Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a "Barbieheimer"-era photo from the Village East by Angelika on Second Avenue ... Or "Barbenheimer" if you prefer)...

• RIP Big Lee (Tuesday) 

 • When a young red-tailed hawk gets stuck in the airshaft outside your kitchen window (Friday) 

•  The Cube returns to Astor Place — and ready to spin again (Tuesday) ... When the Cube returned to Astor Place late Monday night (Wednesday) 

• At the last night of Ink on A (Sunday) 

• A visit to Ella Funt on 4th Street (Friday) 

• Details about some upcoming shows via the Knitting Factory at Baker Falls on Avenue A (Thursday) 

• Report: Metropolitan Playhouse is closing after 30-plus years of productions (Wednesday) 

• 'Star Wars' parody at the Orpheum is joining the dark side after Sunday (Thursday)

• The Avenue C Laundromat has a new owner (Tuesday) 

• Suki Japanese Kitchen hasn't been open lately on St. Mark's Place (Wednesday) 

• Panda Express debuts on 14th Street and 1st Avenue (Monday) 

• The 1st Manhattan outpost of Ayat shapes up on 7th Street and Avenue C (Wednesday) 

• On the CB3-SLA docket: A new home for the Boiler Room; a pizzeria for Avenue B (Monday)

• So what's next for this block of 2nd Avenue? (Monday)

• Avant Garden reopens in new Avenue A home (Tuesday) 

• Target makes it signage official on Union Square (Thursday) 

• Openings: Tacombi on 12th Street (Monday) 

• PSA: The original Russ & Daughters Appetizers is closed for a few weeks for renovations (Thursday) 

• Say high to the latest retail tenant at this 2nd Avenue storefront (Tuesday) 

• Full reveals: 650 E. 6th St. (Thursday) 

... and in concert news... U.K.-based singer-songwriter Declan McKenna played a sold-out show at Webster Hall on Friday night... and the line on 11th Street started early... (photos by Stacie Joy)...

Meanwhile, on Wednesday night, local EVG faves Hello Mary played a sold-out Bowery Ballroom as the trio continues to tour in support of headliner Blondshell this summer...

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Follow EVG on Instagram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.

On the CB3-SLA docket: A new home for the Boiler Room; a pizzeria for Avenue B

Photos by Stacie Joy

Here's a look at a few applicants who will appear before Community Board 3's SLA committee this evening. (See below for info on watching online — or in person.) 

 • Lollo Ristorante, Pizzeria & Bar (Lollo LLC), 27 Ave B (op) 

We mentioned this pending arrival back in April.

A group of partners originally from Northern Italy are behind the new establishment, Lollo Italian Restaurant. (Lollo is short for Lorenzo, the chef and one of the partners.) 

They are taking over the former Solo Pizza space between Second Street and Third Street. Solo closed last September after 15 years in business courtesy of a rent hike.

Application here. (PDF)

• Cozy Cafe (Cozy Cafe Corp), 43 E 1st St (upgrade to op) 

The hookah bar is looking to upgrade its liquor license. Application here.

• The Boiler Room 45 (JBMT Tavern Corp), 45 2nd Ave (op) 

After a two-plus-year court battle over pandemic-related back rent payments, the Boiler Room will leave its home of 34 years at 86 E. Fourth St. near Second Avenue later this year. 

Ownership has signed a lease for a space at 45 Second Ave. between Second Street and Third Street, previously home to the Moroccan specialty shop Timbuktu.

Read our post about the Boiler Room's upcoming closure at this link. Find their application here.

• San Marzano (Evir Corp), 117 2nd Ave (upgrade to op) 

The 11-year-old brunch-and-pasta spot on Seventh Street and Second Avenue wants to upgrade its liquor license. Application here. 

Items not heard at Committee 

 

• Dora's Restaurant (Galvan Restaurant LLC), 40 Ave B (wb) 

Dora's Restaurant received administrative approval to serve beer and wine with its "ceviche fusion cuisine."

Dora's daily hours will be 3-11 p.m., per its questionnaire. 

The restaurant takes over the space from El Carnaval, which CB3 accused of serving liquor without a license in the summer of 2021.

• Nine Cases (Nine Cases LLC), 86 E 3rd St (wb) 

Nine Cases is a new Mediterranean wine bar slated for this block between First Avenue and Second Avenue. (This small space was Uminoie, the Japanese restaurant that closed during the pandemic.)

