On the CB3-SLA docket: Applicants for the former Mermaid Inn and Cheese Grille spaces

Photo of the former Mermaid Inn by Steven 

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

New Liquor License Applications 

 • Wonderland (Feichangchengong Inc), 96 2nd Ave. (op) 

Wonderland is the proposed restaurant offering an "Asian fusion menu" at the former Mermaid Inn space on Second Avenue between Fifth Street and Sixth Street. 

The proprietors also operate Chili, a Sichuan restaurant on East 37th Street. You can find their CB3 questionnaire here, which includes a sample menu and proposed hours of operation (indoors, 4 p.m. to midnight daily). 

The Mermaid Inn arrived in the East Village in 2003, with several outposts to follow... they closed here during the pandemic, only to reopen then close again in the fall of 2022 after just seven weeks. 

• Sunflower East Village (RJM Hospitality LLC), 88 2nd Ave (op) 

This is a holdover from last month... we previously noted that the NE corner of Second Avenue and Fifth Street will be home to another location of Sunflower, a cafe serving breakfast-brunch on Third Avenue between 25th Street and 26th Street. 

The EV location looks to have the same menu/vibe, though with dinner service. Find the questionnaire here. 

Sunflower is owned and operated by the same folks as the previous tenant here, Eros, the Greek restaurant that quietly closed in August 2022 when a "temporarily closed" sign arrived on the front door. Eros took over for their diner concept, The Kitchen Sink, in September 2021.

• Idleflora LLC, 188 Allen St (op) 

Idleflora is the name of the proposed "plant-based tea shop and tapas bistro" at 188 Allen St. between Stanton and Houston. 

According to the questionnaire on the CB3 website, the space will also include a retail flower shop. The proprietors operate several East Village restaurants, including Shinn East and Thirteen Water on Seventh Street and Appas Pizza on First Avenue. 

This long, narrow storefront was previously home to Cheese Grille for nearly 10 years. 

• Made in Houston Inc, 205 Allen St (wb) 

The owners of C as in Charlie on Bleecker Street are behind this new restaurant serving Korean cuisine from the SW corner of Allen Street and Houston. You can find the questionnaire here, which includes a sample menu and other details. 

The arrival of the unnamed new restaurant means the end of Mi Salsa Kitchen, the Cuban eatery, at this location. (We contacted Mi Salsa for info about a possible relocation.)

Items not heard at Committee

• MT 121 St Marks LLC, 123 St Marks Pl (wb) 

This applicant will not be heard this evening — they've already received conditional approval for a beer-wine license based on their method of operation, hours (11 a.m. to midnight daily), etc. 

The owners of Chicago's Moody Tongue Brewing Company are behind this venture, a still unnamed Japanese restaurant that will serve a variety of sushi platters and entrees. You can find more details and a sample menu here. 

The team opened Moody Tongue Sushi on West 10th Street earlier this year. The Dining Room at Moody Tongue in Chicago boasts two Michelin stars. 

This space on St. Mark's Place just west of Avenue A last housed Pop's Eat-Rite, the veggie burger joint.

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

Week in Grieview

Posts from this past week included (with a photo from Tompkins Square Park by Steven) ... 

• ICYMI: Proof of vaccination now required for restaurants, bars, theaters and more (Wednesday) 

• Report: Madison Realty Capital moving to foreclose on leasehold for 3 St. Mark's Place (Tuesday) 

• The NYPD is collecting donations for earthquake victims in Haiti (Monday) 

• Good news-bad news about the water-main work on 7th Street and 1st Avenue (Monday) 

• Animal collective: Pillow-Cat Books coming to 9th Street (Monday) 

• Spellbound: Spooksvilla + Friends moving to 309 E. 9th St. (Thursday) 

• Kestrel maneuvers to rescue this fledging along Avenue B (Tuesday) 

• Report: Superiority Burger moving into the former Odessa space on Avenue A (Friday)

• Cure Thrift Shop opening later this month in new space on 3rd Avenue (Monday) 

• In the midnight hour, East Berlin will start a weekly film series (Tuesday) 

• Last weekend for Tea Drunk on 7th Street (Friday) 

• Express yourself: A look at the new FedEx space on Houston (Friday) 

• The expanding and shrinking pedestrian passage on St. Mark's Place at 3rd Avenue (Wednesday) 

• Stuyvesant Deli Grocery debuts on 14th and A (Wednesday) 

• Rakka Cafe has not been open lately (Wednesday) 

• Where are they now? Catching up with Gem Spa's former Zoltar in Bushwick (Thursday) 

• Like a diversion: Former local resident celebrates a birthday (Monday)

And we've seen signage on storefronts around the neighborhood as businesses take a late-summer break...

