PaTea is opening its second NYC location at 227 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue... Per the signage: "The first Stubby Cup in the East Coast."
[W]e are a family owned business and we strive to bring the authenticity of Taiwanese bubble tea to everyone.
The name “Patea” is from the concept of “It’s Party Time”. Our passion is to bring joy and a fun experience to all customers while experimenting on some of the newly innovated flavors.
The Whale Tea has set up shop at 209 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue... we're told it's part of an international chain establishing its first NYC outpost.
They took over the space from another international bubble tea chain — Gong Cha.
It's a crowded bubble tea market on this stretch — PaTea and ViVi are less than a half block away.
The new Gong Cha outpost has officially opened at 27 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.
This is the ninth Manhattan outpost for Gong Cha, which describes itself as "one of the most recognized bubble tea brands around the world" ... which got its start in 2006 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
This block of St. Mark's has seen a variety of bubble tea come and go through the recent years... some still in business (Kung Fu Tea right across the street).... and some not (Mi Tea). And there's more on the way for the northwest corner of Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place.
This storefront had been vacant since Lab -320° closed in late 2016 after six months of selling ice cream. The previous longtime tenant here, The Sock Man, closed in January 2016 after a reported rent hike via (now former) landlord Raphael Toledano.
Sock Man owner Marty Rosen later opened a new location at 99 1/2 St. Mark's Place ... where he remains today.
There's a hiring sign up at 69 Cooper Square, where an outpost of Möge Tee is presumably opening here between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place...
This will be the third location for the Flushing-based bubble-tea business. (Franchising is available.)
Here's part of their menu...
They'll have some competition around the corner, where there are already four businesses on St. Mark's Place that sell similar products between Third Avenue and Second Avenue. (And a fifth, Mi Tea, is on the way.)
This space at 69 Cooper Square was previously Cafe Zaiya, the Japanese bakery-cafe that closed back in the spring.
A new cafe called MAD Toast House is coming to 332 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.
The Toast House, which serves a variety of bubble tea, sparkling water and toast-related creations, is having a soft-opening today ahead of a grand opening on June 10, per the shop's Instagram account.
Speaking of Instagram, a look at some of their offerings...
The Kung Fu Tea location at 241 E. 10th St. at First Avenue closed for business at the end of February. And as we first noted on March 3, Kung Fu Tea was moving over to 32 St. Mark's Place … formerly the home of 8 Crown Trade, the family run T-shirt and souvenir shop at No. 28 that was ousted by a rent hike last June…
As you can see in the photos, workers installed the new Kung Fu signage yesterday. No word on an opening date.
And here are your bubble tea choices within a very short distance… TKettle is directly next door while CoCo Fresh Juice & Tea is directly across the street.
The Kung Fu Tea location at 241 E. 10th St. at First Avenue closed for business after Friday… there is a note on the door…
While there isn't any mention of this on the sign or elsewhere … word from St. Mark's Place neighbor Jordy Trachtenberg is that Kung Fu Tea will move over to 32 St. Mark's Place … formerly the home of 8 Crown Trade, the family run T-shirt and souvenir shop at No. 28 that was ousted by a rent hike last June…
After this move occurs, you will have plenty of bubble tea choices right here… TKettle is directly next door while CoCo Fresh Juice & Tea is directly across the street.
Yi Fang Taiwan Fruit Tea is the next tenant for 33 St. Mark's Place. Signage is up now at the storefront between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.
The chainlet, with an outpost in Flushing, takes over the space from CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice, the Taiwan-based chain that closed in late May after nearly five and a half years.
Workers have been renovating the storefront at 250 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.
We've been curious about what's next for the space. The CB3-SLA committee docket for September provides the answer: An applicant called Poke Kitchen Inc. is seeking a beer-wine license for the address. (This item will not be heard during the meeting on Sept. 12.)
The applicant's questionnaire isn't online just yet, so we're not sure who's behind the operation. There happens to be a Poke Kitchen that opened in May on East 39th Street (from the same people who own Sushi Zo).
Here's the East 39th Street Poke Kitchen pitch via their website:
Our sushi chef begins every morning with market-fresh, sashimi-quality fish and organic vegetables. With a diverse selection of fish and vegetables to choose from, your poké bowl is readily personalizable. Our fast-casual shop, located in midtown Manhattan, makes the lunch and dinner seafood experience a delicious and healthy one. We look forward to serving your discriminating palate.
Perhaps this is just the second of many more spots to jump on the poke bandwagon and come to the neighborhood. (PokéSpot opened on Fourth Avenue and 12th Street on Aug. 12.)
Poke Kitchen will be the latest food specialty shop to open of late along this block ... joining Pink Bear Ice Cream and (earlier) Vivi Bubble Tea...
Just west of Avenue A on East 10th Street. ThirsTea. The sign says they will serve "bubble tea, drinks and snacks." I can't even remember what was in here before. A kid's shop? A Brazilian jeans shop?