Find the application, which includes a sample menu, at this link.

• Orpheum Theatre (Orpheum Live LLC), 126 2nd Ave (wb) 

One day you'll be able to have a beer or glass of wine before a show at the Orpheum (or maybe during intermission — if there is one).

• Sip and Co East Village (Proper Cafe Management LLC), 433 E 9th St (wb) 

Codetta is the name of a new coffee shop-cafe coming soon to this storefront between Avenue A and First Avenue.

The application describes the method of operation as a coffee shop by day offering cafe fare and a wine bar "serving small bites" in the evening.

The principal here is also behind Hard to Explain, the Japanese coffee shop-wine-beer-sake bar on 10th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

The address was previously Westville Bakery... and Superiority Burger used the space afterward.

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Tonight's meeting starts at 6:30. Find the Zoom link at this link.

This is a hybrid meeting, and there is limited seating available for the public — the first 15 people who show up at the Community Board 3 Office, 59 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

With Community Board approval, Sammy's Roumanian Steak House takes another step to returning to the Lower East Side

Sammy's Roumanian Steakhouse received a critical approval from Community Board 3 last night as the NYC institution continues to move toward a return to service on the Lower East Side.

As previously reported, Sammy's was looking to open in a new home at 191 Orchard St. between Houston and Stanton.

CB3's SLA committee signed off on the application, though with some debate on the language in the stipulations. Prior to last night's virtual meeting, owner David Zimmerman met with the local community group L.E.S. Dwellers and entered into a Memorandum of Understanding. The main sticking point: dinner seating in the outdoor garden behind the restaurant. Zimmerman has agreed not to use the outdoor space for any service. 

Neighbors/residents also agreed to the method of operation, which will be similar to its old basement space on Chrystie Street, including the services of a lounge singer on keyboards.

In addition, based on the day of the week, there were different proposed closing times, from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. The new Sammy's will close nightly at 12:30 a.m.

After the unanimous approval, Zimmerman, who was on the Zoom meeting, flashed a Famous Sammy's T-shirt, stating, "We are all proud."

By the way, the new outpost will sell Sammy's merch.

Sammy's closed in early January 2021 after 45-plus years of serving up ice-encased vodka, smeared pitchers of schmaltz and enormous platters of meat from the lower level at 151 Chrystie St. between Delancey and Rivington.

The restaurant had been shuttered since the PAUSE of March 2020, and this wasn't a business ready-made for delivery or outdoor dining.

In an Instagram post at the time, Zimmerman left the door open for a return.  

And now it's happening, though no word on an opening date. The space has been vacant for nine years, and needs a lot of work to bring it into service.

More details about the new home for Sammy's Roumanian Steakhouse on the Lower East Side

Updated 5/17: Sammy's received the OK from Community Board 3.

As we first reported on April 27, NYC classic Sammy's Roumanian Steakhouse is looking to reopen in a new location.

Next Monday, ownership will appear before CB3's SLA committee for a new liquor license for 191 Orchard St. between Houston and Stanton — space that has been vacant for nine years.

The questionnaire (PDF here) is now online at the CB3 website before that meeting.

According to the public document, Sammy's 2.0 would feature 58 tables for 118 guests. They're also looking for seating in the outdoor garden behind the restaurant.

The paperwork notes that there will be two seatings per evening .... and that an estimated 90% of the seating will be by reservation only. Other highlights: The sale of Sammy's merch (T-shirts are mentioned) and the entertainment will feature "a lounge singer on keyboard." (The application says they'll hire a sound engineer "for comprehensive sound mitigation.")

The proposed hours are Monday-Wednesday from 4-11 p.m., with a midnight close on Thursday and 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. Sunday hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. The outdoor space would shut down at 10 p.m. all days.

Sammy's closed in early January 2021 after 45-plus years of serving up ice-encased vodka, smeared pitchers of schmaltz and enormous platters of meat from the lower level at 151 Chrystie St.

The restaurant had been shuttered since the PAUSE of March 2020, and this wasn't a business ready-made for delivery or outdoor dining.

In an Instagram post at the time, owner David Zimmerman left the door open for a return. 

NYC institution Sammy's Roumanian Steakhouse attempting a Lower East Side comeback

Updated 5/17: Sammy's received the OK from Community Board 3.

Break out the jars of schmaltz! NYC classic Sammy's Roumanian Steakhouse is on the comeback trail. 

