On the CB3-SLA docket tonight: Ixta for the former DBGB space on the Bowery

Tonight is the second of the two CB3 SLA committee meetings for August.

Here's a look at a few of the applications on the agenda: 

• Ixta (LLC to be formed by Mike Himani), 299 Bowery (op) 

This looks to be tonight's big-ticket item. Restaurateur Akbarali Himani is seeking a full liquor license for Ixta, a Mexican restaurant proposed for the former DBGB space at 299 Bowery between First Street and East Houston (top pic).

According the the public documents on the CB3 website, Ixta would be open Sunday to Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., with hours of 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. The space in the Avalon Bowery complex is quite large, with a capacity of 194 patrons, who would be treated to "live Mariachi performers." 

Himani has been running a variety of restaurants in NYC and Long Island the past 30 years. His current credits include a Chickpea in Penn Station and NISI Mediterranean in Times Square. 

Daniel Boulud closed DBGB here in August 2017 after an eight-year run. 

• The York, 186 Ave B (op) 

Hospitality vets James Hurst and Hayden Tobin are looking to open The York here at 186 Avenue B between 11th Street and 12th Street. 

The York would be open daily from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. and serve a menu featuring "American comfort food," per the questionnaire at the CB3 website. The sample menu items include several burgers, sandwiches and brunch entrees. 

This address was most recently Very Thai, which had a nearly three-year run until late 2019 ... after taking over from Barbone. 

• ACES (Fine Food and Spirits Inc), 197 2nd Ave. (op) 

This is a carry-over from the July meeting for the former Black Emperor space between 12th Street and 13th Street. You can read about it here. The Aces questionnaire is at this link. 

Tonight's meeting starts at 6:30 in the CB3 office, 59 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery. There's also a Zoom option via this link.

Week in Grieview

[Jimi Hendrix on 1st Street via @ThePostman]

Posts this past week included...

Book Club — an independent bookstore with cafe — coming to 3rd Street (Monday)

"Wealthy, anonymous individual" buys Boys' Club building; will remain in use for a nonprofit (Wednesday)

Local elected officials urge the DOT to explore bike lane options on Avenues A, B, C and D (Monday)

A visit to Metropolis Vintage on Broadway (Thursday)

Report: Red-tailed chick in Tompkins Square Park died from rodenticide poisoning (Friday)

Scoop: Mikey Likes It back in action on Avenue A (Tuesday)

Gone green: 12th Street bike lane returns (Wednesday)

"Summer and Smoke" at 72 Gallery (Thursday)

Next steps in the plan to rebuild East River Park (Friday)

This week's NY See (Thursday)

Lucy's is on summer break (Tuesday)

The China Star closed for actual renovations (Tuesday)

Reader report: Ticketed by the NYPD for double parking in bike lane during Alternate Side Parking (Tuesday)

Nightmarket is the new name for NuNoodle (Monday)

A bendy thing moment at 11 Avenue C as new development passes the halfway mark (Thursday)

A look at La Plaza's new fence (Wednesday)

Ainsworth eyes former DBGB space on the Bowery; Ruffian team to the Eddy (Monday)

Report: retail portion of Ben Shaoul's luxury condoplex on Houston and Orchard sells for a whopping $88 million (Thursday)

... and, randomly, the view from the top floor of the Loews Village 7 on Third Avenue and 11th Street yesterday ... showing the nearly empty streets below around 5 p.m. ...





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Ainsworth eyes former DBGB space on the Bowery; Ruffian team to the Eddy

Here's a quick look at several more of the applicants on tonight's CB3-SLA committee meeting docket. These are existing East Village operators looking to expand...

• Ainsworth to the Bowery

Ainsworth, the growing chainlet of upscale sports bars, has applied for a new liquor license for 299 Bowery in the Avalon Bowery complex between First Street and East Houston Street. (Questionnaire here.)

This outpost of Ainsworth (there's also one on Third Avenue at 11th Street) will be open for lunch and make use of the sidewalk cafe that DBGB tried to muster enthusiasm for.

