Noted

Photos by Derek Berg 

Crews are setting up for a production with the code name "Yogurt" here on Seventh Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

It's a TV series with a retro vibe, given the assembled 1990s-era props here ... and NOT TRASH!

Anyway, the crews will be filming around here ... we saw notices on Avenue A... the Bowery... among other places. And we'll see if we can uncover what "Yogurt" really is (ASIDE from a popular food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk).

Updated 12:36 p.m.

Thanks to Emily, via the comments. The series is called "Up Here."

Here's more via Deadline:

Former Good Girls star Mae Whitman has been tapped as the female lead in Up Here, Hulu's musical romantic comedy series from Tick, Tick… Boom! and Dear Evan Hansen writer Steven Levenson, The Carmichael Show's Danielle Sanchez-Witzel, Hamilton director Thomas Kail, and the Frozen and WandaVision songwriting duo of Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. 

16 Handles returns all glown up

16 Handles recently returned from its closed-for-renovations state on Second Avenue between Ninth Street and 10th Street with new signage that no longer looks like 16 Hindles.

Here's more on the new look via the EVG inbox from Friday...

In celebration of the brand’s 10th birthday, 16 Handles East Village has a fresh new look, complete with custom neon signs, the brand’s signature bold colors, and exposed brick, giving the East Village store the ultimate glow up. The brand will also be working with local artists to paint murals to amplify the space.

The store has also incorporated an entirely new element — #TreatsBy16 counter-serve Fro-Yo, ice cream, and desserts — by bringing a soft-serve machine behind the counter. The very first product to launch with this new concept is the #GalaxyCone ... a deliciously sweet combination of Cotton Candy and Sweet Taro Pie frozen yogurt, served in a cotton candy cloud cone with stars and galaxy-themed hues of blue, pink, and purple.

The state of national retailers in NYC; Dunkin’ Donuts tops the list again

The Center for an Urban Future released its 10th annual State of the Chains report in late December... here are some cut-n-paste highlights ... (the full report is here)...

The tenth annual ranking of national retailers in New York City ... shows a 1.8 percent increase in the number of store locations over last year. Though this is the ninth consecutive year with a net increase in national chain stores across the five boroughs, the growth was limited to a relatively small number of retailers.

In a year in which the challenges facing brick-and-mortar retail have burst into view, this report finds that New York’s national chains are not immune to the pressure. Although food establishments continue to show strong growth, retailers that compete most directly with online outlets — such as shoe and electronics stores — have experienced significant contractions.

Overall, a fifth of all national retailers in the city closed stores in the past year, and only one-in-seven retailers on our list increased their footprint — the smallest share since we began keeping track a decade ago.

For the ninth consecutive year, Dunkin’ Donuts tops our list as the largest national retailer in New York City, with a total of 612 stores, a net increase of 16 stores since 2016 — and 271 since 2008. But this year there is a new retailer in the second position on our list: MetroPCS now has 445 stores in the five boroughs, adding 119 locations over the past year and surpassing Subway, which is now third, with 433 stores.

Fast-casual dining chain restaurants in the five boroughs increased 105 percent over the past decade, from 141 to 289, while the number of fast-food restaurant chains grew 14 percent, from 1,107 to 1,261.2 And there are now 952 chain coffee shops in New York, 65 percent more than a decade ago, led by Dunkin’ Donuts. Food-related chains are responsible for 41 percent of the growth in national retailer locations in New York over the past ten years, the most of any category.

And...

In reviewing the past decade for New York’s national retailers, one thing is clear: the growth of restaurants and food retailers is leading the charge.

The number of coffee chains expanded 65 percent since our first chains report was published in 2008, powered by the expansion of Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks, as well as local chains like Joe Coffee. During this ten-year period, chain coffee shops added 621 locations, more than any other category. Dunkin’ Donuts alone grew 79 percent.

The number of fast-casual dining chain restaurants in the five boroughs has more than doubled in the past decade, from 141 to 289. The growth of fast-casual chains like Chipotle and Chop’t is in addition to the growth in fast-food restaurants.

The number of chain bakeries — such as Le Pain Quotidien and Panera Bread — has more than tripled over the past decade, from 55 to 161. This is in addition to the growth in fast-casual chains.

