofit Grand Street Guild for the 23,000-square-foot space at 408 Grand St. that previously housed a Rite Aid. (There were rumors of this pending arrival earlier last week, per the East of the Bowery Instagram account.)

There are several Lidl outposts around NYC, including Queens and Staten Island. When the Grand Street grocery opens next summer, it will be the third in Manhattan. There's one in Harlem now, with a location opening in Chelsea. (And more groceries are on the way.) 

Lidl US first arrived in Virginia in June 2015. The U.S. expansion hasn't been smooth, per a June 24 post on Grocery Dive: 

Renowned across Europe for the potent mix of low prices and high-quality goods that defines its thousands of colorful stores, Lidl arrived stateside with deep pockets, a highly developed private label strategy and a disciplined focus on efficiently running a complex business in a highly competitive environment. 

But instead of steadily growing its U.S. footprint as it had originally intended, Lidl US has moved ahead in fits and starts, prompting questions about why its value-focused business model has trouble gaining traction on American soil.

This retail space is on the other side of Grand and Clinton from Target, which opened in August 2018. (And yes — there's a Trader Joe's nearby too.)

UWS hotspot Bánh Vietnamese Shop House opening a new restaurant in the East Village

The owners of the popular (and well-reviewed) UWS establishment Bánh Vietnamese Shop House are opening a sibling restaurant at 99 Third Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street. 

Signage arrived for Bánh Anh Em on Thursday. (Thanks to EVG reader Seth Treiman for the photo and tip!) 

The folks behind Bánh Vietnamese Shop House, which started as a pop-up during the pandemic "showcasing hard-to-find Vietnamese dishes in NYC," shared more details on Instagram: 

Bánh Anh Em is Chef Nhu Ton’s love letter to our culture, our country, our families and all the brothers and sisters we've met along the way. It's a reflection of the journeys Chef Nhu has taken, traveling countless times across Vietnam by motorbike, rediscovering and re-inventing herself, and deeply immersing in the craftsmanship of Vietnamese cuisine. 

We are profoundly grateful to the generations, the restaurants and the chefs who paved the way for us to be here today, and we hope to honor their spirit through every dish we craft... 

No word yet on a potential opening date.

No. 99 was previously home for two-plus years to Cutlets.

Sunday's parting shot

Photos by Steven 

Taking in the annual Charlie Parker Jazz Festival today this afternoon in Tompkins Square Park. 

And nearby on Avenue B, a plaque that hasn't been stolen...

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included... (with a photo of the Moon and Kendall Jenner's elbow above the Bowery)... 

• Remembering Harold Meltzer (Wednesday)

• Prepping Theatre 80 for its next chapter on St. Mark's Place (Monday) 

• A new East Village home for Gizmo (Thursday) 

• That's all for the East Village Neighbors Community Fridge on 12th Street and 1st Avenue (Tuesday) 

• The new 24-story residential building on 14th and C begins its ascent (Tuesday) 

• Dedicating Raphael Sadonte Ward Jr. Way on the Lower East Side (Tuesday) 

• Why you'll be shopping at Key Food on Avenue A without hearing a random song from the 1980s (Sunday) 

• A second Rogue vintage clothing shop opens on the Lower East Side (Friday)

• Trash fire engulfs car on 4th Street (Saturday)

• On the CB3 docket this month: a new era for Lucy's, another operator for Lamia's Fish Market (Monday) 

 

• Veselka reopens front counter for dining-in customers (Monday) 

• About the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival (Saturday) 

• With help from some friends, The Hard Quartet pays homage to the Stones on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday) 

• 9th Precinct issues headphone-theft warning (Monday)

• At the annual Festival Calle 6 (Monday)

• Get well soon, Currant! (Tuesday) 

• Tree down on Avenue A (Wednesday) 

• This week in lines (Friday) 

• A look inside the shuttered Starbucks on Astor Place (Wednesday) 

• FYI: It's NYU's Welcome Weekend (Saturday) 

... and from our ongoing Classic Cars of Avenue C collection...

Astor Place Hairstylists is very much open

In recent days, there have been some unfounded rumors that Astor Place Hairstylists had closed, based mainly on the renovations happening in the ground-floor storefront (ex-Vitamin Shoppe) on the SE corner of Broadway and Astor Place. 