DBGB closed here nearly two years ago, with chef-owner Daniel Boulud citing "erratic" patronage on this corridor during the week. Perhaps Ainsworth, a SantaCon hotspot, can bring in a steady stream of patrons.



• Ruffian Wine Bar owners taking the Eddy space on Sixth Street

In a sale of assets, the owners of Ruffian on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue plan to open an "American/Italian" restaurant called Kindred here between First Avenue and Second Avenue. (Questionnaire here.)



The Eddy closed last month after five-plus years at the address.



• The Woodstock in the works for 99 Third Ave.

The owners of The VNYL across the Avenue here between 12th Street and 13th Street have plans for a Neapolitan pizzeria called the Woodstock for this address. (Questionnaire here.)



The previous occupant, Thaimee Table, was seized by the Marshal in early May.

Tonight's CB3-SLA committee is at the Perseverance House Community Room, 535 E. Fifth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Week in Grieview

[The photogenic 4th and B — back story here]

Posts on EVG this past week included...

RIP Leslie Sternbergh Alexander (Thursday)

The Hells Angels have left the East Village (Tuesday)

1 month in: Basquiat at the Brant Foundation (Friday)

A spirited sendoff for Hattie Hathaway (Wednesday)

Prepping for the Spring Awakening in the neighborhood's community gardens (Thursday)

Q&A with Jake Dobkin, co-founder of Gothamist and author of 'Ask a Native New Yorker' (Friday)

Longtime EV/LES residents Raken Leaves and Julius Klein are marking their almost "40-year interaction" with a two-person exhibition of their art work (Friday)

The building housing the former Sidewalk sells on Avenue A (Wednesday)

Sunshine Cinema-replacing office building moving forward; demolition watch back on (Wednesday)

A future look at the former 650 E. 6th St. (Thursday)

Ride on, Cowboys: Stillwater Bar & Grill closes after 15 years on 4th Street (Monday)

'Lucky 20' opens at the Theater for the New City Art Gallery (Tuesday)

This week's NY See (Monday)

CB3 wants you to attend the MTA Select Bus Service Open House (Friday)

Happy No. 18 Academy Records (Monday)

Last weekend for Jerry's New York Central on 4th Avenue (Saturday)

A reminder that H Mart is coming to 3rd Avenue (Monday)

Report: Irving Plaza closing for 8-month renovation (Wednesday)

Fare deal: The MTA's new digital payment system arrives at Astor Place (Tuesday)

Sage Kitchen opens on the Bowery (Monday)

One Manhattan Square moves to the north (Wednesday)

Blue Bottle Coffee Company coming to Astor Place (Friday)

Jiang Diner now in soft-open mode on 5th Street (Tuesday)

299 Bowery arrives on the rental market 20 months after DBGB closed (Monday)

A quick look at Webster Hall a month before it reopens (Monday)

... and here's an updated look at Webster Hall, now with the Webster Hall on the marquee...



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299 Bowery arrives on the rental market 20 months after DBGB closed

A for-rent sign has finally arrived on the former DBGB space at 299 Bowery.

JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle Brokerage, Inc.) has the listing. There's not much info, such as the asking price, on the 6,600-square-feet of space. Per the listing: "Fully built restaurant space with infrastructure, kitchen and bar in place (no key money)."

DBGB shut down in August 2017 after eight years in the Avalon Bowery complex here between First Street and Houston Street.

The former Tatyana Boutique next door is also still for rent. That storefront has been vacant for three-plus years.

Previously on EV Grieve:
DBGB has closed, and erased from the Bowery

The 7 restaurants that have closed on the Bowery in the past year

This past weekend, the owners of Hecho en Dumbo (b. 2010) and Cherche Midi (b. 2014) shut down their respective restaurants.

This makes, since last spring, seven restaurant closings on (or near!) the Bowery between Fourth Street and just south of Houston. Other recent casualties:

• L'Apico (b. 2012), 13 E. First St. in the Avalon Bowery complex.

