Thirstea Café tea shop has closed on 10th Street

After seven years in business here on East 10th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue, Thirstea Café has closed its doors for good.

Winn O’Donnell, who ran the small shop with his business partner Helen He, confirmed the news via email on Sunday.

O’Donnell didn't site a specific reason for the closure... "just the usual stuff," he said. (Higher rents. The increasing cost of running a small business in NYC. Etc.)

People we know who liked the shop and the variety of teas appreciated O'Donnell's hands-on approach to his business, working there full time (not an absentee owner, in other words). Patrons also appreciated that they kept the prices the same for most of the life of Thirstea.


[Photo of O'Donnell from April by Stacie Joy]

In an interview with us back in April, O'Donnell discussed what prompted him to open a cafe here in July 2009:

We have always loved the East Village. We were happy to find a storefront here. We wanted to open up a cafe as tea lovers and wanted to share our sense of taste and style. We have always loved how the East Village has a lot of mom-and-pop shops. We love the vibe of all the specialty stores and wanted to create one of our own.

There will be milling starting tonight

You may have seen the recent arrival of these flyers from the city... noting milling taking place on a handful of Manhattan streets, including a good number in the East Village.

According to city documents (the Milling and Resurfacing Schedule for Sept. 4-10), work will commence tonight on Third Street between the Bowery and Avenue D, and Fourth Street between Second Avenue and Avenue D. Several other streets, including Seventh between Cooper Square and Avenue D, are on the schedule for Wednesday and Thursday.



The signs note that the work will take place between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. So thankfully you won't even notice most of the work because you will be sound asleep!

Meanwhile, in Great Moments in Project Overlaps, Dave on 7th notes that Con Ed has been replacing gas mains on Seventh Street between Avenue B and Avenue C...



Per Dave: "Apparently the city is going to repave the street before Con Ed is done digging it up."

Something featuring nails coming to 248 E. 14th St.

Renovations continue at the former C & B Convenience Store at 248 E. 14th St., which shut down in June.

Work permits show that a "nail store" is on the way here between between Second Avenue and Third Avenue...



Hopefully the store will carry a decent variety of by-the-pound nails, including spiral shank, roofing and masonry.

OK, more than likely this space will be a nail salon.

Meanwhile next door, as previously reported, a quick-serve restaurant called Poke Kitchen is in the works.

Openings: 100% Healthy Blend; plus Ess-A-Bagel and more

100% Healthy Blend (or maybe just Healthy Blend) opened on Saturday in the former Dahlia's space at Second Avenue and Fifth Street.

The quick-serve restaurant features create-your-own salads ... as well as juices, smoothies, empanadas, arepas and more...As we understand it, the owners of Dahlia's are also behind this no-booze venture.

The SLA temporarily suspended Dahlia's liquor license after serving a reported 50 minors one night in January. The Mexican restaurant then closed in May.

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There have been several food openings of late ... including (to recap) Ess-A-Bagel ... Guac NYC and Agios Greek Rotisserie ... In addition, Raclette is now open in its larger space on East 12th Street, the former home of Northern Spy.

Paris Baguette opening a location in Stuy Town

Signage is up in the shoppes of Stuy Town near 16th Street for an outpost of Paris Baguette.

The quickly expanding South Korea-based company has more than 3,000 corporate and franchised stores across multiple countries in Asia as well as in Europe. There are seven cafe locations currently in Manhattan.



No word on an opening date here for their cakes, pastries, sandwiches and coffee.

Summer 2016

[Photo in Tompkins Square Park from July by Derek Berg]

Just a few of the stories that we followed these past few months...

• The Yaffa Cafe mural was painted over

• People watched the President drive by

• Tompkins Square Park had a Prince-inspired piano


[Photo from June by Steven]

• Kanye West thought about playing a show at Webster Hall

• Other Music closed


[A tribute for Muhammad Ali on Avenue B]

• The Sock Man announced his return to St. Mark's Place

• ABC No Rio closed for now


[At ABC No Rio's last HardCore/Punk Matinee. Pic by Walter Wlodarczyk]

• The Kati Roll Company announced plans to open in the Stage space on Second Avenue

• The black crowned night heron continued to come out at... night in Tompkins Square Park

And we spent time watching Christo and Dora's new kids learning to hunt and fly in Tompkins Square Park...

[Photo from July by Bobby Williams]

• There were neighborhood alerts for the Third Street Rose Snipper ... and a flowerpot thief on St. Mark's Place.

• There were some storms...


[Photo from July 14 by Mike Brown]

• Shaun Martin was found guilty of murder in 2013 crash at East Village Farm and Grocery

• Small-format Target announced plan for 14th Street and Avenue A

• The new Astor Place got tables, chairs and umbrellas

• Permits were filed to demolish five buildings on 11th Street to make way for new hotel

• NYPD reportedly took action against heroin users in Tompkins Square Park

• The 111-year-old New York Central Art Supply closed

So long to the long, hot summer...