Yesterday, management put up a "We Are Open" banner on the construction plywood above the basement stairs (thanks, Michael Quinn!)...

They also posted a video on Instagram (see below) to ensure that people know it's business as usual here seven days a week (7 a.m. to 7 p.m.)

Astor Place Hairstylists, founded in 1947, faced an uncertain future during the pandemic. However, with help from some investors, they were able to sign a new lease in 2022. 

 Now take it away, Frankie...

 

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Saturday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

As seen on St. Mark's Place today...

About the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival

The 2024 Charlie Parker Jazz Festival artwork by Lily Qian 

ICYMI... The 32nd edition of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival is this weekend ... the annual tribute to the saxophonist includes several free live jazz performances. 

The Saturday portion of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival is in Marcus Garvey Park from 3 to 7 p.m. If you're planning a Manhattan road trip, find more info at this link. 

And we've mentioned the Tompkins Square Park portion of the fest tomorrow (Sunday). 

Here's part of Sunday's lineup: 

... the newly minted (2023) Jazz Master Louis Hayes is joined by some of the more impressive talents in modern jazz. Hayes, a one-time member of McCoy Tyner’s trio, has been leading bands since he was a teenager in 1950s Detroit, recorded with John Coltrane and Yusef Lateer, and did stints in quartets with Horace Silver and Cannonball Adderley, as well as time with the Oscar Peterson Trio. He’s supported by the 24-year-old Cameroonian-American jazz vocalist Ekep Nkwelle, a Juilliard grad and rising star of Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Alexis Lombre, the Chicago-born pianist, vocalist, and composer whose 2017 debut Southside Sounds pays homage to her home’s artistic and cultural heritage. 

Find the full rundown here. 

Also tomorrow: From 8 p.m. to midnight, there's a Charlie Parker Jazz Festival After Party at Nublu on Avenue C. Details here. 

Parker, who died in 1955 at age 34, lived at 151 Avenue B from 1950 to 1954. That residential building, between Ninth Street and 10th Street, is landmarked.

FYI: It's NYU's Welcome Weekend

Founders Hall on 12th Street this morning

For your information, today and tomorrow (Saturday and Sunday) mark NYU's Welcome Weekend 2024, when new and returning underclassmen can return to the dorms. 

In the East Village, parking restrictions are in place around the various residence halls along Third Avenue between Ninth Street and 14th Street and on 14th Street and 12th Street. 

Also, the very large (added for the commenter so as not to be "glibly complicit"!) Citi Bike docking station on 11th Street at Third Avenue in front of NYU's Third Avenue North dorm is offline for the weekend. (Thanks, Seth Treiman, for the pic!) ... as is the one on 12th Street just west of Third Avenue.

As always, expect extra vehicular traffic, double/triple parking, and stressed-out parents and guardians.

Trash fire engulfs car on 4th Street

Reporting by Stacie Joy 

The FDNY responded to an early morning report of a sidewalk trash-bag fire on Fourth Street just west of Avenue A, which spread to a parked car.

Local Assembly Member Harvey Epstein shared these photos from around 6 a.m.

It's unclear what caused the trash fire or if someone intentionally set several stacked garbage bags ablaze.

Another EVG reader shared this photo ... after the FDNY combed through and spread out the contents of the trash bags and doused them with water... 

The car appears to be destroyed. There weren't any reports of injuries.

Endless Summer (aka Friday's Parting Shot)

Photo by Stacie Joy 

Early evening from Tompkins Square Park...

'Vision' quest

 

The London-based Crows have a new record coming out on Sept. 27. 

Ahead of that, here's the Interpol-ish track "Vision of Me."

Potty prep ahead of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in Tompkins Square Park on Sunday

Photo by Steven 

A) The annual Charlie Parker Jazz Festival is Sunday from 3-7 p.m. in Tompkins Square Park. Find the lineup here. 

B) Speaking of lineups, here are the extra porta-potties for the event (as the TSP field house remains under renovation). 

C) is for Charlie Parker, who lived at 151 Avenue B from 1950-54.