Chains that specialize in frozen yogurt, such as Red Mango and 16 Handles, have expanded 283 percent — the largest growth rate of any retailer category. In 2008, there were 12 chain yogurt stores, and today there are 46. However, the city seems to have reached peak yogurt in 2014, with 57 chain yogurt locations.

[A]fter years of growth, chain pharmacies have begun to contract. Chain pharmacies, which include Duane Reade/Walgreens, Rite Aid, and CVS, lost 53 locations since last year and now have a total of 588 locations. This number is just 1 percent above the number of chain pharmacy locations in 2008. This is largely because Duane Reade/Walgreens has been consolidating locations since its 2010 merger and is closing 600 locations nationwide in preparation for a major acquisition of stores from Rite Aid.

Starbucks has more stores in Manhattan than any other national retailer, with 223 locations.

You can find the 2016 report here ... and 2015 ... 2014 ... 2013...

Speaking of Dunkin' Donuts, the one at 250 E. Houston St. between Avenue A and Avenue B will no longer be open 24/7, per the door signage...

ICYMI, July 4 holiday edition

[Stress of getting to the BBQ on time when you have the grill]

In case you were away or not online much during this long holiday break... a look at some EVG posts from Friday night on...

Christo needs a larger bird bath (Tuesday)

Body found in the East River north of the Williamsburg Bridge (Tuesday)

Details on the "New York in the 70s" series starting this week at the Film Forum (Monday)

Reader report: Rooftop fire on 12th Street (Monday)

Cab strikes and kills 87-year-old man on Cooper Square (Monday)

There was a street fair (Sunday)

Why it would be a bad idea to take this discarded carpet on Second Avenue (Sunday)

Fake severed head discovered in Tompkins Square Park (Sunday)

Your July 1 rainbow action (Saturday)

"Sesame Street" filmed on Sixth Street, starring Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird (Saturday)

The Tompkins Square Park sinkhole remains in sinking form (Saturday)

The Victor Gallery closes on Third Street (Saturday)

Gigi wants to know where the Yasso S’mores frozen Greek yogurt bars are at Key (Friday)

... and yesterday, Derek Berg spotted this pretty rare 1965 Ford Cobra on Seventh Street at First Avenue ... which attracted some attention...

Gigi leaves a request for Key Food; weekend ruined?

Gigi wants to know where the Yasso S’mores frozen Greek yogurt bars are... Key's frozen dessert section doesn't have them ... and she left some Post-it® Notes about it on the freezer doors here on Avenue A...

H/T Stacie Joy

'Ten Thousand Saints' opens today at the Village East Cinema

It's opening day for "Ten Thousand Saints," the low-budget film adaption of the Eleanor Henderson 1980s novel of the same name.

As you may recall, directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini filmed around the East Village in early 2014 for the movie.

Here's the official plot outline:

Jude (Asa Butterfield) is a teenage boy who is trying to reconnect with his father Les (Ethan Hawke) in 1987 Manhattan. When Jude's friend, Teddy (Avan Jogia), dies of a drug overdose, Jude finds himself befriending a group of friends who are against drugs, alcohol, profanity and sex and live for punk-style rock music. When he meets Eliza (Hailee Steinfeld), who is sixteen years old and is pregnant with Teddy's child, he and Les are forced to be her rock as she struggles through her pregnancy and early motherhood while Jude struggles with his feelings for her and his relationship with his father.

And here's the trailer ...



The Los Angeles Times has an interview with the filmmakers here. The the article, Spring Berman, who lived in the East Village during the Tompkins Square Riots of 1988, which serve as a backdrop to "Saints," discusses filming challenges and then vs. now:

The tops of buildings hadn't changed, and there are still street signs and a few landmarks that have not been turned into a Chipotle or a gourmet frozen yogurt shop. But they are becoming fewer and farther between. Even graffiti had become a scarce commodity — which led to some creative solutions.

"If we saw a graffiti-covered truck, we'd flag it down and give them 50 bucks to park in front of a Citi bike stand," Pulcini said.