Yesterday, Community Board 3 released its May calendar... and a familiar name is on the SLA & DCA Licensing Committee docket for May 15...

Sammy's ownership is applying for a new liquor license for the long-vacant 191 Orchard St. between Houston and Stanton. The questionnaire isn't online just yet, so we'll have to wait and see what Sammy's 2.0 might look like in this 2,500-square-foot space.

Sammy's closed in early January 2021 after 47 years of serving up ice-encased vodka, smeared pitchers of schmaltz and enormous platters of meat from the lower level at 151 Chrystie St.

The restaurant had been shuttered since the PAUSE of March 2020, and this wasn't a business ready-made for delivery or outdoor dining.

In an Instagram post at the time, owner David Zimmerman left the door open for a return.

We may be closed now, but when all this is over and we feel safe enough to hold hands during the hora, we will be back stronger, louder, and tastier than ever before. We are New York. We will survive this. We will always cherish the memories we shared with all of you.

First, though, Sammy's will need to get approval from CB3. The space has been vacant since the Sixth Ward lost its liquor license in 2015 after eight years in business for reportedly serving burgers and steaks when it had applied for the requisite permits by stating it would sell vegetarian fare. 

The bar had long drawn criticism from locals. In a denial for a new concept at the address in March 2022, the CB3 minutes state that the Sixth Ward "was a known problem... with SLA complaints of operating beyond its stipulations, operating beyond the legal capacity without applying for a certificate of occupancy, and using an illegal back yard that did not meet DOB requirements."

While this has nothing to do with Sammy's, the stigma of previous tenants can make it challenging for new applicants. Community groups and some residents have also spoken out against new applicants looking to open in this area below Houston dubbed Hell Square.  

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo by Steven of the LUNGS Spring Awakening Parade in Tompkins Square Park yesterday)... 

• Report: East Village gallery a no-show on opening night, leaving artists without their work (Wednesday) ... After group-show ghosting, the EVAC space is for lease on 1st Avenue (Thursday) 

• Help for A&C Kitchen, which remains closed after a late-February fire (Thursday) 

• A look at Poetica Coffee, opening soon on 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place (Monday) 

• The farce awakens at the Orpheum Theatre (Saturday) 

• Downtown Bakery preparing to reopen after being sidelined with an expired license (Friday) 

• A visit to East Village Buyers, now in soft-open mode in new Avenue A home (Friday) 

• A new home on an avenue for East Village gallery-bookstore Ed. Varie (Tuesday) 

• A great new song and video from cumgirl8 (Friday) 

• Collapsed portion of sidewalk whole again on 7th Street (Monday) 

• Openings: Honey Crepes on 13th Street (Tuesday) 

• Aura Bar & Kitchen is back on 1st Avenue (Wednesday) 

• Sushi on Jones departs The Bowery Market, where several new concepts are on the way (Thursday) 

• Signage alert: Deli Convenience on 1st Avenue; Partea on 14th Street (Monday) 

• On the April CB3-SLA docket: A Pig & Butter sibling on Avenue B (Monday)

• Happy trails to the Shake Shack curbside dining structure on 3rd Avenue (Thursday) 

... and Bob's Bar has reopened for the season on 12th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue (photo by Stacie Joy) ...

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Follow EVG on Instagram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.

On the CB3-SLA docket: A Pig & Butter sibling on Avenue B

Just a handful of applicants will appear before Community Board 3's SLA committee this evening. (See below for info on watching online.)

New Liquor License Applications 

• Pig & Butter Ave B (The SohoPig Collective LLC), 42 Ave B (op)

Pig & Butter, which serves breakfast-inspired dishes all day long from 134 Ludlow St., has plans for a sibling at 42 Avenue B between Third Street and Fourth Street.

Chef-owner Sherry Grimes, a graduate of the French Culinary Institute, will be serving comfort food and cocktails from the small space with six tables and a bar with nine seats.

The proposed hours: Wednesday (2-10 p.m.), Thursday (2-11 p.m.), Friday (2 p.m.-1.am.), Saturday (10 a.m.-2 a.m.), and Sunday (10 a.m.-10 p.m.) You can find the application here.

Looker, which served vegan bar food and cocktails, closed here early last year after nine months in business.

The Pig & Butter outpost would break up five consecutive storefronts that are for lease...

