According to the Post, Whole Foods signed a lease for a new store at the former Associated Supermarket space on 14th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.
The tabloid did not know what type of market this might be for the 20,000-square-foot space, where renovations have been taking place in recent months. There's the usual Whole Foods as seen west on 14th Street, or one of its smaller-format Whole Foods Market Daily Shops set to arrive in NYC later this year.
As you may recall, in February 2021, Stuy Town management informed residents that Chef's Local Harvest, a 10,000-square-foot grocery store, would open in this space ... from the father-son duo Paul and Aaron Fernandez, who helped create the Union Market chainlet (as seen on Avenue A and Houston) and Ideal Marketplace in Chelsea.
Associated closed in December 2019. Joseph Falzon, the store's owner, previously told Crain's that a confluence of factors had cut business nearly in half. For starters, construction on 14th Street for the L train obscured the supermarket with a 12-foot fence for nearly two years.
This block of 14th Street is a chain-friendly corridor (despite the ongoing quality-of-life issues) with a Wingstop, European Wax Center. Domino's, Trader Joe's, Popeyes and Target.
Multiple readers pointed out that the J. Crew opened this past Thursday on the SE corner of Lafayette and Bond. (We first noted the signage alert in May 2023.)
According to WWD, this JC is "primarily focused on the brand's men’s collection but with some space for select women's items." This outpost includes a Jack's Coffee branch.
This debut comes after the bespoke J. Crew men's shop with a coffee shop on the SW corner of the Bowery and Bleecker closed at the end of 2023 after 15 months.
Back to WWD:
Over the last several years J. Crew, amid difficult sales trends, cut its store count almost in half, from more than 200 to about 112. But in a December 2023 interview with WWD, J. Crew Group chief executive officer Libby Wadle underscored the importance of brick-and-mortar stores, saying, "The best representation of the brand needs to be in the stores. It's how we are merchandising the stores today. It’s how we are thinking about investment in our stores. We have a smaller footprint, but these stores are in our best markets. We will invest in them to make sure they feel really fresh."
In an Instagram post about the closure, the owners of the Japanese Yoshoku restaurant announced a new concept:
... as one chapter ends, another begins. We are thrilled to share that we will be reopening as a wine bar (aiming to open in the middle of August). Our new venture will allow us to continue our passion for hospitality in a fresh and exciting way. We invite you to join us in this new journey, where we will offer a carefully curated selection of fine wines and a warm, inviting atmosphere.
Eater's Robert Sietsema gave Aoi high marks ... and it brought stability to an address that had seen a whirlwind of restaurants in a short time, including 'Merica.
• First sign of Moody Tongue on St. Mark's Place (Monday)
... in our Boulton & Watt post this week, we noted that the brand is opening an outpost in Terminal 4 at JFK... EVG reader Joe noted later that the Brindle Room (11th and C) has a spot in Terminal 7...
Updated 7/29: See the end of the post for a statement from Starbucks HQ. The SB sign has also been removed from the retail space. Photo here.
Updated: Through a spokesperson, ASG Equities, the landlord at 21 Astor, said that they offered Starbucks a lease extension at exactly the same rent:
“ASG is appreciative of Starbucks’ decades-long tenancy at 21 Astor. We are sad they chose to leave, even as we offered a lease extension that would have allowed them to remain in their existing space at the exact same rent. This corner on top of the Astor Place subway has extensive glass frontage, tremendous signage, and incredible foot traffic. We are quite confident that this space will be of interest to a wide range of community-oriented retailers.”
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Starbucks on Astor Place will close its doors for good after service today, ending nearly 30 years here outside the entrance to the downtown 6 at Lafayette. (H/T to the tipster who first shared this development.)
According to management, "the landlords jacked up the rent so astronomically high that even corporate Starbucks couldn't pay it." The manager said that all employees were offered relocation options with other Starbucks. (We also contacted the Starbucks HQ in Seattle for comment.)
The manager went on to say that he would miss this location's regulars and being part of their day.
As of yesterday, the Astor Place shop had already scrubbed the brand's NYC location map...
Starbucks closed its unionized location on North 7th Street location in Williamsburg on June 30, per Greenpointers.
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With its floor-to-ceiling windows lined with high stools, the outpost was popular for its ample people-watching opportunities ... as well as convenient public restrooms. (Before the 2018 renovations, a one-star Yelp review from here noted: "The bathrooms look like they run a cockfighting ring out of them.")
Despite this closure, Starbucks still has smaller outlets on Avenue A at St. Mark's Place, First Avenue at Third Street, and First Avenue at 13th Street (not to mention locations on Union Square and University Place).
Effective July 29, 2024, our Lafayette & 8th St store, also known as Astor Place, in Manhattan will close permanently. We have engaged Workers United to collaborate on the next steps, including transfer options, for the 17 partners currently employed at this location.