Today in ominous turkey vulture sightings over the East Village

Everything's fine! No worries!

Photo via Steven

Week in Grieview (Labor Day edition)

[Spontaneous combustion on Avenue A? Pic by Grant Shaffer]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

Reports: Man struck by FDNY ambulance on 14th Street and Second Avenue dies from his injuries (Tuesday)

$10 million expansion coming to the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in 2018 (Thursday)

Icon Realty buys building that housed Surma Books & Music for 98 years on Seventh Street (Friday)

Long-vacant 71 Fourth Ave. razed to make way for 10-story building (Monday)

Raclette moves from Avenue A to East 12th Street (Friday)

Ess-A-Bagel returns (Sunday)

Out and About with Hal Hirshorn (Wednesday)

Raphael Toledano selling 97 Second Ave. (Thursday)

NY Grill & Deli opens on Avenue A and 12th Street (Monday)

Poke Kitchen in the works for 14th Street (Monday)

Agios Greek Rotisserie now open on St. Mark's Place (Thursday)

Construction site at 421 E. 6th St. now with a 'weekly look ahead' (Tuesday)

Schnitz looks closed (Friday)

8-story condoplex to bubble up from former Discount Beer & Soda (Thursday)

Plywood signage arrives for Michelin-starred Tim Ho Wan on 4th Avenue and 10th Street (Monday)

Sidewalk bridge arrives outside 112-120 E. 11th St. (Wednesday)

215 E. 12th St. is now available as a rental for $40k per month (Wednesday)


[The results of a failed magic act on 3rd Street? Pic by JGH]

Not open lately: Atomic Wings on First Avenue; Edible Arrangements on St. Mark's Place (Wednesday)

Two years after closing, last East Village gas station finally looking ready for demolition (Tuesday)

A new garden for Eastville Gardens on Avenue C (Tuesday)

Aroma Kitchen & Winebar giving way to Misirizzi on Fourth Street (Monday)

Maison Kayser announces itself near Union Square (Tuesday)

... and on Aug. 21, police found a resident dead inside his East Second Street apartment. (He reportedly died of natural causes.) Not much was known about the man, who neighbors called the “box man” as he was often seen bringing boxes into his apartment each day.

A tribute remains in his honor on the building's front steps...

Steiner East Village's place in the NYC condo market

[Photo from Saturday]

The New York Times checked in yesterday with a piece on the NYC condo market... while the market for $100 million mansions in high rises along 57th Street may have vanished, "sales at the other end of the new development market have been brisk."

Prominently mentioned in the article is Steiner East Village, developer Douglas Steiner's condoplex rising on Avenue A at 12th Street. Not exactly giving it away here. The 7-story, 82-unit building officially at 438 E. 12th St. features homes starting at $1.1 million... with the 4-bedroom penthouse with 1,364 square feet of terraces that's asking $11.25 million.

[W]hile prices in the building, which average $2,100 a square foot, are hardly a bargain in the East Village, which has very little new development, they can seem inviting compared with other downtown neighborhoods. [Broker Fredrik] Eklund said the building has drawn a number of buyers from the West Village and TriBeCa, some of the most expensive areas in the city, where inventory under $5 million is hard to come by.

“I think we’re setting a new high market for condos in the East Village, but compared to the rest of downtown, people understand that they’re getting a value for Manhattan,” said Douglas C. Steiner, the chairman of Steiner NYC.

Amenities in Stei Town include a 24-hour lobby concierge, 50-foot long pool, spa, gym, library, playroom, parking and, in some cases, views of a 7-Eleven.

A moment in the ongoing East Houston Reconstruction Project

As the East Houston Reconstruction project creeps along, already three years behind schedule, EVG reader EV Rob says that he was getting tired of seeing the new medians as well as the East First Street pedestrian plaza filled with weeds and trash.

"I check the weekly bulletin they issue just to see what's coming. They listed those weed-ridden plots as accomplishments," EV Rob wrote us in an email.

And he wondered why the center medians from the Bowery to Sixth Avenue are usually maintained and manicured ... yet those from FDR to First Avenue are overgrown with weeds as tall as 6 feet in a few spots...







So EV Rob sent an email last Thursday to the project's community rep... Not only did Rob receive a response that day, he also saw that on Friday a crew started cleaning up the Greenstreets pedestrian plaza outside Punjabi Deli ...



The rep offered an apology and said that the DDC would clean up the medians "then turn them over to the Parks Department for all future maintenance."

EV Rob said that was impressed that someone got back to him... and took action.

Meanwhile! There was talk that the whole project might be wrapping up this month. However, DNAinfo reports that there is now a further delay in the the already-prolonged project. Spring 2017 is the new completion date.