• Cantina Cubana Latin Food (Cantina Cubana LLC), 210 E 2nd St (aka 17 Ave B) (op)

As previously reported, Ricardo Arias and Patricia Valencia, the husband-and-wife owners of the now-closed Café Cortadito on Third Street near Avenue B, plan to open a similar concept here in the former home of the Cornerstone Cafe.

While there won't be a bar on the premises for patrons, Arias and Valencia are applying for a liquor license for their mojitos and other drink specials.

You can read the application here.

• Shiso (Shiso LLC), 214 E 9th St (op)

The owners of Moko on Second Avenue are behind Shiso, a high-end concept featuring a tasting menu of French and Japanese cuisine.

According to the questionnaire on file at the CB3 website, they plan on a daily service from 5-10 p.m. The space on Ninth Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue was previously the Dumpling Lab, which closed last fall after receiving a Michelin Bib Gourmand.

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Tonight's meeting starts at 6:30. Find the Zoom link at this link. 

Closing the book for now at Short Stories on the Bowery

As of last Thursday, Short Stories, the cocktail lounge-club at 355 Bowery between Third Street and Fourth Street, is closed for a "revamp, renovation, and reorganization." 

Per the door signage...

"We know how much Short Stories means to you, so we are taking the necessary steps to ensure our guests feel comfortable when they step through the door. We are excited to come back to you, better than ever, in Spring 2023." 

Short Stories was on the February CB3-SLA docket for a new liquor license ... the current license expired in late January, though neighbors said the bar continued to serve booze until last week under the previous ownership. 

According to the questionnaire on file at the CB3 website, this is a sale of assets, with new owners from Something Good Hospitality Group taking over. (While the partners have food-hospitality experience, they have yet to own a restaurant.) 

During the meeting on Feb. 21, a handful of residents who live in this building and nearby spoke out against Short Stories (the now-closed version anyway that morphed from a cafe to a club) ... calling out "bad, irresponsible behavior" (drug use, crowded sidewalks, etc.) ... there were numerous complaints about the music (via DJs) going until 4 a.m. (One resident called the volume of the music "horrifying.") 

The new owners quickly distanced themselves from the previous regime, promising a more high-end dining experience (adding a full kitchen)... and bringing in a new staff.

CB3-SLA committee members were looking to stipulate against a nightclub atmosphere. The owners agreed not to have DJs on the premises. However, they wouldn't compromise on an earlier close and insisted on a 2 a.m. time daily for the sake of their late-night food menu that paired with the new cocktail program. (The committee suggested midnight, with a 2 a.m. close on Friday and Saturday. Without stipulations, the committee was concerned that the applicants would go to the State Liquor Authority and get the OK for a 4 a.m. close.)

You can watch a video of the meeting. This applicant starts at the 3:15 mark.

There are also complaints about the curbside dining space ...

Short Stories debuted in February 2019, landing features in Vogue and The New York Times.

The Marshal has seized KC Gourmet Empanadas on Avenue B

Photos last night by Stacie Joy

A tipster pointed out earlier this week that KC Gourmet Empanadas has not been open lately here at 38 Avenue B between Third Street and Fourth Street. 

And yesterday, a notice arrived on the front door showing that the Marshal paid a visit, and the landlord is now in legal possession of the premises...

The owners were also behind El Carnaval, a Panamanian restaurant and bar, right next door at No. 40. That establishment is now permanently shuttered after going dark last summer ... a for-rent sign hangs on the storefront. We understand an applicant will be on next month's CB3-SLA docket for a new liquor license for the space.

El Carnaval was accused of serving liquor without a license in the summer of 2021. There's a video from the meeting here. (El Carnaval is the first applicant.)

We heard from multiple neighbors in the summer of 2020 — when restaurants expanded to sidewalk and curbside spaces — who complained about blaring music via DJs coming from outside the quick-serve spot.

According to the minutes from the June 2021 Community Board 3 meeting, KC Gourmet Empanadas "has been egregiously non-compliant for a year. Following community complaints, the CB3 office told them the applicants should not be playing loud music in the streets and that they were non-compliant with their outdoor seating, but the applicants did not display concern for how this behavior was negatively impacting residents." 

KC opened here in February 2019. 

Week in Grieview

Posts that past week included (with a shot of the neon goodness at Block Drug Store on Second Avenue and Sixth Street)... 