The filmmakers did make use of one natural resource that always seems to be in abundance in the city. "I would often see our production designer picking up garbage," Pulcini said. "I'm not going to pay for garbage in New York," Springer Berman added.

"Saints" looks to capture both the beauty and messiness of the past, to walk up against a line of romanticization while being careful not to cross it. "I get irritated sometimes when people say how difficult it is in New York now and how much better it was then," Pulcini said. "Yes, it's hard because it's expensive and you're living with 13 roommates if you're in your 20s. But back then you were mugged and pulled into a stairway at gunpoint. There was a rat in every apartment. I don't know that it was easier."

As for the film, the Daily News was dismissive with a two-star review ... while The Village Voice praises Ethan Hawke and says "the movie has a lilting, generous spirit." And the Times says that "Saints" is "full of quietly impressive performances and young characters who register as authentic."

And the trades: Variety declared it a "warmly conceived dramedy [that] will likely resonate strongest with audiences who have a direct connection to the story’s place and time" … while The Hollywood Reporter called it "a sensitive but not overserious coming-of-age pic with a strong sense of place."

The Village East Cinema is on Second Avenue at East 12th Street. Find more info and showtimes here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Filmmakers will recreate the Tompkins Square Park Riot of 1988 this Thursday night

Film crew recreates 'tent city' in Tompkins Square Park

Film crew uses 'D Squat' and phone booths to recreate an 1980s East Village on 6th Street

[Updated] First Avenue subbing for Avenue D today

Another 'riot' in Tompkins Square Park, this time for the cameras

Workers quickly gutted the former St. Mark's Bookshop space

Workers spent the weekend (Sunday too!) gutting the shop's home of 22 years at 31 Third Ave. and Stuyvesant Street ...



St. Mark's Bookshop closed on June 29 ahead of a move to a new, smaller storefront at 136 E. Third St. just west of Avenue A. No official word just yet when the shop can open here. Some time this week, most likely.

St. Mark's Bookstore first opened on St. Mark's Place in 1977 ... they had locations at No. 12 and across the street at No. 13.

As for the future of 31 Third Ave., Jeremiah Moss writes: "What will greet me next in this space? A brainless bank, a soulless Starbucks, a fucking frozen yogurt emporium?"

Spicy House arrives on 3rd Avenue

[Photo from February 2014]

We spotted a new retail listing for 96 Third Ave. between East 12th Street and East 13th Street back in February … at the time, the space was home to the three-year-old Teriyaki Express & Sushi.

And the new tenant is up and running as of this past weekend — Spicy House … featuring "Asian cuisine and sushi."



Maybe worth noting: the retail listing for the address did specifically state "NO COFFEE, NO CHINESE FOOD, NO BURGERS, NO FROZEN YOGURT."

In any event, we haven't spotted any menus for Spicy House just yet.

[Updated] Reader report: CB3 votes down Friedman-Bloomfield cafe concept for Avenue A

[Photo from February]

The CB3/SLA Liquor Licensing Committee voted 6-1 tonight to deny high-profile restaurateurs Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield a license to open a cafe in the former San Loco space at 151 Avenue A.

According to a reader at the meeting, CB3 member Ariel Palitz cast the lone vote of support. (Also, we hear that Friedman and Bloomfield were not in attendance.)

Of course, all final decisions are up to the State Liquor Authority, so the two could take their case there. However, as Eater previously noted, Friedman and Bloomfield dropped plans for a wine bar on Bleecker Street in April 2012 after encountering some resistance from residents in Community Board 2's jurisdiction.

And some residents had concerns about their Avenue A proposal.



Updated 6:09 a.m.

BoweryBoogie has a report from the meeting here. Per BB: "There was staunch opposition to this application for fear of a bait-and-switch. There’s no kitchen and the food offered is a “light menu.” San Loco, in contrast, never 'celebrated' its drink offerings."

Updated 10:09 a.m.

Friedman tells Eater that they will not pursue the space any further.