At East Village Buyers at 150 E. Third St., the temp closure note includes an apology, to which someone responded: "It's okay. We understand." (Thanks to Stacie Joy for the pics!)

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Superiority Burger's original 9th Street space closes ahead of move to new home on Avenue A

Superiority Burger said farewell yesterday to its original home at 430 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.... even painting over that hand-painted Superiority Burger signage [with the odd word break and weird kerning, per EVG commenter EV Signage and Font Troll].

In the months ahead, Brooks Headley and Co. will be moving to 119 Avenue A, where Superiority Burger is taking over the Odessa space. They'll have a lot more space for diners as well as a liquor license. 

Brooks told EVG correspondent Steven that he hopes to be ready with the new space between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place in late February-early March. And he plans on holding onto this Ninth Street outpost for the time being.

The popular all-vegetarian quick-serve spot opened in the East Village in June 2015. 

Week in Grieview

[10th and A this morning via Michael Sean Edwards]

On East 9th Street Dusty Buttons is closing after 125% rent hike: 'Saying goodbye will hurt like hell' (Thursday)

189 Avenue C is converting to condos (Monday)

Progress and frustration at B&H Dairy (Friday)

Dutch Elm Disease inoculation continues in Tompkins Square Park (Monday)

More about the 10-story building taking the place of the former BP station at 24 Second Ave. (Thursday)

Rent freeze on 1-year leases for rent-controlled apartments (Monday)

Out and About with Nelson Vercher (Wednesday)

Via Della Pace opening a pizzeria on St. Mark's Place (Thursday)

Screen time for Fledgling #1 (Thursday)

Pushcart Coffee opens on Third Avenue (Thursday)

About Superiority Burger (Tuesday, 37 comments)

Here's the trailer for 'Ten Thousand Saints,' set in the 1980s East Village (Monday)

Nonna's Pizza arrives on Avenue A (Monday)

Opening Day at New York Macaroni Co. on St. Mark's Place (Monday)

Boutique 67 ready for sales on Avenue C (Wednesday)

The Dry Dock Playground is closed for reconstruction (Wednesday)

Former Dolphin Gym will work out as medical office space (Monday)

PYT bringing its offbeat burger creations to the Bowery (Tuesday)

Happy Birthday Debbie Harry! (Wednesday)

Checking out Centre-fuge Cycle 17 on East First Street (Monday)

Demolition underway at 127 Avenue D (Wednesday)

We found some legs (Tuesday)

Court gives NYU OK for $6 billion expansion (Wednesday)

Construction watch: 397-401 E. Eighth St. (Tuesday)

Despite Grand Opening banner, Capital Laundry & Dry Cleaners has closed on Avenue B (Monday)

The Subway (sandwich shop) has closed on the Bowery (Tuesday)


[Photo on Avenue D via EVG reader Plumpy]

Some love for Paul's Da Burger Joint

[Photo of Matt Wardrop last summer by Stacie Joy]

As part of its Burger Week, Eater gives some love to Paul's Da Burger Joint, the 26-year-old restaurant on Second Avenue at St. Mark's Place.

Here's a little of the interview with owner Matt Wardrop, who discusses his beginnings here in 1989, the gas explosion a few storefronts away on March 26 and what makes a good burger:

You took this over from your cousin, Paul. Why did Paul decide to give it up?

Matt Wardrop: He had been there 18 years. He wanted to spend some more years on a second place in Florida. I think there were some family issues at the time on his end, so he was just like, "I've been here all this time, I got some issues to take care of, You'll take the place." And it kind of worked out, you know?

Were you working here before then?

I'd come hang out, come and eat once in a while. And I'd help out briefly, on different shifts if someone was missing, that kind of thing. But never really the full, on-the-line work.

What were you doing before?

A couple different things. I was in the automotive repair business for a long time. My partner and I had a shop in Queens. Completely different feel from here. I mean, it's still a retail business, but a completely different thing. So I didn't have any hardcore restaurant experience when I came here. I just got thrown in and learned quickly.