As a standard course of business, we continually evaluate our store portfolio, using various criteria to ensure we are meeting the needs of our customers. We do not take the decision to close stores lightly. Our relationship with our customers is deeply personal, and we are honored to have been on Astor Place.
We hope our customers will use the Starbucks Store Locator to find other nearby locations.
Longtime East Village resident (and EVG reader) Sue Lashley shared information for the following post. Disclosure: She is married to Disturbed Furniture drummer Mick Oakleaf.
In the early 1980s, the art-rock band Disturbed Furniture made an impact on New York's downtown club scene at storied venues such as Club 57, Mudd Club and Peppermint Lounge. They shared stages with the likes of the Psychedelic Furs, Stranglers, The Waitresses, and The Go-Go's, toured regionally, and released well-received music and videos.
Their sound was born from the noir cabaret vibe of the East Village scene and the sensuality of contemporary urban sounds, merging the art world and punk sensibilities with grittier dance aesthetics.
They are back in the East Village for one of their rare shows at 8:45 p.m. on July 30 at the Parkside Lounge, 317 E. Houston St. at Attorney. Doors open at 7 p.m. The free show includes sets by Jennifer Blowdryer and The Bad Flowers, featuring Billy Ficca of Television.
Disturbed Furniture reunited in 2019 to record new music and perform several annual shows. The impetus to reactivate Disturbed Furniture came
from MoMA’s major 2017 retrospective, which documented the band's old stomping ground, "Club 57: Film, Performance, and Art in the East Village, 1978-1983."
After meeting with the curators, lead singer Alexa Hunter agreed to contribute the group's music videos and their single cover art to the exhibition and appear in the accompanying catalog. MoMA not only acquired Disturbed Furniture's music videos proper but also a series of Hunter's super-8 films and other footage shot in 1979. Their 7-inch 45rpm record, Information/Alors Allez, is now sought after by record collectors. It was produced, engineered and mixed by Grammy winner Steve Remote, who runs Aura Sonic Ltd.
"I can't believe we’ve received big offers from collectors for an original pressing of our single of "Information/Alors Allez" in mint condition,” said Hunter, "and that was before it became part of MoMA's permanent collection. The cover photo was taken in my tiny East Village tenement two buildings down from the Hells Angels clubhouse."
Galvanized by the MoMA show, Hunter began tracking down band members still living in NYC and assembled a core line-up of original members featuring guitarist Jorge Arévalo Mateus, now in Brooklyn, and drummer Mick Oakleaf, who is still an East Village resident. Guest bass players include Shin Sakaino, Felice Rosser and Juan Sebastian Monsalve.
In 2019, Disturbed Furniture released a new five-song EP, Continuous Pleasures, on Arevarc Records. Produced by the core group of Mateus, Hunter and Oakleaf, it was recorded at Mighty Toad Recording and The Honey Jar in Brooklyn, with additional tracks done at Blighty Music Studios in Los Angeles. Continuous Pleasures features new recordings of some of the group's 1980s material and several new songs. The cover art is by Hunter's friend, Kenny Scharf.
This year, German label Mad Butcher Classics reissued the single "Information/Alors Allez" using a reproduction of the original cover art. The band is currently recording new songs for future release.
Annual appreciation to the community gardeners (and Tile Bar regulars) who keep this pedestrian safety island garden looking so good here on First Avenue at Seventh Street...
The local band Homade released its first music video this past week... check out the punky twang of "Blue Fish" above... and follow @homade.nyc for updates about live shows, etc.
"The Big Gay Jamboree," described as "a new comedy trapped inside of a musical," is up next at the classic Orpheum Theatre on Second Avenue between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place. (H/T Steven!)
Tickets have been on sale since the spring... the marquee just hasn't been changed yet. Previews start Sept. 14 ... with an Oct. 1 opening day and a Jan. 19 close.
The synopsis!
Stacey wakes up after a night of heavy drinking and finds herself trapped in an Off-Broadway Golden Age musical. Forced to put her musical theatre degree in action, Stacey has to figure out how to escape this singing and dancing prison in front of a live audience.
"Stomp" ended its 29-year reign at the Orpheum in January 2023. The most recent shows by Rachel Bloom and Eddie Izzard saw the Orpheum return to its roots in the 1980s and early 1990s when it hosted Off-Broadway productions like Sandra Bernhard's "Without You I'm Nothing," Eric Bogosian's "Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll" and John Leguizamo's "Mambo Mouth."
The East Village will soon be home to another Indian dining option.
The owners of Gazab on Essex Street (just south of Houston) are opening a new venture called Jhakaas at 202 Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street.
According to the Commercial Observer, Gazab Executive Chef and founder Vamshi Adi will also be running Jhakaas.
The 3,000-square-foot space hadn't been on the market for very long: Kōbo by Nai quietly closed in the spring after arriving in late 2022.