We love the East Village and specifically Avenue A. But if we aren't wanted there, we get it. Unfortunately for those who think they've done a great thing by preventing another restaurant or bar from opening there, they will discover that the rent is too high for a barber shop or frozen yogurt store, so a bar or another taco shop will most likely take this space.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield eyeing the former San Loco space on Avenue A

More details about the new Avenue A project from Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield

Revisiting Luigi's 3rd Ave. Pizza

[Last Saturday]

Ghost signage for Luigi's 3rd Ave. Pizza recently appeared on the northwest corner of Third Avenue and East 12th Street. Via the magic of Facebook, we found two photos of Luigi's when it was open in the early to mid 1980s…





The photos are by John Fensten, whose daughter Susan Fensten shared them with us.

The corner space is now being fitted for a Funkiberry Premium Frozen Yogurt shop.

Previously on EV Grieve:
DOUBLE ghost signage discovered at 88 3rd Ave.

DOUBLE ghost signage discovered at 88 3rd Ave.

Earlier last month, EVG reader Dave from 14th Street noted the above ghost signage that workers uncovered while converting the former Amici Pizza into (heh) a Funkiberry Premium Frozen Yogurt shop.

NOW!

EVG regular ~evilsugar notes that there was ghost signage under the Lawrence & Paul's Pizza & Restaurant ghost signage…



Here's a better shot via Scoboco … showing Luigi's 3rd Ave. Pizza…



Meanwhile, the remains of the the Lawrence & Paul's sign are now in the dumpster on Third Avenue…



Previously on EV Grieve:
Stuff that you can't make up: More FroYo for the East Village

Ghost signage uncovered on Third Avenue and East 12th Street

FroYo casualty: Twister is done on Second Avenue

Twister has closed on Second Avenue near East Seventh Street. Which may not be too much of a surprise given that we never ever ever saw one person inside the place other than employees. (Somewhere we have a photo of an employee sitting by the front window playing a game on his smartphone ... next to a Help Wanted banner.)

The family owned and operated self-serve frozen yogurt shop opened back in August.

On this subject matter, several readers have noted that Twist on Avenue A appears to be dead. (What is the difference between Twist and Twister? Please don't answer.)

Still! Despite closures like this, the froyo craze doesn't show signs of ever slowing down... Red Mango opened earlier this year on Second Avenue... and then there's Funkiberry coming to Third Avenue. Per their website: "Funkiberry is the land of endless yogurt possibilities, where you rule the portions, the choices and the scene."

Ghost signage uncovered on Third Avenue and East 12th Street

AAA (New) Amici Pizza was rent hiked out of business here last July. Workers have been renovating the space for the new tenant… uncovering some ghost signage in the process… per these photos courtesy of EVG reader Dave from 14th Street…



Trying to remember this place… Lawrence & Paul's Pizza & Restaurant. The space was Due Amici before New Amici in the early 1990s … Anyone recall Lawrence & Paul's?

As for the new tenant [sadly chuckling] … soon to be home to Funkiberry Premium Frozen Yogurt. Yes, it's true.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Stuff that you can't make up: More FroYo for the East Village

Space currently housing Teriyaki Express & Sushi is for lease on Third Avenue

There's a new retail listing for 96 Third Ave. … currently home to the three-year-old Teriyaki Express & Sushi. The listing at Newmark Grubb Knight Frank says that the space will be available in March. The rent for the 1,400-square-foot space is negotiable.

Other particulars: "NO COFFEE, NO CHINESE FOOD, NO BURGERS, NO FROZEN YOGURT." Which makes sense given these are things the adjacent businesses are selling.

This side of the block has seen plenty of changes of late… AAA Amici Pizza on Third Avenue at East 12th Street closed last July. The space will become home to a Funkiberry FroYo shop. Next door, Han Dynasty opened in the fall. Then there was the new Nevada Smiths that opened last spring … ditto for Feast. And just across East 13th Street on the northwest corner is the new bar-restaurant the Brazen Fox. (Finally, The Wayside Cafe and Bar opened at 139 E. 12th Street last July behind the former AAA Amici Pizza.)

Seems like a lot of new businesses for one block these past 12 months...

More details on DF Mavens, opening next spring on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place

As we first reported back on Oct. 17, that prime northwest corner space on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place has a new tenant — a retail outpost of DF Mavens...

And yesterday, the DFM folks sent along the official news release about this outpost...