• DBGB (b. 2010), 299 Bowery


[The former Wise Men]

• Wise Men (b. 2013), 355 Bowery

• Agozar! (b. 2002), 324 Bowery

• Paulaner Brauhaus (b. 2013), 265 Bowery



There was also Rebelle (b. 2015) at 218 Bowery just south of Prince Street.

In any event, there weren't any reasons provided for the closures. DBGB chef-owner Daniel Boulud told this to The New York Times: "In this location, it’s busy on weekends but erratic in the early part of the week."


[The memory of DBGB lives on in Extra Place]

There are, of course, plenty of other places to drink and dine along here, starting at Fourth Street and down to Houston — BBar and Grill, Phebe's, the Bowery Market, Great Jones Cafe (close enough), Gemma, the Wren, Sorbillo Pizzeria, Bar Primi, Think Coffee, Saxon & Parole, 310 Bowery Bar, Sláinte, Bowery Meat Company, Baar Baar and the food court at Whole Foods Market® Bowery. Perhaps there are just too many choices.

Cherche Midi space on the market for new retail development on the Bowery at East Houston

[Via Google Streetview]

There's a new retail listing for 280-282 Bowery at East Houston.

The corner space is currently home to Keith McNally's bistro Cherche Midi while No. 282 houses Yasakart Restaurant Supply.

Here are details via RKF:

• At the nexus of SoHo, NoLIta, NoHo, The East Village and Lower East Side
• Steps from four major hotels: Bowery Hotel, Public Hotel, The Ace Hotel and CitizenM
• Across from Whole Foods Market, The New Museum and the International Center for Photography
• Second Floor space can be made available
• Lower Level can be converted to selling
• An additional 1,500 SF of Lower Level space can be made available in Space B

The rent is available upon request.

And here's the rendering showing the possibilities on this southwest corner of the Bowery and Houston...


[Image via RKF]

Rumors surfaced last month that McNally would be closing his four-year-old bistro. (A rep for McNally, who also runs the Odeon, Balthazar, Minetta Tavern and Augustine in the Beekman Hotel, confirmed to Grub Street that Cherche Midi will close in early June.)

This marks the second high-profile restaurant to close on the Bowery and East Houston since last August. Daniel Boulud shut down DBGB Kitchen and Bar after eight years in the Avalon Bowery complex between First Street and Houston.

If success restaurateurs like McNally and Boulud can't make these corners work... then what? An EVG reader left this comment on the previous Cherche Midi post:

My prediction for the gentrified Bowery, chain restaurants (as in Chipotle and Shake Shack, some run of the mall shops which most New Yorkers have never heard of, and all this surrounded by high end luxury condos. This is what the lack of urban planning and unleashed developer money brings.

Report: Cherche Midi looks to be closing on the Bowery

[Image via Instagram]

Cherche Midi, Keith McNally's French brasserie on southwest corner of the Bowery and Houston, appears to be closing this summer.

Rumors were circulating earlier last week about the impending closure. On Friday, Patch reported that the restaurant had filed paperwork with the state about the matter:

The restaurant will close on June 11, according to a notice filed with the state. Under New York law, private employers must provide written notice if their business will close, suffer a mass layoff or relocate. The notice says that Cherche Midi will lay off 46 employees because of a "plant closing." The closing date is listed as June 11 on the notice. It lists the reason for the relocation as "economic."

The restaurant has not made any official comments yet about its fate.

McNally, who also runs the Odeon, Balthazar, Minetta Tavern and Augustine in the Beekman Hotel, opened Cherche Midi in the summer of 2014.

This replaced McNally's Pulino's Bar and Pizzeria, which apparently tripled nearby rents and caused men to urinate in the co-ed sink. Pulino's opened in March 2010.

This would mark the second high-profile restaurant to close on the Bowery and East Houston since last August. Daniel Boulud shut down DBGB Kitchen and Bar after eight years in the Avalon Bowery complex between First Street and Houston.

"In this location, it’s busy on weekends but erratic in the early part of the week," Boulud told The New York Times. And per Eater: "The neighborhood is changing," he said of his decision to close the "very good restaurant."

Both restaurants opened around the time of the start of the East Houston Reconstruction project, which is now just five years behind schedule.