The Boba Room made its debut Saturday at the Open Space Gallery on the Bowery between Third Street and Fourth Street.
Here's more about the pop-up exhibit via Gothamist:
Conceived of by Chaimi Food Studio co-founders Yanqiong Zeng and Iris Danlu Xing, Boba Room is an intersection of art, design and food that combines the duo's appreciation for food with their backgrounds and experiences in visual art, photography and food engineering and science.
And per The Daily Meal: "For those who are in the dark about boba, it’s an edible, chewy ball made from the cooking and cooling of tapioca. Boba is used in bubble tea."
The Boba Room is open through May 6 (from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. during the week; 10 p.m. on weekends). Tickets are $10 each ($7 for kids or seniors).
The ViVi Bubble Tea outpost on Allen Street just south of Houston reopened late last week after a two-month stint on the temporarily closed list.
The DOH ordered the chainlet closed after an inspection on Oct. 1 turned up 79 violation points, including for "Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan."
The operators of this ViVi location renovated the interior during the time off, and received the OK to reopen after a Dec. 3 follow-up inspection only turned up 2 violation points.
There are nearly 30 ViVis in NYC, including one on 14th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue and Third Avenue at Ninth Street.
Taiwan Bear House will be opening an outpost on 10th Street at First Avenue (between Snowdays and United Copy & Print in the same building that houses Tarallucci E Vino).
The cafe sells a variety of bubble tea, bento boxes and fried chicken.
The restaurant opened its first outpost on Pell Street in 2015, and earned a "Critic's Pick" at the Times.
Per the Times:
The fried chicken is inspired by the “popcorn” style of chicken sold at night markets in Taiwan, boneless hunks of meat perfumed with Chinese five-spice and slightly feverish, with a chewiness just under the surface. The pork chop is dredged not in the usual sweet potato starch but in panko. Purists may object, but the sheath of crumbs comes out well bronzed, somehow crispy and wispy at once.
Still, if I had to choose, I would forgo pork chop or chicken for a larger heap of that minced pork, the cheapest bento option, and the best.
TK Kitchen is closing after service on Sunday here on St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.
Here's part of a message from the TK Facebook page:
Dear all TK lovers and TK Family:
Dec. 10th will be our last day to serve you.
[W]e are really glad that we brought this bubble tea and Taiwanese food culture into New York city, we also feel really thankful for those people who loved us, but unfortunately, we have to say goodbye.
We are truly thankful for people who support us, to us, this is not just a restaurant, it's somehow a part of Taiwanese's memory when you are in town, in New York, it is just like home, it is really hard to use words to describe how thankful and how sorry we have to make this decision.
We will keep working hard after we finish, as a matter of fact, we have a new idea [that we are] planning at the moment, we will be back soon!
It's unclear from their message if they will reopen in this space or somewhere else. (They will have a new neighbor if they do reopen here.)
TK evolved during its 10 years here... initially sharing space as TKettle with a BBQ Chicken chain, as seen in this photo from the EVG bubble tea archives ...
As previously noted, the chainlet, with an outpost in Flushing, takes over the space from CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice, the Taiwan-based chain that closed in late May after nearly five and a half years in business.
This space here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue was Rockit Scientist Records until the spring of 2012. There was also, for a sec, Iris Cafe.
You may now buy your Halloween costume this August (Monday)
... and there's a free screening tomorrow at 1 p.m. of "Desperately Seeking Susan" at the Tompkins Square Library branch on 10th Street... On Thursday, the day that Aretha Franklin died, our friend Alex pointed out this scene from the film ... featuring Madonna (who happened to turn 60 on Thursday) at Love Saves the Day (one of the buildings destroyed in the deadly March 2015 gas explosion on Second Avenue) ... and a soundtrack courtesy of Aretha ...
That's apparently all for the Alley at 68 Cooper Square (across from Cooper Union) ... earlier this year, a "closed until further notice" sign went up on the front door...
There wasn't any further notice. This address is no longer on the Alley's website... and Google lists them as permanently closed.
Pinch shares these new signage photos for two coming-soon retail establishments... for starters, the generic yet descriptive-sounding Deli Convenience is opening on the west side of First Avenue between 13th Street and 14th Street.
Given the lack of marijuana leaves or weed puns on the sign, it looks like it will be a market-type shop instead of a smoke shop.
Tony's Famous Pizza closed here (No. 231) at the start of the year after 18 months in business. Tony's took over the storefront from Vinny Vincenz, which quietly closed in April 2021 after 18 years of service.
And at 220 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue ... the Partea signage is up...
As previously noted, this will be the second location for Partea, which started in Flushing. The concept: "Street eats, bubble tea and games in an energetic restaurant inspired by Taiwanese night markets."
As such, the sign highlights claw machines, bubble tea and fried chicken.