Situated on a prime block at the corner of Second Avenue, DF Mavens’ flagship store will open in the spring of 2014 and showcase the brand’s award-winning line of dairy-free ice creams. The store will feature a wide range of vegan snack and beverages, including a full line of baked goods, fresh juices and coffee.

“We’re very excited to open our first dedicated storefront and plant our flag in the vibrant East Village food scene,” states Malcolm Stogo, a world-renowned ice cream consultant and founder of DF Mavens. “Our new retail outpost will allow us to bring delicious, dairy-free ice cream to a greater segment of New Yorkers who want vegan-friendly dessert options in time for the warm weather.”

DF Mavens also announces that four of its pint-sized non-dairy ice creams are now being carried in Whole Foods Markets at Union Square, Columbus Circle, Bowery and Tribeca. These flavors include: Shot of Java, New Orleans Salted Praline, Del Lago Chocolate and Key Lime Pie.

DF Mavens pint-sized offerings include 9 flavors that feature the highest quality ingredients and are categorized by soy-based, coconut-based or sugar-free varieties. Designed to taste as good as any cream-based formula, each flavor is handcrafted by Stogo himself, who has consulted on brands like Haagen Dazs, Stonyfield’s Frozen Yogurt and Colombo.

As you may recall, Stogo, the vegan ice cream shop on East 10th Street just west of Second Avenue, closed for business in November 2012.

Stogo opened in December 2008 at the site of the beloved A. Fontana Shoe Repair, forced out after 45 years due to a big rent hike.

FroYo confirmed for Avenue A

[Via EVG reader Darbi Worley]

Back in July we heard from multiple tipsters that a frozen yogurt shop was opening at 70 Avenue A (part of the storefront that previously housed East Village Pharmacy) ... the new awning is up, and the place is called Twist (not to be confused with the just-opened Twister on Second Avenue.) Not sure if this Twist is any relation to the Twist with locations in New Jersey.

New business now open on Second Avenue

Meant to mention this earlier in the week... Twister, a family owned and operated, self-serve frozen yogurt shop, is now open on Second Avenue near East Seventh Street. (First spotted the sign at the former Spa Belles location back in January.) The employees handing out free samples outside were very nice.

And to head this off at the pass in the comments, Twister does NOT serve anything in a hoof. So no FroHoHo™. (Frozen Hoboken Hoof.)

Q-and-A with Amy Nicholson, director of 'Zipper: Coney Island's Last Wild Ride'

"Zipper: Coney Island's Last Wild Ride" examines the greed and politics that have helped gut the neighborhood. The film centers on Eddie Miranda, the Zipper's operator who, despite turning profits, was forced to shut down after 38 years of operation.

Director Amy Nicholson's film also includes an interview with developer Joe Sitt, whose rezoned-to-death vision is turning the neighborhood "into a chain store wasteland," as the Observer put it.

"Zipper" has been on the film festival circuit, and now receives a week-long theatrical release starting Friday at the IFC Center on Sixth Avenue. While the documentary focuses on Coney Island, Nicholson explores issues that are being experienced in other NYC neighborhoods.

Here, she answers a few questions about the film and the ongoing march of luxurification throughout the city.

When we last talked, you had a slot at the First Time Fest 2013 in the East Village. How does it feel to get a theatrical release now at IFC?

I feel so lucky and I keep thinking someone is going to call and take it all away. It’s kind of unreal. I couldn’t be more excited.


[Via the "Zipper" Facebook page]

What do you think makes a place like Coney Island so special?

There’s something magical about carnival atmosphere. It’s pure fun. All the lights and noises and people screaming and everything moving and the smells from the food ... Then you combine all that with a beach and you add in all those sounds and smells and it’s just heaven.

But what makes Coney Island so special is that it has a very rich history of being a place where people can come and blow off steam, let it all hang out. You can scream, dance, eat a hot dog, eat some candy, wear whatever you want, act freaky, look at something freaky, be amazed, be scared — it’s all there. And all are welcome.

Does Coney Island still feel special to you? Or is it starting to become Anywhere On a Beach USA?