Read the whole Q-and-A here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Celebrating 25 years at Paul's Da Burger Joint

Week in Grieview

[New Year's Day on Avenue A via Derek Berg]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

Gone but not forgotten (Friday)

Winter coat drive underway at Maryhouse on East Third Street (Wednesday)

The latest PS 64 debacle: Investors sue Gregg Singer (Thursday)

The Lazy Llama Coffee Bar is open in the former Bluebird space on East First Street (Tuesday)

Wayland owners now eyeing Royale space for The Drift on Avenue C (Tuesday)

Sweethaus Cupcake Cafe opening an outpost on St. Mark's Place (Monday)

Developer Douglas Steiner lands $130 million loan for condo construction at former Mary Help of Christians space (Tuesday)

Mamoun's Falafel is moving on St. Mark's Place (Wednesday)

99¢ Pizza now serving 99¢ pizza on Avenue A (Thursday)

The city's first free wi-fi kiosk is now outside Starbucks on Third Avenue and East 15th Street (Monday)

Future tenant in the works for the former Nevada Smiths space (Monday)

Bluestone Lane Coffee signage arrives at 51 Astor Place (Thursday)

The MáLà Project now open on First Avenue (Wednesday)

City mentions the "S" word! (Monday)

Columbia Care brands its marijuana dispensary on East 14th Street (Tuesday)

A dry cleaner-laundromat combo for the former Little Pakistan Deli space on Second Avenue (Monday)

397-401 E. Eighth St. now with mini balconies, AC units (Thursday)

The "Star Wars" stunt burger (Tuesday)

There won't be any skating on Extell Lake this winter (Wednesday)

Tricked-out barber pole arrives on East Sixth Street (Wednesday)

Soothsayer is hiring on Avenue A (Monday)

Our dwindling number of diners

Back on Friday, we reported that the Lower East Side Coffee Shop, which opened in 2008, is now in the legal possession of the landlord here on 14th Street just west of Avenue A. 

Gov. Cuomo's moratorium on commercial evictions expired on Jan. 31 The posted eviction notice is dated Feb. 4...

Cuomo is advancing legislation to extend the statewide moratorium to May 1. 

News of the closure prompted conversations about the dwindling number of diners left in the neighborhood. While the Lower East Side Coffee Shop was on the new-ish side, it had an old-school vibe, thanks in part to the neon signage that was a welcome sight alongside the Domino's, Trader Joe's and Target.

Elsewhere: Little Poland, which opened in 1985 at 200 Second Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street, has been closed since last March. 

At the start of the year, the diner's Instagram account posted a New Year's wish... with a note saying: "We ... hope we get to see all your beautiful faces soon!"

The storefront remains frozen in March 2020 time...

Meanwhile, as you know, Odessa, which dates to the mid-1960s on Avenue A between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place, closed in July. Longtime manager Dennis Vassilatos said that Odessa was shutting down after a prolonged slump in business due to COVID-19.

Closer to the last day, however, co-owner Steve Helios told Gothamist that Odessa was only closing temporarily, that the space would be renovated. (The building's landlord is Odessa partner Mike Skulikidis.)

To date, seven months later, no work has been done on the space... here's a look from this past weekend...

As for what remains open. Two institutions, Veselka, 144 Second Ave. at Ninth Street, and B&H Diary, 127 Second Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place, are doing their best under trying circumstances. (Noting: Some purists will say that Veselka is more of a restaurant than a diner, having evolved from its 1950s and 1960s roots, and that B&H is more of a lunch counter. You can debate that in the comments.)

Kitchen Sink, a (slightly) more upscale diner, remains open at 88 Second Ave. at Fifth Street...

The former Moonstruck Diner (as of October 2015) turned off a few die-hards with the arrival at the time of flat-screen TVs and drinks served in mason jars. (Pandemic aside, operating a diner in NYC is always a tough business with rising costs and changing tastes.)

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Updated: Adding Remedy (b. 2007) here over at 245 E. Houston St. at Norfolk.

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And not too far away, there's the Famous Cozy Soup 'n' Burger at 739 Broadway near Astor Place... (this photo is from last summer when they reopened after a five-month hiatus) ...

The diner is struggling to afloat with the downturn in activity (students, tourists, office workers) along this corridor. Manager John Stratidis, who has worked here since age 9, was featured on NY1 back in the fall. His father and uncle opened the diner in 1972. 

