Photos by Stacie Joy
In recent years Avenue B has been a solid corridor for trick-or-treaters ... and yesterday's Halloween festivities were no exception, as EVG contributor Stacie Joy discovered...
Tuesday, November 1, 2022
Owners of Joyface to debut HiLot this week on Avenue C
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
The team behind Joyface is opening a new lounge-restaurant this week at 102 Avenue C between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.
HiLot is the name of the cozy and well-appointed space that will serve various drinks and shareable plates (the cold spinach dip in a pumpernickel bread bowl is said to be quite good).
The place is named for Joyface co-owner Jennifer Shorr’s uncle, a prominent figure in the San Fransisco Jewish gay liberation movement of the 1960s through the 80s. His drag name was Lottie, and his nickname was HiLot, short for HI LOTTIE!, which his friends would yell when he walked into a room.
The HiLot team includes (from left) Shorr, bartender Carter Wilsford and Joyface co-owner Brian Powell ...
HiLot takes over from the rather generic Avenue C Restaurant, which went dark in late 2019. Joyface, with the 1970s vintage decor on the SE corner of Avenue C and Seventh Street, opened in December 2018.
A fundraising raffle to help Lower East Side families this Thanksgiving
Organizers say their goal is to raise $4,000 for Thanksgiving food for Lower East Side-based families.
Via the EVG inbox:
The funds raised from this online event will go directly toward purchasing Thanksgiving food for the Loisaida Inc. Center's annual Thanksgiving Turkey Drive, which will take place this year on Nov. 21. During last year's fundraiser, we raised $1,541. We were able to provide 500 turkeys to members in need in our community.This year, with food costs rising, we want to give even more and have a goal of $4,000! Nov. 1 through Nov. 15, raffle tickets starting from $1-$20 will be on sale. You can purchase tickets to win any of the 40-plus prizes, which total nearly $5,000 in value! Raffle prizes include items and gift cards from local small businesses in the Lower East Side/East Village.
The former Nomad space is for rent on 2nd Avenue
Last month, owner Mehenni Zebentout announced that he was closing Nomad, his low-key Mediterranean and North African restaurant to take a much-needed break.
As he wrote on Instagram: "This is not goodbye; more like stay tuned for what's next."
Whatever he does next won't be from this space. The closing announcement also coincided with a notice that the landlord was now in legal possession of the premises (photo by Stacie Joy) ...
Monday, October 31, 2022
6 posts from October
• A look at Thayer, a new cafe-bookstore opening soon on Avenue B (Oct. 27)
• Unveiling Donald Suggs Jr. Way on 6th Street and Avenue B (Oct. 18)
• About those fireworks last night on the East River (Oct. 13)
• Remembering Manny the Peddler (Oct. 12)
• Long-vacant P.S. 64 now being pitched for medical use, educational purposes (Oct. 5)
• Exclusive: This is the new tenant for the former Gem Spa space (Oct. 3)
[Updated] At the last night of the Pyramid Club on Avenue A
Photos by Stacie Joy
Updated 11/28
On Nov. 22, Nick Bodor (the Library, Cake Shop, etc.) shared with us his plans for Baker Falls at 101 Avenue A. The old Pyramid will also feature a collaboration with the Knitting Factory.
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The Pyramid Club ended its decades-long run on Saturday night with a Halloween Dance Party Spooktacular.
On Oct. 19, management announced via Instagram that the iconic venue at 101 Avenue A between Sixth Street and Seventh Street would be closing at the end of this month.
The club had been dark since March 7, 2020, at the onset of the pandemic. In the spring of 2021, the Pyramid announced that it would not be reopening ... before making a comeback at the end of July 2021, opening on weekend nights in subsequent months.
EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by the two-level space early on Saturday as revelers were starting to arrive and choosing between the 80s Night Dance Party on the main floor or an industrial Halloween with Defcon downstairs.
... by 10:30, the line for entry was a block long...
Overall, the mood was pretty upbeat for the last night at the Pyramid. People were alternately crying and laughing/dancing.
Meanwhile, there are ample rumors that this won't be the end of the address as an entertainment venue.
Opening in 1979, the Pyramid ushered in an era of "socially-conscious drag performance, led by the likes of the Lady Bunny, Lypsinka and RuPaul," as Village Preservation once put it. In an oral history of the space, Tricia Romano noted: "[The Pyramid] served as a safe haven for freaks, geeks, weirdos, queers, and dreamers to come together and create. Sometimes it was bad; sometimes it was beautiful. But it was never boring."
Key Food is back to 24/7
Photos by Stacie Joy
The new hours went into effect yesterday...
During the worst days of the pandemic in 2020, the store reduced its hours... and later kept a modified schedule due to challenges in hiring enough employees to fill the shifts ... as well as security (shoplifting) issues. 
No word yet on what to expect from the overnight playlist.
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