First hint of future development at the current home of B Bar & Grill

[EVG file photo]

On Tuesday, reps for the owners of 358 Bowery filed a work permit for this space on the southwest corner of the Bowery and Fourth Street.

The job description reads this way, in the all-caps style of the Department of Buildings:

REMOVE AND REPLACE ALL COMBUSTIBLE STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS WITH NON COMBUSTIBLE MATERIALS. CHANGE CONSTRUCTION CLASSIFICATION OF BUILDING FROM CLASS 3 NON-FIREPROOF (38 CODE) TO CLASS 1-E (1968 CODE).

Not the biggest breaking-news type of work order. What makes it interesting is the hint of future development on this corner that it offers: Prolific architect Morris Adjmi is listed as the applicant of record, per the DOB.



Adjmi's high-end residential projects in the neighborhood include 45 E. Seventh St., 363 Lafayette, 250 Bowery and 116 University Place. (He also designed the building that will eventually go up at 3 St. Mark's Place.)

As reported last fall, CB Developers paid $59.5 million for a stake in 358 Bowery — the current home of the B Bar & Grill. Hotelier Eric Goode, who owns B Bar, has been assembling air rights to build a larger project on this corner space.

This warehousing of parcels will likely also mean the end of B Bar & Grill, which opened in 1994. There aren't any announcements on the B Bar's website, though they are only taking reservations now through April 9.

Previously on EV Grieve:
CB Developers pay $59.5 million for an interest in 358 Bowery — current home of the B Bar & Grill and likely a new development

The former Hot Kitchen space is for rent

[Photo by Steven]

The for rent sign arrived back on Monday for 104 Second Ave., the former Hot Kitchen space at Sixth Street.

This officially brings a close to the revolving door of restaurants in the space spanning several months, from Hot Kitchen, the occupant since 2011 to, briefly, Sushi & Sake, to, also briefly, Jiang Diner, which returned to its original Fifth Street outpost.

Now a new tenant can give the space a go. The asking rent is $17,500 for the 1,500 square-foot main space (with another 600 square feet in the basement), per the listing.

Sexyflow moves on from Avenue A

After nearly five years at 205 Avenue A, the Sexyflow hair salon recently moved away... there's a note on the door for patrons interested in finding their undisclosed new location...



Sexyflow opened in July 2015 in the retail space of Icon Realty's expanded residential building here between 12th Street and 13th Street.

Thanks to Lola Sáenz for the photos last week!

The new-look 107 Avenue C

Workers recently painted over the Zum Schneider murals on the rolldown gates here on Avenue C and Seventh Street, as these photos by Steven show...



The Zum lettering came down on Feb. 27.

Local mural legend Chico created the gate art here back in August 2016...


[Photo from 2016 by Daniel Root]

The biergarten closed at the end of February after 20 years at 107 Avenue C. The co-op board here reportedly didn't offer the Zum team a lease renewal. Owner Sylvester Schneider has said he will reopen elsewhere in NYC.

No word on a new tenant for the space at No. 107, but someone always likes to say Starbucks.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Last Christmas for Zum Schneider on Avenue C: Biergarten on the move in 2020

• More details about Zum Schneider's February closing date on Avenue C

A visit to Russo’s Mozzarella & Pasta

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

As a longtime fan of Russo’s Mozzarella & Pasta I was excited to be invited to watch head cheesemaker and longtime store manager Jimmy Paleta create their delicious fresh mozzarella.


[Michael Paleta with his father Jimmy Paleta]

Store owner Jack Cangemi welcomed me in the classic Italian foods shop at 344 E. 11th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. We spend a few minutes looking at the varieties of fresh pastas and sauces as well as the meats and cheeses before I am told the cheese curds are patiently waiting for us in the basement.









We venture down the steep steps to a basement with low ceiling (no small feat considering Jack is 6-7!) to watch the cheesemaking process, which went surprisingly quickly.

