We won't have Michael 'Bao' Huynh to blog about anymore

Via Eater, we learn that Michael 'Bao' Huynh is leaving town...

Per Gael Greene:

Serial restaurant dabbler and assassinator Michael “Bao” Huynh has given up on trying to make money after countless diehard efforts and is leaving tonight for Vietnam, the land of opportunity. Bao III, Obao, Mickey’s Burger, Bia, BaoBQ, Bar Bao, Pho Sure. Nothing really worked for Hunyh, at least not for long...

He left behind quite a trail in the East Village. Such as!

• Baoguette Cafe closed for a few hours back in September and never reopened...

• BaoBQ on First Avenue, which closed in August

• The infamous Barbao-DOB 111 whirlwind on St. Mark's Place back in 2010-11...

Then there was always the promise of something new... like the "Old School Style Philly" cheesesteak place called Mikey's Cheese Steak that never materialized at 23 Third Ave. ... or, better, Bao & Buny, the burger, fried chicken and waffles concept for 125 St. Mark's Place with former Playboy bunny Nicole Van Croft ...

And he probably had more fun with all this than we did.

[Updated] Mikey Likes It remains closed, and people are getting worried

Earlier last week, Andre Trenier created one of his 1980s-flavored murals on the gate at Mikey Likes It, 199 Avenue A near East 12th Street.

The murals always correspond with the ice cream shop's new flavor of the month. Unfortunately, the painting has been the only activity here of late. The storefront has been closed since at least May 1, and some readers/Mikey fans are concerned.

The shop, which is active on social media, hasn't posted anything on Instagram since May 1:

Sorry for the inconvenience both locations are closed today. We are finishing up spring cleaning, we will be right back in a couple days 👍

Meanwhile, the shop's phone is currently out of service. (Mikey's Harlem location is also closed.)

By the way, Saturday marks the four-year anniversary for Mikey Likes It on Avenue A.

You can read our two-part interview with Michael "Mikey" Cole from September 2014 here and here.

Updated 5/18

And they are back open!

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning edition

[An EVG favorite]

Funding campaign under way for the Living Theatre (BoweryBoogie)

The mean rent for Manhattan in April: $3,429 (Curbed)

One reason why the 5 train sucks (Gothamist)

Why you won't be getting any more of those Mikey's Burger menus shoved under your door (Eater)

Another High Line victim (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

German bakery opening on Orchard Street (The Lo-Down)

And from the EV Grieve inbox...

The Here Kitty Kitty Titty show is a neo-burlesque extravaganza featuring crazy cat ladies, sexy kittens and of course, titties. We know everyone has a little cat love inside of them and we want to celebrate that naughty feeling through burlesque!

Tonight
The Kraine Theater
85 e. 4th Street
Doors at 10 pm, Show at 10:30 pm sharp

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a Second Avenue mannequin photo by Derek Berg) ... 

 • 4 East Village development sites to watch in 2023 (Wednesday) 

• NYPD looking for 3 suspects in New Year's Eve stabbing on Avenue A (Wednesday) 

• Parting thoughts on being a small-business owner as Love Thy Beast departs the East Village (Thursday)

• The last days of Timbuktu (Friday) 

• A happy birthday mural for Ray on Avenue A (Monday) 

• A celebration of Three Kings Day (Saturday)

• The future of the unlicensed weed vendors (Tuesday)

• Hearth is starting its 20th anniversary year with a renovation (Wednesday) 

• Preview 2023: Target Union Square (Thursday) 

• Health scare: IG-Fit closes on 14th Street (Tuesday) 

• Bagel Market replacing Bagel Boss on 14th Street (Friday) 

• From Mikey's to Smileys on Avenue A (Tuesday) 

• A report of a small fire at Dua Kafe on 14th Street (Friday) 

• What's happening at the ConEd substation? (Friday) 

• On Astor Place, a yearn to spin again (Monday) 

• Spring cleaning this winter at B-Side (Friday) 

• Signage alert: Ankara #3 (Wednesday) 

• Belse has closed on the Bowery (Thursday) ... Blue & Cream has left the Bowery for Bleecker Street (Tuesday) 

• Signage alert: Wild Rabbit Coffee on 7th Street (Thursday) 

• The 13th Step is now going as Downtown Social (Wednesday) 

... and a parting shot of Chesney after the Gifts of the Magi" performance Friday at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery (photo by Derek Berg)

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

From Mikey's to Smileys on Avenue A

Signage is up for Smileys, a "wellness shop," at 199 Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street.

The business logo is of a smiley face with marijuana leaves for eyes (see the brand's Instagram account) ... presumably another unlicensed weed-related shop. 

Until early November, this storefront had been home to Mikey Likes It Ice Cream for nearly nine years. Founder Michael "Mikey" Cole announced that his company was undergoing a reorganization and that they would reopen a new flagship location elsewhere in 2023. 

In an Instagram post, Cole stated that the Avenue A store closed following the constant "day-to-day battle and hardship" during the pandemic. 

In other storefront news here, the psychic is no longer in the space next door (though the awning remains)...

Mourning the loss of the Mayor of Seventh Street

The Villager brings the sad news that Pretty Boy passed away on May 19. Pretty Boy was believed to be 22 or 23. As Albert Amateau reports, "It’s impossible to say who owned Pretty Boy. The white cat walked into Mikey’s Pet Supply store at 130 E. Seventh St. in 1988 and made it his home base on the block, where the cat became known as The Mayor of Seventh St."

Pretty Boy was a favorite of several supers on the block between Avenue A and First Avenue, said Salon Seven proprietor Mark Dolengawski. “One of them said, ‘I wish I had a cool walk like that.’ It really was a cool walk, especially as he got older, it was a Zen-like stroll. It was so serene,” Dolengawski said.

[Photo via The Villager]