Cozy fan Adam Sandler gave them a nice shout-out on Instagram in late December, but the hits keep on coming. Last week, the blizzard wiped out their outdoor dining section. 

Their crowdfunding campaign continues. 

Week in Grieview

Posts from this past week included (with a photo from 10th Street at Stuyvesant by Steven) ... 

• P&T Knitwear Co. bringing books, coffee and podcasts to the Lower East Side (Monday)

• Vandal on skateboard defaces new George Floyd bust in Union Square (Sunday) 

• A visit to Genshinkan Aikido (Tuesday) 

• The latest on the great aisle changeover at Key Food on Avenue A (Friday) 

• NYPD searching for 2 suspects in Sunday evening assault on 3rd Street (Thursday) 

• Weekend reopening recap: Blue & Gold, Tom & Jerry's (Monday) 

• 'Pipe Dreams' at the Ninth Street Community Garden & Park dioramas this fall (Thursday) 

• The Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade returns on Oct. 23 (Tuesday) 

• Like a bat out of hell, a Halloween shop pops up on Avenue A (Wednesday) 

• Mad for Chicken to roost on 14th Street (Thursday) 

• Sidewalk usage available again on the NE corner of 3rd Avenue and St. Mark's Place (Wednesday) 

• ICYMI: Quartino Bottega Organica has closed on Bleecker Street (Monday) 

• Must be the season: Hitchcocktober returns to 2nd Avenue and 12th Street (Wednesday) 

• Fish story: Crab Du Jour bringing seafood boils to 1st Avenue (Tuesday)

• Drunken Dumpling will be serving up its large soup dumplings again soon (Monday) 

• Today in notes about a kitten stuck in your car's engine (Wednesday) 

• Farewell (for now!) to the sinkhole on 1st Avenue at 5th Street (Tuesday) 

• Xing Fu Tang is now open on 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place (Monday)

• Y7 reopens along 250 E. Houston St. (Tuesday) 

• Superiority Burger vying for a liquor license for new Avenue A space (Monday) 

• The Brazen Fox becomes the Ugly Duckling (Monday) 

... and in recent days, workers buffed out the Bowery Mural Wall over on Houston... waiting for confirmation on who's next here... the previous work here, titled "To Open a Portal," had been up for the past year...

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The Marshal takes Mini Burger

The owners of Marco Polo Café (home of the Moo Goo Gai Panini!) reopened as Mini Burger last October on St. Mark's Place last October...

Yesterday, the marshal took possession of the space here between First Avenue and Avenue A...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Tory Burch-endorsed Marco Polo Café cedes to mini burgers on St. Mark's Place

Shi Miaodao Yunnan Rice Noodle opening in the former Mark Burger space on St. Mark's Place

Signage arrived Friday (H/T Steven) for Shi Miaodao Yunnan Rice Noodle, opening soon at 33 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue...




[Photo by Steven]

The restaurant's website (not quite complete) is here ... it shows a few menu items, such as spicy trotter rice noodle and spicy pork intestine. Their hours are 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily.

High rents caused Mark Burger to close here last fall after eight years in business.

Pop's Eat-Rite debuts on St. Mark's Place

Pop's Eat-Rite, a plant-based burger joint from the Good Night Sonny-Wild Son team, opened yesterday at 123 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue. (First reported here.) 

Pop's is serving a classic smashburger, made using Impossible Meat. 

Per their website: "Our meatless menu is our updated take on a classic burger stand, with fries, veggie sides, vegan donuts, soft-serve, smoothies and frozen lemonade and will be entirely free of animal products. "

You can find the menu online here. Or gaze at this...

Moving forward, the quick-serve stop with a to-go window will be open from noon to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays.

Earlier in 2019, the team at Endless Group Hospitality had plans for a steakhouse at No. 123 (most recently Mr. White). However, CB3's SLA committee nixed a full-liquor request for that spot in March 2019.

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.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with an autumnal Key Food scene via Stacie Joy) ...