Jimmy soaks the shredded curds in boiling water and stirs until the smooth, ropy stringy cheese comes together. He smiles as he creates individual pound-size cheeseballs and braided twists. Following a brief cold saltwater bath, everything is wrapped, brought upstairs, and made available for sale.















Russo’s has been in existence since 1908. Jack, who grew up on East 10th Street, bought the business in 1986. Jack used to work part-time at Russo’s as a kid and was toiling in an "unhappy, not-fun job at EF Hutton" when the former shop’s owner approached him about buying into the shop.

Jack answers my questions about the business ("lease is good, landlord is great") and speculates on whether his son, Anthony, will one day take over with Jack’s longtime — 25-plus years — managers. He shows me around the tiny shop pointing out his favorite food (roasted artichokes), while Jimmy’s son, counterperson Michael Paleta, slices up some of the fresh mozz that his father just made.



"No such thing as a typical customer — it's no longer just old Italian people, people who have shopped here for 50-plus years," Jack says. "Now we also have East Village artists and musicians, families from Stuy Town, NYU kids — it's a diverse crowd. People know and appreciate good food. And, I like to think, good prices."

Jack says that he doesn't have any expansion plans: having three stores is enough (the original location on 11th Street and two more in Park Slope). He says the plan is never to close. "Where else can you feed two people a homemade meal for $10 to $15, a dinner that includes pasta and sauce and a salad? You can’t even do that at McDonald’s," he says. "You should have a Big Jack, not a Big Mac!"


[Cangemi with Bobby Giurdanella, owner of Bella Tile]

You can keep up with Russo’s on Instagram.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A moment with Wayne Diamond as he checks out 'The Wayne Diamond' at Russo's


[Cangemi and Wayne Diamond]

More 99-cent pizza for Avenue A; plus hot dog

Blink and you may have missed this coming soon signage at 131 Avenue A between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street... Incoming: 99-cent pizza and hot dog (singular)...



This will mark the third 99-cent pizza shop on Avenue A between Houston and Ninth Street, joining Alphabet 99-Cent Fresh Pizza and 99¢ Pizza. (There's also FDR 99¢ Slice Pizza just off of A on Second Street.)

The latest 99-cent pizza shop takes over the sliver of a space last leased by Sorbet Cray Cray.

Thanks to Steven for the photos!

Tuesday's parting shot

Someone tossed a lotta locks on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place ... photo by Derek Berg...

Resurfacing the sullied sidewalk on 1st Avenue and St. Mark's Place

Back on Friday, we noted that workers put in a new sidewalk around the recently renovated storefront on the southwest corner of First Avenue and St. Mark's Place... and they left the freshly poured sidewalk unattended overnight. Which resulted in the top photo.

Anyway, here's a look at the sidewalk now ... workers were able to buff it out (or to smooth it over via, say, QUIKRETE® Concrete Resurfacer?)... thanks to Steven for these photos...





Previously on EV Grieve:
A new East Village walk of fame? (31 comments)

Impact of coronavirus concerns at local restaurants

[Photo of Nowon Chef Jae Lee by Stacie Joy]

Eater posts a long read on the impact that the coronavirus fears are having on the city's dining scene.

Here's an excerpt featuring East Village restaurateurs:

Jae Lee, of casual new East Village Korean restaurant Nowon, says business started going down about three weeks ago and has tapered since then, but it’s “not detrimental.”

Sakura Yagi of T.I.C., the restaurant group behind popular downtown Japanese spots such as Sobaya, says though foot traffic is “visibly lower” and some big groups have canceled, many people seem to be coming out “to maintain a sense of normalcy.”

Still, some worry that even a small dip is a sign of more to come. East Village impresario Ravi DeRossi — who owns 15 restaurants and bars, from the more formal Avant Garden to hit cocktail bars like Death & Co — says over the weekend, a quarter of reservations canceled day-of, with some saying they’re concerned about being in public places and others worried about not feeling well.

