Yesterday (March 13) afternoon, EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by a variety of East Village shops to check on their inventory of food and cleaning supplies as residents prepare for the coronavirus outbreak.
The bigger stores (Target, Trader Joe's) had longer lines and emptier shelves of in-demand items, as you might expect. Some of the smaller shops, especially along First Avenue, still had ample products, such as Clorox wipes and ingredients for making your own hand sanitizer.
The first few photos of at Key Food, 52 Avenue A at Fourth Street...
All photos were of these store shelves as they appeared yesterday afternoon.
• H Brickman & Sons, 55 First Ave. between Third Street and Fourth Street
• Rite Aid, 81 First Ave. at Fifth Street (had very little inventory upon Stacie's visit)
• Saifee Hardware & Garden, 114 First Ave. at Seventh Street (They had a great supply, per Stacie)
• Commodities Health Food, 165 First Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street
• NYC Pharmacy 206 First Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street
• David Halladay Hill, aka the Fix-it Fairy, at H&W Hardware, 220 First Ave. between 13th Street and 14th Street
• Trader Joe's, 436 E. 14th St. near Avenue A
• Target, 500 E. 14th St. at Avenue A
• CTown Supermarket, 188 Avenue C between 11th Street and 12th Street
EVG reader Linda, who shared the top photo taken yesterday afternoon, noted that the FDNY arrived around 5:40 a.m.
"There were no flames and really no apparent smoke. But they spent 45 minutes on the roof via two hook & ladders," she said.
One building source said that it was an electrical fire, starting in the courtyard area in the rear of the building.
As of last night, East Village Wines, the retail tenant, was back open with some temporary lighting and a smokey aroma.
[Photo yesterday by Steven]
No word on the tenants. As you can see, windows on the upper floors have been boarded up...
You all probably heard about, or experienced, long lines at neighborhood grocery stores yesterday — from mid-afternoon into the evening as news of the novel coronavirus grew more troubling.
David Caplan at 1010 WINS paid a visit to Key Food on Avenue A...
And there was the zombie apocalypse at every Trader Joe's.
I went to Key Food on Avenue A this morning around 7:30 not sure what to expect...
It was pretty quiet. There were roughly 10 other shoppers there at the time: two people stocking up on pantry-type goods with the remainder buying items for the day — a half gallon of milk, a box of frozen waffles, etc.
At this hour, you could tell the supermarket had seen a lot of sales, though there were still plenty of items on the shelves ... except for: toilet paper. They were all out. Ditto for Clorox Wipes and other disinfectants. The paper towel supply was pretty low too. There weren't many Coca-Cola products left (at least in 12-pack-can form). However, there was a Coca-Cola truck out front making a delivery. The meat department was pretty picked over, though a worker was taking inventory to replenish the area. (There were also multiple packages of chicken feet left.)
Meanwhile, EVG contributor Steven did a spot check at Westside Market on Third Avenue at 12th Street... he notes that it was pretty well-stocked ... with workers putting out more groceries...
Some of the rice supply was hit and miss...
And we've received reports that the C-Town on Avenue C at 11th Street has an ample supply of toilet paper. For now.
Yesterday, ownership announced its expansions plans with a two-level outpost opening this fall at 64 Second Ave. between Third Street and Fourth Street...
[Photo by Steven]
Some details about the new Bronx Brewery East Village via their announcement:
The Bronx Brewery East Village will combine limited-release brewing, the brewery’s signature events, art & music from rising stars across NYC, and a special guest in the kitchen.
The space will bring the brewery’s goal of building community through a diverse, creative and inclusive environment to an iconic neighborhood long known for its creative energy.
The Bronx Brewery East Village will be designed as a communal space, no matter the time of day. From brunch to a beer with friends to a night of live DJs, its multilevel layout – including immersive seating in the pilot brewhouse – will feature a variety of ways to engage with the space.
Murals and revolving street art will cover the walls and hi-fi sound will saturate the space, creating a showcase for New York City’s top up-and-coming artists, DJ’s and live acts.
The space will also give the brewery another vehicle to give back to the local community, with the limited-release brew series set to be used as a recurring fundraising platform for community organizations in the South Bronx and East Village. Earlier this year, the Brewery supported Puerto Rico relief efforts in collaboration with Bronx performer Richie ‘Crazy Legs’ Colon, while the Brewery will continue to open its doors as a venue for charitable causes.
They opened the Taproom, Brewery and Backyard in the South Bronx nine years ago.
The Bronx Brewery team is planning a Meet the Neighbors party in the space before construction begins this spring. No word on a date just yet.
No. 64's retail space has been vacant for nearly four years. NYC Velo moved next door to No. 66 in the spring of 2016.
The building sold to an LLC with a West 22nd Street address for $6.95 million in March 2018, per public records.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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.
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]
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.
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...
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.”