Something big is missing now and I really think it left along with some of the people who were displaced with the rezoning. Coney Island’s history isn’t just baked into the place, it is baked into the people who are down there. They grew up there and they could tell you stories that a kid in corporate khakis and a polo shirt can’t.

I also think it has lost some of its aesthetic value. So much of the great hand painted signage was literally just thrown out. Why did Paul’s Daughter on the boardwalk have to be “cleaned up?” That was one of the most photographed buildings in the world! And then there’s the new carousel building, which is trying way to hard to be fun with those big kooky letters. I don’t know — it all just seems off.

You were at the last day of Big Nick's on July 28. What closures around the city have been particularly painful for you to see?

Colony Records, Joe’s Dairy, The Rawhide, Max Fish... In my neighborhood [Greenwich Village] in the past three years alone we’ve lost Joe Jr’s, The Food Emporium, Groom-o-rama Pet Shop, Jefferson Market, which, as we speak, is being transformed into the Rudin Sales Office for Greenwich Lane – the ultra-luxury condo, maisonette and townhouse development going up on the former St. Vincent’s Hospital site. They’re advertising the “discretion” their new residents will enjoy, whatever that means.

These closings are all so painful. And in their places we see an explosion of banks, frozen yogurt chains, cellphone stores – all the businesses that can afford the astronomical rents.

Do you see any end to the chaining of NYC?

Not yet. My husband and I talk about this all the time. It will only end when those businesses have no customers and the landlords realize that they can no longer charge those rents that moms and pops can’t touch. We’re talking about a very long process to try and undo what has been done.

Nearly six years went into making "Zipper." Do you have another documentary subject in the works?

Not yet. But I have a few ideas. First I am going to sleep and save some money.


Zipper Trailer

Find more about the movie here. Find IFC showtimes here.

EV Grieve Eatery Etc.: Saints Tavern is purple; Organic Avenue is open

Haven't done one of these in eons. Behind!

-----

On St. Mark's Place, the newish Saints Tavern got a very purple makeover on Tuesday... (it used to be red)...


[Bobby Williams]

Of course, there is some precedent on the block for purple...



-----

After a long period of inactivity, workers have recently started renovating the former Spa Belles location on Second Avenue near East Seventh Street... prepping it to be a fucking Twister self-serve frozen yogurt shop ...



-----

Work continues at 115 Avenue C near East Eighth Street, where Apartment 13 will soon call home ... it's the new restaurant from Paul Seres, the former president of the New York Nightlife Association and a partner in The DL on Delancey and Ludlow... read more about it here. Meanwhile, workers finally removed the iconic sign from the last tenant — The Porch.



-----

In case you missed this one earlier... Fu Sushi closed on Avenue B between East 11th Street and East 12th Street last August. The Post reported back in January that a new Ethiopian restaurant is opening in its place ... called Haile Ethiopian Bistro, and owned by Menasie Haile and Gemada Hiwot. The signs have been up now for what, six weeks? Anyway...


[Dave on 7th]

-----

And the new outpost of Organic Avenue opened last Friday on Third Avenue and East Ninth Street... in the space of the former travel agency...



According to their website:

[T]he leading provider of organic cold pressed juices, raw food cleansing programs, snacks, superfoods, truly natural beauty products, healthy lifestyle education and community building events. The company helps people learn how to transition and maintain a healthy lifestyle that is pleasurable and sustainable, while also friendly to people, animals and the environment.

Getting a Handle on a FroYo empire

[May 2012]

Speaking of FroYo... TheStreet.com has an article on 16 Handles' expansion plans. The self-serve froyogurters opened their very first store right here on Second Avenue back in the innocent days of 2008...

And today! Per the article:

It now has 37 locations across six states through franchising. It plans to more than double that amount by the end of 2014.

16 Handles has some big shoes to fill though. Frozen yogurt sales topped $760 million in 2012 with TCBY, Red Mango and Pinkberry controlling half of the industry, according to IBISWorld.

In the Q-and-A, founder and CEO Solomon Choi says that he plans "to be at a 100 stores by end of next year and at 150 stores [by 2015] and also in a couple different countries at that point.

$760 million? Maybe we should open a FroYo place too...