• Report: The Regal Union Square multiplex to close after bankruptcy filing (Thursday) 

• Sealing up the former Charas/P.S. 64 on 9th Street (Wednesday) 

• There won't be a last-minute reprieve for Commodities (Wednesday) 

• Openings: Caleta and Bad Habit on Avenue A (Friday) 

• Let's go to the Stuyvesant Casino! (Monday) 

• Report: Incoming legal cannabis dispensary drawing opposition on 3rd Street (Tueaday) 

• Döner Haus bringing 'real German kebabs' to 14th Street (Tuesday) 

• Current Coffee debuts in The Bowery Market (Thursday) 

• Superiority Burger, now with coming-soon signage on Avenue A (Thursday) 

• On the January CB3-SLA docket: fresh bread, vinyl records and the members-only FlyFish Club (Tuesday) 

• That's all for Tony's Famous Pizza on 1st Avenue (Wednesday) 

• Greenwich Marketplace closes on 4th Avenue (Wednesday) 

• Signage alert: Sushi Fan on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday) 

• Report: Junoon owner bringing a new Indian restaurant to the former Momofuku Ssäm Bar (Friday)

• Bait & Hook has not been open lately (Wednesday)

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Follow EVG on Instagram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.

On the CB3-SLA docket tonight: fresh bread, vinyl records and the members-only FlyFish Club

Here's a look at some of the applicants who will appear before Community Board 3's SLA committee this evening. (See below for info on watching online.) It's a light agenda this month, with just a handful of applications for new liquor licenses. 

• Heaven's Cookies LLC, 47 2nd Ave (wb)

The team behind Sauced, a wine bar that plays vinyl records on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, is planning a like-minded concept for a currently vacant and under-renovation storefront on Second Avenue between Second Street and Third Street (pictured above).

Sauced Grocery is a combo deli-bakery-cafe that will serve deli sandwiches and baked bread during the day with a wine bar in the evenings. There will also be "a vinyl records listening room." Proposed hours are from noon to midnight, with a 2 a.m. close Thursday through Saturday.

You can find more details on the Sauced questionnaire here.

• Francis Kite (Francis Kite LLC), 40 Ave C (op) 

The Francis Kite Club is being billed as "a collectively built space created for sociality, leisure, collaboration, debate, conversation, and play" for the storefront at 40 Avenue C between Third Street and Fourth Street.

The space, which will operate a cafe, plans to host "art events such as lectures, exhibitions and performances" several times a month.

No. 40 has been used as a pop-up theater space this past year... the address was previously the cocktail lounge Bedlam.

Find the Francis Kite questionnaire here. 

• FlyFish Club (D&C Social Club Inc), 141 E Houston St (op)

As reported in November, the city's first NFT restaurant signed on at the new 9-story office building at 141 E. Houston St. between Eldridge and Forsyth. 

According to the Post, the Flyfish Club is leasing three levels, 11,000 square feet total, for the members-only club that will feature a "bustling" cocktail lounge, an upstairs restaurant and outdoor space — the enclosed walkway between the building and Yonah Schimmel next door.

The 84-page questionnaire provides a lot of background, including a sound study and sample menu. Find the PDF here.

• NGE NYC LLC, 308 E 6th St (op) 

The management behind the Tim Burton-inspired bar-restaurant Beetle House on Sixth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue is behind Bread & Stone. This pizzeria will also offer a variety of baked bread.

They plan on operating a "small-batch bread shop" during the day and a restaurant in the evenings, featuring a menu of Italian classics. You can find a sample menu and more details about the proposed business here.

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The CB3 SLA agenda also includes this item of interest: "Develop guidance regarding Open Restaurants hours."

Tonight's meeting starts at 6:30. Find the Zoom invite at this link.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a reader-submitted photo from the Ninth Street Community Garden & Park) ...

• Here's the new, larger residential building planned for 280 E. Houston St. (Monday) 

• The 'Daze' of our lives: Adam Zhu's new photo book chronicles today's downtown youth culture (Wednesday) 

• Renovations underway at the former Whitehouse Hotel on the Bowery (Tuesday) 

• At the Tompkins Square Park holiday tree lighting (Monday) ... Seeing the Tompkins Square Park holiday tree in a whole new light (Saturday) 

• The Gallery Watch Q&A: Harvey L. Silver's 'Changin' Times' (Friday) 

• Bad Brains on the Bowery with Shepard Fairey and Glen E. Friedman (Thursday) 

• The New Museum is collecting coats for the Bowery Mission (Tuesday) 

