Signage alert: Bánh Mì Café on 10th Street

Bánh Mì Café, offering Vietnamese coffee and sandwiches, is coming soon to 241 E. 10th St. just west of First Avenue. 

It is primarily a to-go operation, though there is seating for a handful of patrons inside. 

Some signage remains from the previous business here, To East Sushi, which quietly closed earlier this year (photo below by Steven)...

To Eat Sushi offered fresh sushi and sashimi with sake and Japanese craft beer starting late summer 2023. 

There was no official word about the closure.

Signage alert: The Burger Guy on Avenue A

Signage is up for The Burger Guy (or "The Burger Guy"), arriving this summer at 147 Avenue A between Ninth Street and 10th Street. 

And not to be confused with Burger Man in Times Square. 

This will be the latest quick-serve establishment for the storefront since 2015, following Korean Street Foods ... Two Hands ... and Arepa Factory.

Weekend's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

From Friday evening, a stoop get-together at Sixth Street Specials. 

Read about the shop's future here.

Would Chelsea and Rick from season 3 of 'The White Lotus' live in the East Village?

Photo courtesy of HBO 

Season 3 of "The White Lotus" concludes tonight. 

In an attempt to get in on the news cycle (like that post!), Realtor.com throws out some ideas about where some of the season's characters might live (if they make it out of Thailand alive). 

The site speculates that a well-known East Village building on 14th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue may be home to Rick (Walton Goggins) and Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood).

• 224 E. 14th St Apt. 1 

Price: $3,250,000 

Chelsea and Rick: The two most popular characters on the show are an unusual pairing, with her youthful free spirit and his mysterious quest to get justice for his murdered father. Add to that the fact that both seem to live an entirely nomadic existence, and finding the perfect home for them becomes a near-impossible task. But if the duo are going to agree on anything, it would surely be laying down roots in New York's East Village.

Not only are there plenty of bars in which Rick can mull over his life choices, there is also a vibrant and very fashionable social scene in which Chelsea can find plenty of people her own age to spend time with. And, of course, this eccentric couple isn't going to settle for the average abode — so it seems only right that a funky East Village property serve as their permanent dwelling.

Previously on EV Grieve:

•  Once again, everyone's favorite 14th Street triplex with a garage door for a wall is back on the market

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a ballerina on Union Square by Derek Berg)... 

• Man sentenced for 2 March 2024 shootings in Tompkins Square Park (Wednesday) 

• Housing lottery is underway for 49 apartments at the all-new 280 E. Houston St. (Monday) 

• Al fresco comeback: City’s outdoor dining program returns (Tuesday) 

• How to vote on what neighborhood projects receive capital funding from City Council (Monday) 

• Pasta de Pasta making return engagement in larger 1st Avenue home (Tuesday) 

• Openings: Pavlo Mochi on Avenue B (Thursday) ... Openings: Kawa Omakase, 12 Matcha, Shaji BBQ, El Camino (Thursday) 

• Asphalt jungle: New pathways for the Tompkins Square Park field house (Wednesday) 

• On 3rd Avenue, the East Village’s slimmest storefront is up for rent (Wednesday) 

• The East Village is now home to Manhattan's first 2D restaurant (Friday) 

• Signage alert: Maza on 7th Street (Thursday) 

• Letter perfect at the Village East by Angelika (Thursday) 

• Where can you buy magazines now in the East Village? (Wednesday)

• Wisteria watch underway for spring 2025 (Tuesday)

• The 2 retail spaces at 106 Avenue B are for lease (Tuesday) 

• Stuy Town grocery starting to look more Whole Foods-y (Monday) ... Whole Foods Market signage going up now in Stuy Town (Wednesday) 

... and thanks to everyone who shared updated photos of the new Whole Foods Market signage on 14th Street — this one via Vinny & O...

Star's Revenge (and friends)

Photo and reporting by Stacie Joy 

From left on 2nd Street: Olive Faber and Emily Green 

This past Thursday night, Star's Revenge — Olive Faber and Emily Green — held a record release party at Berlin on Avenue A for the duo's latest single, "Me and My Friends." Joining them on the bill were Talli Sow and EVG faves Genre Is Death. 