The area in front of DBGB remains torn up, as workers are apparently grappling with underground utility issues...

Intermix has left the Bowery

Intermix, the multi-brand fashion retailer, packed up and left its Bowery storefront late last week.

The space between Bond and Great Jones had been on the market since last October. No word on either why Intermix left or who the next tenant might be.

Intermix is the latest business to leave this Bowery corridor, joining Environment Furniture, Tatyana Boutique, Patricia Field and DBGB, among others.

Also on this block, the former Subway (sandwich shop) at No. 342 was pegged for Poke Run, a restaurant operated by former Olympic athlete-turned-chef Michael Stember.

Apparently that isn't happening, at least not here, as the space is now for rent...





Intermix opened on the Bowery in May 2013.

The previous tenant was Steve's on the Bowery.



Previously on EV Grieve:
Steve's on the Bowery has closed, more 'glam fashionistas' on the way

Steve's on the Bowery is for lease

Week in Grieview

[Yesterday morning in Tompkins Square Park]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

Report: Icon Realty investigated in tenant harassment probe (Thursday)

Trees coming down for L train expansion on 14th Street (Monday)

New ownership taking over the Alphabet Lounge space on 7th and C (Friday)

When Webster Hall reopens, there might be a Moxy Hotel across the street (Monday)

I Am a Rent-Stabilized Tenant (Thursday)

About finding some solar eclipse glasses (Saturday)

CB3 OKs Triona's takeover of Croxley Ales on Avenue B (Tuesday)

The current home of The Stone is for rent on Avenue C (Thursday)

Confederate flag saga on Eighth Street (Saturday)

Out and About with Heidi (Wednesday)

The closed and for-rent restaurants along this part of 2nd Avenue (Wednesday)


[Going door to door on 2nd Avenue via Derek Berg]

Fair Folks & a Goat leaving 11th Street (Wednesday)

Ahimsa Garden is open on 10th Street (Monday)

Dojo Noodle House closed for now on Avenue B (Friday)

Full reveal at the incoming Starbucks on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

Report: 4th Street spa busted for alleged prostitution (Tuesday)

Physical therapy center set for former Dolphin Gym on 4th Street (Thursday)

So long to the great sinkhole at the 8th Street entrance to Tompkins Square Park (Tuesday)

Tasty Tasty won't be reopening on 14th Street (Monday)

Bye bye DBGB (Monday)

...and the podcaster paparazzi photo of the week is with Marc Maron, spotted Wednesday on Seventh Street ... he was in town for an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" ...


[Photo by Derek Berg]

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DBGB has closed, and erased from the Bowery

As announced, DBGB shut down after service on Friday following eight years in the Avalon Bowery complex between First Street and East Houston Street.

"In this location, it’s busy on weekends but erratic in the early part of the week," chef-owner Daniel Boulud told The New York Times. "I hope to find a more appropriate space for it in New York."



On Saturday morning, workers (above) were prepping to clean out the space on the Bowery ... and by the end of the day on Saturday...





... and a last look at the former sidewalk cafe (for now...in case Boulud decides to do something else with the space)...



For now, three of the five retails spaces in this Avalon Bowery section are vacant as DBGB joins L'Apico and Tatyana Boutique as former tenants.

Previously on EV Grieve:
How DBGB is 'pissing on the grave' of punk rock

Why we're writing about Duke's Bohemian Grove Bar in Buffalo

Breaking: DBGB making sidewalk cafe look less barren

Week in Grieview

[Photo last Sunday on 2nd Avenue by Derek Berg]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

About Jake, who roamed the East Village these past 11 years (Thursday)

Golden Food Market closes on 1st Avenue and 7th Street (Tuesday)

5 years of Out and About in the East Village (Wednesday)

Here's the sidewalk bridge-free corner of 9th Street and 1st Avenue — and the 122 Community Center (Wednesday)

SobaKoh has closed on 5th Street (Monday)


[Photo Wednesday on 2nd Avenue by Derek Berg]

I Am a Rent-Stabilized Tenant (Friday)

