Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
The East Village location of the West Village standby Corner Bistro is expected to open on Sixth Street and Avenue A sometime in September. (First reported here.)
On Saturday, we met with owner Elizabeth McGrath, who has been busy preparing the space — inside and out.
She cleared up one mystery. Out front, she's the one maintaining and redoing the tree bed (noted here and here), planting a curly willow she raised from a sprout along with evergreens, and building a wooden planter.
She also reached out to artist Ian Dave Knife about the crocodile tree trunk. With his permission, she plans to add a plaque and care for the piece going forward.
McGrath, who is also a sculptor, has been hands-on with the renovation — polishing acid-etched windows, scrubbing away graffiti, and painting the temporary "Corner Bistro coming soon" signage herself.
Her husband, artist and muralist Donald "Don" McGrath, is painting a cherry blossom mural outside. (Don is a former SNL artist who worked on Robert Smigel's "TV Funhouse" and "The Dana Carvey Show.")
Corner Bistro opened in 1961 on West Fourth Street in the West Village. Elizabeth — daughter of Corner Bistro's original owners, Bill and Lorraine O'Donnell — took over the business in 2015.
The space
The restaurant will have two entrances: the Avenue A side will lead into the bar, and a new Sixth Street door will open into the dining area.
There is also a small, separate space, officially 501 E. Sixth St., that is for lease.
Inside, there's a new white oak bar, black-and-white tiled floors in the bar area, sanded wood planks in the dining room, and copper, tin, and mirror accents. (The interior isn't quite ready for more photos.)
Seating will include a banquette in the back, a large round table up front, smaller rounds, and two-tops. Downstairs will be used for storage. Bathrooms and the bar are ADA-compliant.
"The new bistro will pay attention to history, but it cannot replicate the original Bistro," she said, mentioning that Yoko Ono once waited tables there.
The menu
Like the West Village original, the East Village Corner Bistro will serve its well-known burger. This location has a kitchen, allowing McGrath to add menu items like meatloaf, chopped steak with onions, a mushroom burger, and a brunch service.
Coffee will come from Aldo's Coffee on Long Island, which will also be sold by the pound.
Other details
The bar-restaurant has a full liquor license until 4 a.m. daily (a temporary license will be in place until the permanent one arrives).
Elizabeth McGrath said she wants the restaurant to honor the building's history and preserve the East Village character.
The retail space was once home to Sidewalk, the restaurant, bar, and live music venue — and host of the Antifolk Festival — that closed in February 2019 after a 34-year run.
"The East Village has a great vibe, and lots of dogs. We're dog people," she said. "We loved getting to know our neighbors at Boris & Horton [the dog cafe at 195 Avenue A] and are interested in maybe having an adoption event."