• Cautionary tales: A song inspired by an East Village move (Friday) 

• On the CB3-SLA docket: The Commodore aims for Avenue C; an all-day Italian cafe for 12th Street (Monday) 

• The Zero Irving food hall is now OPEN (Thursday) 

• Memphis Seoul announces itself on 1st Avenue (Wednesday)

• Before Dallas BBQ (Tuesday ... Wednesday ... Thursday) 

• Crab Du Jour sleeps with the fishes on 1st Avenue (Wednesday)

• Gen Korean BBQ House drops the plywood for a full reveal on 14th Street and 3rd Avenue (Thursday) 

• Pizza for the former Subway (sandwich shop) on Avenue B (Thursday)

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Follow EVG on Instagram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.

On the CB3-SLA docket: The Commodore aims for Avenue C; an all-day Italian cafe for 12th Street

Here's a look at some of the applicants who will appear before Community Board 3's SLA committee this evening. (See below for info on watching online.)

New Liquor License Applications 

 • Corp to be formed by Christopher Buncher, 14 Ave C (op) 

The Commodore looks to bring its acclaimed fried chicken and retro vibes from Williamsburg to its first Manhattan outpost at 14 Avenue C at Second Street (pictured above). 

The EV location has proposed hours of 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. on weekdays, with a 4 a.m. close Friday and Saturday (with an 11 a.m. open on Saturday and Sunday). There are also applying for a sidewalk cafe with seven tables and 14 seats.

You can check out the CB3 application here.

Recent tenants included Sanatorium, the hospital-themed cocktail lounge ... and the hookah lounge C Lounge.

• Entity to be formed by Patrick Joseph Cremin, 99 2nd Ave (op) 

The team behind the Sefton, an Irish saloon on the Upper East Side, is looking to open a bar-restaurant between Fifth Street and Sixth Street (above). 

The proposed hours are daily from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. They are also vying for a sidewalk cafe, which would end service at 10 p.m. 

You can find the CB3 questionnaire here.

This space was previously Calexico, which went dark in late 2020. The owners were looking to try a new concept here, but those plans didn't materialize. 

• Paradise Lost (Paradise Lost LLC), 100 2nd Ave (op)

Three applicants are looking to open a restaurant called Paradise Lost ... and serving "nouveau contemporary, global influences." 

Proposed hours are from noon to 2 a.m. during the week... with a 4 a.m. close Friday and Saturday.

You can find a sample menu and background on the applicants here. Paradise Lost is proposed for the gut-renovated building between Fifth Street and Sixth Street that last housed Haveli-Banjara.    

• Only Love Strangers LLC, 175 E Houston St (op) 

The team behind MáLà Project on First Avenue (and two other NYC locations) has plans for a two-level restaurant with a "Mediterranean-inspired menu" and nightly live jazz performances.

The establishment, whose name is pending, has proposed hours to 1 a.m. during the week and 2 a.m. on the weekend... with a 5 p.m. open during the week and 11 a.m. on weekends.

You can find the CB3 questionnaire, which includes a sample menu, at this link. 

Several applicants have kicked the tires on this space just east of Allen Street (above) through the years to no avail. As far as we can recall, the space has been empty since Preserve 24's eviction in 2014.

 • Chuppa Rustam (Rice Guys LLC), 214 E 9th St (op) 

The owners of Laut Singapura, which serves Singaporean street food on East 20th Street, have plans for a still-unnamed establishment serving "British-Indian pub food" on Ninth Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

These applicants will be looking for daily hours of 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. (closed on Mondays) for the retail space that was previously a hair salon.

Look for the CB3 questionnaire with a sample menu right here. 

• Corretto LLC, 511 E 12th St (op) 

Two East Village residents are looking to open Caffe Corretta — an all-day Italian cafe with coffee service in the mornings and dinner/drinks in the evening.

The proposed daily hours are 8 a.m. to midnight in space that was most recently Raclette here between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Find more about this project here. 

Items not heard at Committee 

• Marinara Pizza (Pizza 10 LLC), 160 2nd Ave (wb) 

The pizzeria, which opened in June 2021 on the northeast corner of Second Avenue at 10th Street, will soon be able to serve beer and wine with the slices.

• Appas Pizza LLC, 210 1st Ave (wb) 

The operator of EV sushi spots Thirteen Water and Shinn East, both on Seventh Street, is opening a pizza-fried chicken concept in the former Kikoo (and Papa John's!) space between 12th Street and 13th Street.