Sunny's Florist off until after Labor Day (Thursday)

The former Shoolbred's space is for rent on 2nd Avenue (Thursday)

Eastern Bloc closes Sunday; Club Cumming coming soon (Friday)

The stately 153 Avenue B has a new owner (Thursday)

Tompkins Square Park sinkhole no longer sinking (Wednesday)

The Great Jones Cafe reopens (Wednesday)

DBGB is closing on the Bowery (Monday)


[Photo Thursday on 2nd Avenue by EVG]

244-46 E. 7th St. has a new owner (Tuesday)

Express Thali has not been open lately on 2nd Avenue (Tuesday)

Signage arrives for Ahimsa on 10th Street (Monday)

Baron's Dim Sum gives way to Tasty Garden on 6th Street (Thursday)

Sales underway for Rite Aid-adjacent condoplex on 1st Avenue (Wednesday)

Former Avenue A dental center is "great location for restaurant" (Thursday)

...and Key Food recently put up some new East Village-branded signage on Avenue A at Fourth Street...



Key is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year...



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Report: DBGB is closing on the Bowery

[EVG file photo]

Daniel Boulud has announced that he is closing DBGB Kitchen and Bar on Aug. 11 after an eight-year run in the Avalon Bowery complex between First Street and Houston.

"In this location, it’s busy on weekends but erratic in the early part of the week," he told The New York Times. "I hope to find a more appropriate space for it in New York."

Per Eater: "The neighborhood is changing," says Boulud of his decision to close the "very good restaurant" serving tuna tartare, lamb ribs, and boudin Basque.

Curious how the neighborhood is changing in his estimation — getting too upscale for the likes of DBGB? Or changing in that the Bowery hasn't really taken off like people anticipated. A good number of retail businesses have come and gone. Ditto for restaurants. For instance, PYT — "Home of America's Craaaziest Burgers" — closed after just three months in a space that was previously home to three restaurants in fairly quick succession. L'Apico closed in May after five years around the corner in the Avalon Bowery Place complex.

Anyway, farewell to DBGB... I enjoyed keeping tabs on its sidewalk cafe in the restaurant's early days...



Previously on EV Grieve:
How DBGB is 'pissing on the grave' of punk rock

Why we're writing about Duke's Bohemian Grove Bar in Buffalo

Breaking: DBGB making sidewalk cafe look less barren

Onetime home of Lucky Cheng's and adjacent property on the development market for $26 million

[Photo from March 2016]

In March 2016, there were reports that the building that once housed Lucky Cheng's on First Avenue and an adjacent property on Second Street were in the process of being divided by new landlord Carmar Development, LLC.

Now, though, Uri Marrache, a principal at Carmar Development, is putting the two-buidling parcel up for sale for development.

Here's a news release on the property that arrived in our inbox yesterday:

The adjoining, L-Shaped properties enjoy combined frontage of 60' spread across East 2nd Street & 1st Avenue; buildings are comprised of roughly a 14,000 SF structure and boast around 12,000 SF of unused air rights; located in a versatilely zoned area. The properties can be acquired for $26 Million.

Both buildings are also available for Net Lease.

24 1st Avenue & 99-101 East 2nd Street are strategically located along the vibrant 1st Avenue corridor in the East Village. The properties are located within four blocks from Peter Brant's illustrious exhibition space at the celebrated artist — Walter De Maria's historic home; which has nurtured and pioneered a new era of artistic progress within the region. The Notable Art Collector & Industrialist recently purchased the legendary property for $27 Million.

A flurry of progressive & chic development projects have transformed the nature of the immediate area, further characterizing the region as New York City's most desirable destination to live, shop, and play. The New Museum and world-renowned eateries like Katz's Deli, Daniel Boulud's DBGB, Russ and Daughters; the emergence of several prominent art galleries; have all fostered the majestic aroma of the neighborhood.