Hottie Lash is the new tenant for the second-level retail space on the northwest corner of St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue (133 Second Ave., aka 37 St. Mark's Place).
While it sounds like a solid roller derby name, this is a salon for eyelash extensions, which takes over the address from Taiji Body Work.
Previously, 8-Bit and Up, the retro video shop, was upstairs before moving to Third Street in the fall of 2013.
And as we've posted before... this 1990s upstairs-downstairs combo...
The above photo is by Barry Joseph and was published in Ada Calhoun's book "St. Marks Is Dead."
There's a recent name change at 245 E. 14th St., where Mealz is now going as Saperavi here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. (Thanks to the EVG readers who shared this.)
The new signage better showcases what's available — a "Georgian eatery and wine bar." (From the outside, Mealz had more of a generic cafe vibe, and the quality took some people by surprise.)
Like Mealz, Saperavi has an all-day cafe menu featuring several Georgian entrees. Hours: 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
ICYMI: Given the chance of rain tonight, the free screening of "Little Fugitive" in Tompkins Square Park has been rescheduled... to Aug. 5 at 8 p.m.
RESCHEDULED! Due to inclement weather, we have rescheduled our showing of the Little Fugitive for August 5th at 8:00 PM. See you there! pic.twitter.com/3FDXvMQONE
After screenings in NYC and elsewhere over the past year, "Make Me Famous" is finally playing in the neighborhood where the documentary is set — the East Village.
Starting on Saturday, Village East by Angelika will screen the film three times at the theater on Second Avenue and 12th Street.
"Make Me Famous" is:
... a madcap romp through the 1980s NYC art scene amid the colorful career of painter, Edward Brezinski, hell-bent on making it. What begins as an investigation into Brezinski's legacy and mysterious disappearance becomes a sharp, witty portrait of NYC’s 1980s downtown art scene resulting in an irresistible snapshot of an unknown artist who captures the spirit of an iconic era.
Director Brian Vincent and Producer Heather Spore will be at the following screenings with these special guests:
• July 27, 5 p.m.
Photographer Marcia Resnick, photographer Josef Astor, archival cinematographer Jim C
• July 31, 7 p.m.
Filmmaker and photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and curator and archivist Sur Rodney (Sur)
• Aug. 1, 7 p.m.
Artist Peter McGough and Basquiat's first gallerist Annina Nosei
Brezinski and CLICK models for NY TALK Magazine, 1984, photo by Jonathan Postal
From 543 E. Sixth St.: B-Side Gallery Opening, 1984, photo by Gary Azon
In the past year, I've been in touch with Spore and Vincent (past posts here). I asked them both to comment on the film's EV premiere.
Heather
Our dream was to open in the neighborhood, but when you do your own theatrical run with no help from a distributor, you have to roll with the punches. Our indie documentary has had an incredible yet unprecedented run in theaters going now for over a year.
Back in the 1980s, indie cinemas were more likely to take chances on local filmmakers, and films often had long runs. Does anybody remember "Basket Case"? First-time director Frank Henenlotter shot it locally in 1982 and ran for several years at the Waverly Cinema (now IFC).
"Make Me Famous" has defied the odds in this current film landscape and maintained a presence in New York City for over a year. We might very well be the most successful film you have never heard of! I can't believe it took us a whole year to screen in the neighborhood we dreamed of starting at!
The major New York press turned their backs on us because we had an unconventional run. This was surprising to us, considering this really is a love letter to the creativity that burst out of the Lower East Side in the 1980s. Although it would have been nice to be in The New York Times — we made it without them.
I feel like our journey of DIY distribution has been very apropos, considering the artists of 1980s East Village followed the same path, really. They did it themselves, and look at what they accomplished!
Brian
I am a Juilliard-trained actor who was too young to experience the 1980s scene. I discovered it through books like Cynthia Carr's "Fire in the Belly" about David Wojnarowicz. So, I looked for a story that explores this era, when young people made their own scene after being rejected by the mainstream.
In the 1980s, NYC was broke, rent was dirt cheap, and anyone could act out their bohemian fantasies — and they did by the hundreds! As actor Eric Bogosian recalls, "The premium was on who could do the most creative things."
In "Make Me Famous," thanks to the artists and gallerists who lived it, we return to "the scene of the crime," as the artists like to call it. And thanks to their fantastic video/artwork and photographs, the audience is immersed in the gritty action. Only we take an unusual path. Instead of documenting the famous artists for the millionth time, our story revolves around an obscure, mysterious, and charismatic painter from the scene, Edward Brezinski, whose career, in many ways, parallels the rise and fall of the scene.
The doc is not intended to be a promo but rather an opportunity to experience what it was like to be a striving artist back then. It was a NYC moment that captured the world's attention, produced some of its biggest stars, and then exploded into history like a supernova.