"The Berlin show was the best Star's show yet — bringing a bunch of friends under one roof is what it's all about," Faber, who has played drums for Sunflower Bean, told us. "Our next show is April 16 at Mercury Lounge, and we're planning something really special for summer."

You can check out the band's music — spare, off-kilter indie pop that sticks with you — on all the usual streaming platforms. You can follow them on Instagram here.

Star's Revenge with friends...

1 night only: An art show at FTC on A

Unfortunately, we missed the one-night-only art show on Friday, adjacent to the FTC skate shop at 216 Avenue A between 13th Street and 14th Street. 

EVG reader Allan Yashin shared these photos... where the photography and artwork of more than 50 FTC family and friends were on display...

Some of the work may later be on display at the shop. 

FTC Skateboarding — a San Francisco-based brand that dates to 1986 — first opened here as a pop-up shop in the fall of 2023. 

FTC is open daily from noon to 7 p.m.

Sunday's opening shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

Inside the All Saints Ukrainian Orthodox Church on 11th Street east of Third Avenue...

Saturday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

Unable to attend today's Hands Off! rally starting in Bryant Park, these residents — (from left) Lois Weaver, Peggy Shaw and Charlie Spencer — held their own protest on Fourth Street...

You can check out the the 6th and B Garden this weekend

Garden prep photo last week by Stacie Joy 

The 6th & B Garden on the SW corner of Sixth Street and Avenue B is holding its first open hours of the season — today and tomorrow (Saturday and Sunday) from 1-6 p.m. 

The garden, which started in 1983, also hosts various events during the year. Check out their website here... or Instagram here.

EVG Etc.: New mixed-income housing for the LES; an expanded car-free Earth Day

Photo by Stacie Joy 

Resources for immigrants at the Tompkins Square Library branch (and at other NYPL branches) 

Local stories of interest from other sources this past week include... 

• In the works for Essex and Delancey: mixed-income housing on the former site of the Essex Market plus an ADA-compliant subway stop (amNY ... press release) 

• $2 billion in federal funding for NYC schools at risk amid Trump administration's DEI threats (Chalkbeat) 

• Today's "Hands Off!" anti-Trump protest — also happening nationwide — starts at 1 p.m. in Bryant Park (The Times ... Axios) 

• Now-independent Mayor Adams bashes Democrats at mayoral forum (The City) 

• Meanwhile, law enforcement investigations of some of the mayor's closest aides continue (The City) 

• A list of all the candidates for NYC mayor (City & State) 

• Mayor Adams lets Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy talk shit about NYC subways during "a media and press clown show" at the Broadway-Lafayette Street station (Streetsblog) 

• Impact of tourists avoiding the U.S. being felt in NYC (Gothamist) 

• About the "largest-ever" car-free Earth Day in NYC (amNY ... DOT press release) 

• Two new NYC bars will feature women's sports, including Wilka's on the Bowery (Eater... previously on EVG) 

• A rundown of the food at the recently opened Bananas on First Avenue between 10th and 11th (The Infatuation ... previously on EVG) 

• At Performance Space New York's 2025 Gala on First Avenue and Ninth Street (Document Journal) 

• RIP, legend: The most-skated part of Hamilton Fish Park has been demolished (Quartersnacks) 

• Check out the early films of John Sayles (Metrograph) 

... we don't know where they are moving, but Karma Books on Third Street between Avenue A and First Avenue is having a moving sale all month...

 

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Saturday's opening shot

Rear building sky view from the Lower East Side... drizzle to rain off and on all weekend long, per the weather people.

'Rent' control

 

The London-based Snapped Ankles recently released its fourth record, the appropriately titled Hard Times Furious Dancing.

The video here is for "Pay the Rent." 

St. Mark’s Place branching out with 3 new trees

Photos by Jacob Ford 

Workers today are planting three new trees on St. Mark's Place at Third Avenue, adjacent to the new 9-story office building...