CB3 questionnaire here. 

• Red Onion Foods Inc, 277 E 10th St (wb)

A health-focused Indian restaurant called Red Onion is in the works for this vacant space between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

You can find the Red Onion website here... read the applicant's questionnaire here. 

This space on 10th Street was previously the blink-and-you-missed-them Chichen Itzá and Tompkins Village Cafe.

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Tonight's meeting starts at 6:30. Find the Zoom link at this link. 

Another new broker for the long-vacant 20 St. Mark's Place

There's a new for-lease sign outside 20 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue...

This is at least the fourth broker to try to lease the long-empty retail spaces.

The dearly beloved Grassroots Tavern was the last business here, closing after service on New Year’s Eve 2017... ending a 42-year run in the lower level. The upstairs tenant, the record store Sounds, shut down in October 2015.

According to the new ARA listing, two storefronts are available — separately or as a combo. 

Here's a look at the former Grassroots via the listing images ... (wonder if the place still smells like burnt popcorn?) ...

As you can see, those incredible old murals that workers uncovered during renovations have been removed/covered.

No mention of the asking rent for the storefronts. 

As noted, No. 20, known as the Daniel LeRoy House, was built in 1832. It received landmark status in 1971 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Past lives of this subterranean space — info via Daytonian in Manhattan — include a theater-saloon called Paul Falk's Tivoli Garden in the 1870s... in the 1930s, the Hungarian Cafe and Restaurant resided here before becoming a temperance saloon called the Growler.

After the Grassroots closed, Bob Precious tried to open a bar-pub here, but those plans never materialized after 18 months. 

Applicants for Ichibantei had been on the CB3-SLA agenda multiple times, dating to November 2018, for a liquor license for a new restaurant for the address. They've moved on to other places.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• New owner lined up for the Grassroots Tavern on St. Mark's Place

• 20 St. Mark's Place, home of the Grassroots Tavern, has been sold

• Last call at the Grassroots Tavern

• Behold these murals uncovered behind the bar at the former Grassroots Tavern on St. Mark's Place 

Openings: Le Burger on 5th Street

Photos by Stacie Joy

Le Burger has debuted at 540 E. Fifth St., just a little west of Avenue B. (First noted here.)

As the name implies, the restaurant serves a variety of burgers (see the menu below) ... and they offer wine and draft beers.

According to the questionnaire from July's CB3-SLA meeting, ownership previously ran the now-closed UES spots 1742 Wine Bar and Giorgio's Brick Over & Wine Bar.

For now, the space is open from 5 p.m. to midnight. No sign of a website yet, though Le Burger is on Instagram.

Black Iron Burger was in this space for nearly six years before closing in 2019. 

Ella Funt & Club 82 looks to bring food, film and theater to storied 4th Street venue

An ambitious project is in the works for 78-82 E. Fourth St. that would bring together a restaurant, movie theater and cabaret under one roof while reviving some East Village nightlife history. 

The operators behind Ella Funt & Club 82 are on tonight's CB3 SLA & DCA Licensing Committee docket for a liquor license for the two-level space between Second Avenue and the Bowery. 

There are several elements to this proposed establishment — a French restaurant, movie theater and performance space. The questionnaire on file at the CB3 website (PDF here) provides more detail and renderings of the 150-person-capacity theater space, which already exists in the basement (see below for more history of this address).

There's also a mention of "screenings of independent and old films five days a week," The management team includes Harry Nicolaou. His family operates several indie theaters, including Cinema Village on 12th Street between University and Fifth Avenue.

On paper, the concept sounds like a good fit for a block with destinations such as La Mama Experimental Theatre Club, the Duo Multicultural Arts Center, the Kraine Theater and the New York Theatre Workshop.

Tonight's meeting starts at 6:30. You can tune in via Zoom.

And now some history of the space...

Here's background via the New-York Historical Society: 

If you were an adventurous visitor to New York City in the 1950s or 1960s, you might have found your way to Club 82. A basement nightclub at 82 East Fourth Street, it wasn't much to look at from the outside... 

But once you made it there, you'd descend the steep stairs into an elegant, transporting nightclub decked out in the height of mid-century kitsch: mirrored columns, plastic palm fronds, elaborate banquettes, and white tablecloths. On the tables would be souvenir knockers, a small wooden ball on the end of a stick emblazoned with the club's name, which patrons would tap on the table when they were pleased with a performance or wanted to call a waiter. Knockers had one benefit over clapping: You didn’t have to put down your drink to use them. 