The DDC has been reconstructing/replacing combined sewers, trunk main, water mains, catch basins, fire hydrants, sidewalks, etc., etc., along East Houston Street, from the Bowery to the FDR Drive. This work phase started in June 2010, when the Lakers beat the Celtics to win their 16th NBA Championship and "Jonah Hex" was playing in theaters.

Happy Labor Day.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Coming soon to East Houston: Construction, hell, rodent control stations

Long-threatened East Houston reconstruction starting this month

East Houston Street construction will be a living hell for an extra year

How you can help Punjabi Grocery & Deli stay in business

Never-ending construction continues to hurt Punjabi Grocery & Deli

Taxi Relief Stand arrives on Avenue A; Punjabi Grocery & Deli relieved

Sept. 4

Photo today outside the Tile Bar on First Avenue at Seventh Street via Vinny & O...

Looks as if the lights are still attached ...



Happy Labor Day Weekend!

A moment on 2nd Avenue today

Outside Moishe's Bake Shop on Second Avenue today via Derek Berg

You likely saw this closure coming

A closure to note from this past week... the psychic who had set up a psychic reading shop on East Sixth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B has closed after just six months of psychicing.

Despite a competitive $10 psychic reading deal and loyal fanbase nearby at Josie's, the business just couldn't sustain itself.

The space, which previously housed a (short-lived) organic dry cleaners-cafe, is now for rent.

Previously on EV Grieve:
You likely had a feeling of what is opening in this storefront on East 6th Street

Openings: Guac NYC, Chi Snack Shop & Roll It Up

A few recent openings around the neighborhood...



Guac NYC is up and running at 179 Avenue B between 11th Street and 12th Street. The Mexican restaurant is run by Vincent Sgarlato, who owns and operates Eleven B and 11B Express across Avenue B.

You can find the Guac menu (featuring 11 varieties of guacamole) here.

The address was home to Mercadito until March 2015.

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[Photo by Steven]

Chi Snack Shop opened this past week at 22 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue... the shop specializes in Asian snacks and sweets.

Mamoun's relocated from here to 30 St. Mark's Place in May.

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[Photo by Steven]

And Roll It Up ice cream has arrived at 65 E. Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue... the nautical-themed shop sells Hong Kong egg waffles and Thai ice cream rolls.

[Updated] Ess-A-Bagel's new location is now open

[Image via Facebook]

The wait is over for fans of Ess-A-Bagel ... the owners have announced via Facebook an opening date for their new store at 324-326 First Ave. at East 19th Street in Stuy Town.


Not sure about an opening time — one wasn't listed with the post. (Will add store hours when they are available.)

There have been a few delays. February was the first opening date. Co-owner David Wilpon had said that the delay in opening had to do with obtaining numerous city permits to build out their new space.

Ess-a-Bagel closed its 40-year-old shop on First Avenue at East 21st Street in March 2015 following a landlord dispute.

Updated 9/5

As several commenters noted, Ess-A-Bagel had its soft opening yesterday... and they are open today from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

I went by just after 8 and there were 16 people in line. (I did not stay....)



Previously on EV Grieve:
New 1st Avenue Ess-A-Bagel will have a TOASTER

Logan Hicks mural tagged again

The stenciled painting titled "Story of My Life" by Logan Hicks has been on the Houston/Bowery Mural Wall for less than two weeks... and the work has now been tagged twice in the last few days...

Goldman Properties, who owns the space, has been quick to clean up the tags... Will be interesting to see if this escalates to the level of Shepard Fairey hating in 2010.

The remaining unpaved portion of Cooper Square now with asphalt

Much to the delight of motorists, pedestrians, cyclists, skateboarders and exhaust systems, that last stretch of Cooper Square between Fifth Street and Fourth Street has its new asphalt ... (as well as Fourth Street between Broadway and Second Avenue)...

The crew left the equipment out in case you see any spots they missed. (The keys are hidden in a compartment in the smokebox.)



Maybe they should keep milling and paving... the rest of the Bowery could used a new roadway...



According to the Astor Place-Cooper Square Reconstruction Newsletter (PDF), workers will be putting the pavement markings on the new asphalt next week.

LinkNYC-Zoltar showdown on 2nd Avenue

The latest LinkNYC kiosk went up yesterday on Second Avenue near St. Mark's Place...near the watchful eye of Zoltar. Not so sure this will be a friendly rivalry. ("I see you over there...")

Mikey Likes It Rocks the Bells

[Photo by Greg Masters]

LL Cool J is the artist of the month on the gate at Mikey Likes It, 199 Avenue A near East 12th Street. Andre Trenier's 1980s-flavored mural coincides with the flavor of the month — Rock the Bells.

Friday's parting shot

Lovely sunset these evening... here's a shot of it via East 13th Street by EVG reader Helene Burke...