Several trees were cut down here during construction (we covered this here). 

Workers also removed a tree from outside 5 St. Mark's Place. No sign of a replacement here just yet...

The East Village is now home to Manhattan's first 2D restaurant

Shirokuro has debuted at 103 Second Ave. at Sixth Street. 

The omakase spot also marks the neighborhood's (and Manhattan's!) first two-dimensional restaurant, courtesy of the owners of the now-closed Boka (RIP late 2024) at 9 St. Mark's Place and Noflex at 286 Fifth Ave. 

The interior design combines white walls and backgrounds with black-rimmed detailing. 

Two-dimensional restaurants have been a thing dating back to Seoul's Greem Cafe in 2017. Kravings Kafe was the first 2D cafe in Brooklyn (and the five boroughs).

And to no surprise, Shirokuro is going big on Instagram...

 

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Per Secret NYC: 

The entire space will transport you into the pages of a storybook with the illusion of a two-dimensional world, from the tables to walls and beyond. The 2D effect comes to life with hand-painted details, causing even the very real flower pots to appear flat. The trip downstairs to the bathroom remains a two-dimensional experience too. 

And maybe you meet the hunky motorcycle sidecar racer of your dreams here!

   

Shirokuro is open daily from noon to 4 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m. 

The space was previously the very three-dimensional Mighty Quinn's BBQ.

Night and day

A springtime look inside the New York City Marble Cemetery on Second Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

Letter perfect

Photos by Stacie Joy 

We spotted Kash updating the film titles at Village East by Angelika yesterday on Second Avenue at 12th Street ... the theater's south-facing signage features their special and classic screenings...

It's one of NYC's last analog marquees.

Openings: Pavlo Mochi on Avenue B

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Pavlo Mochi debuted at 199 Avenue B between 12th Street and 13th Street this week. 

I met owner Pavlo Servetnyk ...

The colorful cafe specializes in fresh mochi, distinct from the traditional Japanese frozen variety. This version has a soft, mousse-like center with a cream and cream cheese blend.

So far, the top-sellers have been the pistachio-raspberry and mango-passion fruit/vanilla combos.

Coffee drinks and soft-serve ice cream are also on the menu.

Open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. You can follow the shop on Instagram here.

Signage alert: Maza on 7th Street

Photo by Stacie Joy 

At 102 E. Seventh St., a coming-soon sign is up for Maza Artisanal Mexican Food on the south side of the block between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

We don't know anything about who's behind the business. 

Maza replaces Vintage Cafe, which later morphed into a ghost kitchen of some sort.

Openings: Kawa Omakase, 12 Matcha, Shaji BBQ, El Camino

• Kawa Omakase, 37 First Ave. between First Avenue and Second Avenue 

Kawa features a 14-course menu for $88 in the smallish space with 13 counter seats and several tables "for a more private setting."

Reservations here. Instagram here.

• 12, 54 Bond St. at the Bowery 

The lines have arrived while this two-story matcha cafe is still in soft-open mode. 

Per Grub Street: 

In addition to in-store tastings, an iced matcha latte will likely be the main attraction at 12. The tea is whisked under a spotlight and poured over milk — Battenkill for dairy, Califia Barista Blend for oat — for a drink that is grassy, creamy, and spring-pea-like in its savoriness. 

Current hours: Wednesday-Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Website here. Insta here.

• Shaji BBQ, 11 E. Seventh St. just east of Cooper Square 

This one came in via the EVG tipline... and we don't know much about it, including if it's related to the Shaji BBQ in Flushing. (The light said OPEN, but the place was empty, with staff included, the other night.)

Recent concepts here include Four Four South Village and Le Sia. The space was home to Surma Books & Music for 98 years until June 2016.

• El Camino, 135 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street 

The bar via Will Wyatt (Mister Paradise) and Edie Ugot from Electric Burrito is up and running here next door to their recently opened HighLife. 

There's a small cocktail and wine list, as well as snacks. And Guinness on draft.

It opens at 4 p.m. during the week and 2 p.m. on weekends, with a midnight close. No reservations. Instagram here.