Club 82 was a trendy place to be. If you were lucky, celebrities like Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor, or Salvador Dalí might be in attendance on any given night. A club photographer would circulate among the tables, snapping keepsake photos for a $1.50 or $2 fee for audience members, who were decked out in suits and cocktail dresses and would get an 8″ by 10″ print to take home at the end of the night. There wasn't a cover to get in, but there was a drink minimum and an extensive cocktail menu to hit your required mark. 

And of course, there was the stage, which was the main reason you would've come to Club 82 in the first place. The club was known for its elaborate live shows that ran three times a night into the wee hours of the morning. 

What made Club 82 unique was that it was an early bastion of drag and gender impersonation: Almost all of the performers in the floor show where men dressed as women, and most of the wait staff were women dressed as dashing young men in tuxedos. 

In the early 1970s, Club 82 became a rock club, featuring bands like the New York Dolls, Teenage Lust, Suicide and Another Pretty Face.

   

The subsequent iterations of the space included a movie theater and an all-male strip club. Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones tried to make a go of it as a music club again in 1990 with Woody's. The basement space reopened as the Bijou Cinema around 1992, per Cinema Treasures, operating off and on through the years in different capacities until 2018. 

Stillwater Bar & Grill was a ground-floor tenant, shutting down in the spring of 2019 after 15 years in service.

On tonight's CB3 SLA committee docket: Balkan cuisine for the former Starbucks on 2nd Avenue

Here are several more applicants seeking new liquor licenses during tonight's CB3-SLA docket... the virtual meeting starts at 6:30. This is the Zoom link.

• Sugar Mouse LLC, 101 E 10th St (op) 

Sugar Mouse is the name of the concept proposed for the NE corner of Third Avenue at 10th Street, in space (pic above) that TD Bank previously used before downsizing. 

The bar, offering pizza and snacks, will feature a variety of table games (foosball, billiards, shuffleboard, etc.). The hours are daily from 2 p.m. to, depending on the night of the week, 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. Read more on the application here. 

Ownership also operates Sour Mouse on Delancey, billed as "the Hottest underground social club in the LES." 

We've heard from several residents who live nearby with concerns about the business,  particularly the late-night closing times. Flyers on the block noted (in all caps): "Nothing less than the quality of life on these streets is at stake."

• Lava Ground LLC, 4 St Marks Pl (wb) 

There's not a lot of information about the bar concept proposed for the lower level of 4 St. Mark's Place near Third Avenue. 

The unnamed establishment will offer bar food such as wings and beef patties with daily hours of 10 a.m. to 4 a.m. According to the questionnaire, which you can read here, the owner previously worked as a security guard and now owns a beverage company.

The space was previously (and briefly) an outpost of the Wanyoo Cyber Cafe. 

• Balkan Streat (Wolf of 3rd Ave LLC), 145 2nd Ave (wb) 

A fast-casual restaurant called Balkan Streat is in the works for the NW corner of Second Avenue and Ninth Street (the former Starbucks).

As the name implies, owners William Djuric and Jason Correa plan to provide a menu with food from the Balkans. (The questionnaire here includes a sample menu.) According to his bio, Djuric, who worked at Gramercy Tavern and Momofuku Ssam Bar, decided to "pursue his dream of opening a Balkan restaurant that would be inspired by his [late] father's Serbian heritage and childhood summers spent in Yugoslavia." 

The restaurant has proposed daily hours from noon to 11 p.m., with a 2 a.m. close on Friday and Saturday. 

There's also a Balkan Streat set for Sixth Avenue.

This storefront has remained empty since Starbucks closed in April 2019.

• El Primo Red Tacos (El Primo Red Tacos NYC LLC), 151 Ave A (wb) 

The Miami-based taco shop is back on the agenda this month without the full-liquor ask.

There are still concerns from neighbors about the use of the backyard space here.

• Corp to be formed by Ronan Downs, 210 Ave A (op) (Public input occurred on this item in August and in September will only have committee discussion)

Also returning: The bar-tavern concept from a management team led by Ronan Downs, whose numerous credits include Becketts Bar & Grill down on Pearl Street.

You can read the questionnaire here. 

Several applicants have looked at this space on the northeast corner of Avenue A and 13th Street since Percy's Tavern closed in 2017.