Avenue B market reopens as Miami Convenience

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

It's not your imagination: Saba Candy & Groceries is back open at 106 Avenue B between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. 

The market recently opened and closed after just a few months. 

Saif, the manager (below), told us that there is new ownership...

With that comes a new name: Miami Convenience — though there's no obvious South Florida connection (yet). They are just waiting for the new sign to arrive.

Daily hours: 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.

It's a Small Village Deli after all

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

Signage arrived late last week at 76 Avenue B on the NW corner of Fifth Street... say hello to the Small Village Deli. (So many markets, so few solid names left.)

We went inside for an updated look at the interior, but the owner told us to leave.

Once open, the deli will sell a variety of sandwiches, wraps and smoothies.

No. 76 was last home to the art gallery gratin, which relocated to the Lower East Side. Previously, Oda House, which served Georgian cuisine and other Mediterranean staples, closed here in August 2020 after more than seven years in service. Caffe Buon Gusto was here for a bit after the corner market, Zips.

Noted

Photo by Derek Berg 

Someone discarded the "Same Penis Forever" Just Married bouquet in the trash on Seventh Street... 

Yeah, well, forever got a lot shorter suddenly, didn't it? as Kevin Dolenz says in "St. Elmo's Fire."

More Pride at the Stonewall National Monument

Photos by Stacie Joy 

We were in the Village yesterday and stopped by the Stonewall National Monument in Christopher Park.

As widely reported on Thursday, local elected officials and activists raised a rainbow flag at the site, days after the Trump Administration removed one from the National Park Service-run site. 

The park service has said it was complying with federal guidance on flags.

Said Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal: "If you can't fly a Pride flag steps from the Stonewall monument, at the National monument for LGBTQ liberation, where can you fly it?" 

For their part, a spokesperson for the Interior Department dismissed the flag raising as a "political stunt" and described the city's Democratic leadership as "utterly incompetent and misaligned," per the Associated Press. 

The Stonewall Inn is across from the park monument at 53 Christopher St.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week include (with a photo along 1st Avenue last night, where the snow banks persist)

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• An immigration detention, a waiting room, a family in limbo (Feb. 9) 

• End of an Avenue B era for Gruppo as it will relocate to the Bowery in March (Feb. 10) 

• New 9-story development proposal raises alarms next to Merchant's House (Feb. 10) 

• 25-story residential building in the works for the NW corner of the Bowery and Great Jones (Feb. 11) 
• Financing secured for major upgrades at Campos Plaza II (Feb. 12) 

• RIP Fred Smith (Feb. 8) 

• Earth School community march calls for protection of immigrant families (Feb. 10) 

• Soft openings: Much Obliged on Avenue B (Feb. 12) 

• New signs up as Metro Acres Market nears opening on 1st Avenue and 5th Street (Feb. 9) 

• Sephora announces itself on the gateway to the East Village (Feb. 14) 

• Former Chris French Cleaners space wrapped for demolition (Feb. 11) 

• What's going on with Chomp Chomp? (Feb. 13) 

• A band playing New Colossus Festival: Loveletter (Feb. 13)

 

• Closures: Village Cafe & Grill on 4th Street (Feb. 10) 

• Signage alert: Stackie Doughnuts on Avenue A (Feb. 9) 

• A new era for Baohaus on St. Mark's Place (Feb. 9) 

• Brooklyn Dumpling Shop closes flagship East Village location (Feb. 12) 

... and something we hadn't noticed atop the First Park kiosk — a Christmas rat. God Bless Us, everyone! (Thanks to EVG reader Taz Urnov for the photo!)       

This East Village 'Bunny' is now streaming on Netflix

"Bunny," a caper set and filmed in the East Village with some familiar local faces, is now streaming on Netflix. 

It had a limited theatrical release back in the late fall and is also available on various VOD platforms. 

   

The film received some positive notices following its SXSW premiere in 2025. Per The Hollywood Reporter: 

"Bunny" successfully channels a downtown vibe that seems to be on the verge of extinction — one where neighbors of all types, shapes and sizes live on top of one another in cluttered apartments, forging a camaraderie that could only exist in that part of New York. 

The screenwriters, Ben Jacobson, Mo Stark, and Stefan Marolachakis (aka Trio Bravo) signed a deal this past week with TFC Management, per Deadline. So expect to see more from them in the future. (Stark plays Bunny while Jacobson directed and has a starring role.)

Good news: Chomp Chomp is open again

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

We were happy to see that Chomp Chomp Thai Kitchen was back in action yesterday at 78 E. First St., just east of First Avenue.

A burst pipe in the space knocked them out of commission for a few days this past week. 

The staff said they appreciated the good wishes while the restaurant was temporarily closed.

Chomp Chomp is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Feb. 14's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

For Valentine's Day today, Bloom Bloom floral design studio once again set up inside Book Club Bar on Third Street near Avenue B...

Noted

Valentine's Day at the Village East by Angelika...

Sephora announces itself on the gateway to the East Village

The Sephora signage/brandage arrived yesterday on the NE corner of St. Mark's Place and Third Avenue — an intersection that some say is the gateway to the East Village. 

The Paris-based multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products will have 7,800-square feet of space here...

As previously reported, the mall-friendly Sephora signed a lease here at the base of the 9-story office building this past September. (TRD had the news first.) 

Meanwhile, there haven't been any updates about any tenants leasing the office space, which was reportedly built on spec. 

Crews and equipment were assembled here in the summer of 2020 to start on the foundation — a process that ultimately didn't get underway until 2022. 

H/T Andy Reynolds!

P.S. 

The sign has already been tagged...

Saturday's opening shot

A view of the February mural up outside the Second Avenue F stop... swan art by Ben Keller.

Friday's parting shot

Photo by Cynthia Reynolds 

The all-day line this Feb. 13 at Sunny's Florist on the SE corner of Second Avenue and Sixth Street...

A band playing New Colossus Festival: Loveletter

The 2026 edition of the New Colossus Festival takes place in the East Village and on the LES from March 3-8. Details here. 

Until then, as we noted last week, our Fridays at 5 video clip will feature a band playing at the festival. (And there are more than 180 in total!) 

Today, we have the local trio Loveletter with the track "Follow Me."

They'll be playing Friday, March 6, at Nublu Classic, 62 Avenue C.

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Q&A with Steven Matrick, co-founder of the New Colossus Festival, taking place this week at East Village and Lower East Side music venues (Link from March 2025)

[UPDATED: BACK OPEN] What’s going on with Chomp Chomp?

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

UPDATED 2/14: CHOMP CHOMP IS BACK OPEN. REPEAT, CHOMP CHOMP IS BACK OPEN.

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Chomp Chomp Thai Kitchen, 78 E. First St., just east of First Avenue, has been closed for the past two days, raising concern among fans of the well-liked spot. 

Plastic bags currently cover most of the front windows. Through a side window, plants and lights are still visible inside. The door is locked, calls to the restaurant go unanswered, and there are no notices for patrons on the door or messages on social media.

A worker at neighboring Cafe Himalaya said the space appeared closed on Wednesday as well and that they hadn't been told what happened. 

Several people stopped by while we were outside, surprised to find the restaurant shuttered. One passerby summed up the mood: "WHAT?! Chomp Chomp is closed? You can quote me, I love Chomp Chomp." 

Mail is beginning to pile up outside the entrance, and a red-tagged commercial oven was sitting on the sidewalk in front of the building earlier yesterday. 

Renovations? Emergency plumbing issue? Closure? We'll update if we learn more.

Updated: See the comments ... several EVG readers said a broken pipe is to blame for the temporary closure.