“This was the first weekend,” he says. “My feeling is every weekend, it’s going to get worse and worse.”

Read the full article at this link.

Ray celebrates his 87th birthday

Ray Alvarez, the hard-working proprietor of Ray's Candy Store, turned 87 on Jan. 25.

And as is tradition dating to 2007, a group of Ray's friends/regulars hosted a birthday extravaganza inside the shop at 113 Avenue A last night. (The festivities were a little later this year after Ray's recent hospitalization.)

This year's theme: the golden age of burlesque. And on hand last night to help Ray celebrate (in order of appearance below):

• Pearls Daily
• Peekaboo Pointe
• Gal Friday
• Stormy Leather
• The Maine Attraction

EVG contributor Stacie Joy shared these photos...





















... there was also a card and cake...





Happy birthday, Ray!

The Tuesday morning sky

Here's a view of the spectacular morning sky from around Fourth Avenue and 12th Street courtesy of Jeanne Krier.

As someone on Twitter said about today's sunrise: "I love when New York shows up."

130 E. 7th St. sells for more than $20 million

The 7-floor building on the southwest corner of Avenue A and Seventh Street has a new owner.

According to a news release, 130 E. Seventh St. (aka 109 Avenue A) sold to an undisclosed "overseas buyer" for $20.750 million.

The renovated building arrived on the market in September 2018 with an ask of $22.95 million.

As we noted back in August 2016, the building went through a luxury makeover, with residential rentals fetching up to $16,995 a month at that time. (Last August, the penthouse was rented for $20,000 per month, according to Streeteasy.)

The current retail tenants include Miss Lily's and Avenuea Pilates.

Public records show that the University of the Streets sold the building to Park Corner Development, LLC in September 2011 for $5 million.

[Updated] Bali Kitchen is back in action, but only on Saturdays and Sundays

[Reader photo from Saturday]

Several EVG readers happily noted that Bali Kitchen reopened on Saturday after a months-long renovation here at 128 E. Fourth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

No word at the moment about what upgrades were made at the quick-serve restaurant serving Indonesian cuisine.

In any event, the readers who shared the news were just glad that Bali Kitchen was back open.

Updated 3/11

Turns out that Bali Kitchen is only open on Saturday and Sunday now. Per the comments:

Hi everyone, I am a friend of the Bali Kitchen owners, Jazz and David. Jazz told me that Bali Kitchen is starting to open on Saturday and Sunday for now with a limited menu after they did some renovation back in February. During weekdays, Bali Kitchen offers catering for office or private parties. They noticed their walk-in traffic is only busy on the weekends, while their catering business is busy during weekdays so they pivoted their business model a little bit. Come support them on the weekends if you enjoy their food and can make it!

Their weekend hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A visit to Bali Kitchen on 4th Street

Doctor, doctor: Medical office set for this 3rd Avenue storefront

Renovations continue at 111 Third Ave. between 13th Street and 14th Street.

The DOB permits posted on the site note that the renovations are for medical offices...



With the arrival of a medical facility, you'll have to look elsewhere for a costume of a "Stranger Things" character: No. 111 served as a Spirit Halloween pop-up shop the past two years.

Until January 2018, this space was home to a Ricky's.

Xi'an Famous Foods has closed on St. Mark's Place

In a bit of a surprise, Xi'an Famous Foods has closed its outpost on St. Mark's Place near First Avenue.

There always seemed to be a crowd here for the shop's hand-pulled noodles, and it was the location where owner Jason Wang spent a lot of time as Xi'an continued to grow.

A note that arrived on the front door on Friday offered an explanation... turns out the lease was up, and Wang decided to move on... though it sounds as if a return to the East Village one day may be possible ...



Wang also tried a sit-down Chinese restaurant called Biang! at 157 Second Ave. (a doomed location) that closed after 15 months back in 2017.

Meanwhile, there are still 14 other Xi'an Famous Foods in the city to enjoy.