These factors, coupled with the pre-existing dynamism of the investment & residential sales markets have paved the way for unwavering cultural and economic growth in the East Village and Lower East Side. All the while, neighboring development projects such as 215 Chrystie Street by Ian Schrager have registered sales at unprecedented condominium prices, thus cementing the region's aesthetic appeal and establishing the East Village & Lower East Side as amongst the world's most magnetizing neighborhoods.

The properties are ripe for a user who is seeking to benefit from the unparalleled retail presence on both 1st Avenue and East 2nd Street. The acquirer will also be able to creatively utilize the curb cut (on 99-101 East 2nd Street) and the vast ceilings, coupled with unique layout; while capitalizing on the underlying development potential of the properties. The acquirer is also certain to benefit from the inevitable reallocation of retail value from the neighboring corridors in SoHo & NoHo.

Here's an aerial view of the properties...



Hayne Suthon, who owned and and operated Lucky Cheng's, the cross-dressing cabaret, also lived in the building. She died of cancer at age 57 in June 2014.

She had been in a legal fight with the operators behind Pride and Joy BBQ, who were renting the space to open a 220-seat honky tonk. (You can read more about this lawsuit here and here.)

The East Second Street space had been home to an array of short-lived concepts in recents years, including Bento Burger ... Marfa... and Waikiki Wally's...


[Photo from last March]

Suthon had owned the property since 1986, paying $800,000, city documents show. According to public records, the address changed hands to Carmar Development in February 2015 for a little more than $9.6 million.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Myron Mixon's Pride & Joy BBQ now in the works for the former Lucky Cheng's space

Fire reported at incoming Pride and Joy BBQ on East Second Street

Myron Mixon lawsuit puts opening of Pride and Joy BBQ in question at former Lucky Cheng's space

More alterations for the Pride and Joy space

Report: Pride and Joy BBQ partners suing landlord Hayne Suthon for $22 million

Pride and Joy's unpaid electric bill

The former Tatyana Boutique space is for rent on the Bowery

The Las Vegas-based fashion brand that sells upscale retro dresses, shoes and accessories recently closed in the Avalon Bowery Place complex at East First Street. That space is now for lease.

The listing at SCG Retails doesn't include the asking rent for the 2,207 square-foot storefront between Blue & Cream and DBGB.

Our educated guess on the monthly rent is — a lot.


[Bowery bum, 2016]

Meanwhile on the Bowery….

Earlier today… apparently on the way to DBGB….

Photo by Derek Berg

The documentary that captured the Bowery's high-end restaurant transformation

In case you haven't seen it, the 2005 documentary "Bowery Dish," which chronicles the Bowery's transformation from skid row to high-end restaurant row, airs tonight at 10 on Channel 13/WNET.



The director, Kevin R. Frech, is a 20-plus year resident of the East Village. He filmed between 1999-2004, after noticing that more restaurants were popping up on the Bowery. He wanted to document the changes.

The film debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival and later aired on the Sundance Channel.

With the arrival of even bigger bold-face-named restaurateurs such as Keith McNally (Pulino's then Cherche Midi) and Daniel Boulud (DBGB), we asked Frech about what has transpired on the Bowery since the film's release.

Did you ever anticipate that the Bowery would continue to transform to such a degree as it has in 2014? Seems like a sequel is in order!

Yes, I really want to make a sequel — follow some of the camera angles from the original to show what dramatic changes have happened lately. When I set out to make the film, I could see the street was about to undergo radical change, but I was amazed at how fast it happened.

While I knew it would continue after the film was completed, I had no idea how much further it would go. Keith McNally, the New Museum, all of the high-rises and galleries. Meanwhile the flophouses are mostly gone, the Salvation Army is gone, and only the Bowery Mission remains from the rougher days of the old Bowery.

DBGB apparently parted with these chairs on the Bowery

Or else they are expanding their sidewalk cafe!

EVG regular Derek Berg spotted these early last evening...

Random new bench randomly arrives on East Houston and the Bowery

[Bobby Williams]

Swear that this wasn't here on Tuesday... anyway! Perfect for sitting and watching diners on the DBGB sidewalk cafe ... or taking in the ongoing Bowery/East Houston Street reconstruction project. Not sure which one is more fun!