• Remembering Manny the Peddler (Wednesday) 

• About those fireworks last night on the East River (Thursday)

• A new mural honoring Mahsa Amini (Saturday) 

• Scenes from National Pierogi Day at East Village Meat Market (Monday)

• Lighting up the 7th and A entrance to Tompkins Square Park (Wednesday) 

• Empanada Mama debuts on 14th Street and 1st Avenue (Tuesday) 

• Nomad is closed for now on 2nd Avenue while owner takes a 'much-needed break' (Thursday)

• Dumpling Lab, recipient of a new Bib Gourmand, has closed on 9th Street (Tuesday) 

• Picture this: an art gallery for 5th and B (Thursday) 

• Public art returns to the former CHARAS/El Bohio Community Center (Sunday) 

• Celebrating 60 years of Alex Harsley's photography (Friday) 

• A 14th Street storefront is available to rent for the first time in 63 years (Wednesday) 

• A sidewalk returns to full view and use along St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

• A familiar new rendering for 3 St. Mark's Place (Tuesday) 

• The remains of a charred Acura on Houston (Tuesday) ... City removes charred and tagged Acura from Houston Street (Wednesday) 

• Will we be posting a lot of snow photos this winter? (Tuesday) 

• Openings: Íxta on the Bowery (Wednesday) ... Le Burger on 5th Street (Thursday)

• Glosslab nails down new 4th Avenue storefront (Tuesday) 

... and in recent weeks, workers have removed the sidewalk bridges from Village View — between Second Street and Fourth Street ... the labyrinth remains up on the north side of Fourth to Sixth Street and along the Fifth Street walkway...

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Tory Burch-endorsed Marco Polo Café cedes to mini burgers on St. Mark's Place

Marco Polo Café at 102 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue is changing concepts. The Asian-Italian eatery known for the Moo Goo Gai Panini (better than it sounds!) shuttered after the weekend... Already, a Mini Burger sign has good up over the papered windows...



The Marco Polo home page included the following:

Tory Burch, whom the LA Times has called the most influential fashion designer in America, loves the East Village’s Marco Polo Café. She visited the café to meet and interview the owner and chef Ms. Jiang and called Marco Polo Café an "amazing restaurant" and was so impressed at the delicious dishes Ms. Jiang turns out of the kitchen, that she invited Ms. Jiang to her home to cook a special Sunday dinner for her and her family...

I'm told the same owners are behind the new eatery.

The former Gem Spa space is for lease

[Photo from Saturday]

The former Gem Spa storefront on Second Avenue at St. Mark's Place is now officially on the rental market, billed as "First time available."

The listing at RIPCO doesn't have much info, other than square footage, location, etc. Pricing is available by request.

And while Gem Spa's address was 131 Second Ave., the marketing materials list this as 36 St. Mark's Place.

Potentially concerning (and confusing) is that the listing includes Paul's Da Burger Joint next door. The listing notes that the two spaces are available separately or combined...



The fact that the space was on the market was news to the owners of Paul's, who have a few more years left on the lease.

"I’ll assume at the moment it’s a mistake, as I spoke to the landlord today about something unrelated and nothing was mentioned," Matt Wardrop, who has been running Paul's since 2007, told EVG contributor Stacie Joy on Friday.

He added this on Sunday: "It seems as if that listing was created like that to draw more potential tenants for the corner. Someone can express interest for the whole lot and then the broker can say that only the corner is available. We are still here, doing the best we can given the current state of events. We enjoy serving the community and our loyal customers. We look forward to staying open and continuing to do what we love the most — feeding our loyal friends!"

Stacie stopped by Paul's on Friday...



Here's Angel, who has been here nearly the entire time since the restaurant opened in 1989, with his daughter and co-worker Daniella...



Gem Spa officially closed on May 7 amid ongoing financial challenges worsened by the COVID-19 crisis. The corner has a long history as a candy store and newsstand.

Village Joker turns itself into Augurs Well on St. Mark's Place

[Via Instagram]

Since opening two years ago, the bar-restaurant at 115 St. Mark's Place has gone through several identify changes ... from the Burger Shop ... to the Village Joker. And now the bar has transformed itself into Augurs Well.

We asked Queens native Gregory Nardello, who opened the space with his father, about the change.

"I just decided to switch up the name. We have been zoning in more and more on the craft beer side of things," he said. "[There are] also a couple of small interior makeovers, and I'm working hard on some new menu ideas. Hopefully everything works out for the best."

Openings: A trio of quick-serve vegan options

Three new vegan options opened around the neighborhood last week. (H/T to Matt @vegan.nyx)

A quick recap: 

• PLNT Burger's first NYC outpost opened last Monday at 139 Fourth Ave. between 13th Street and 14th Street. (Previously on EVG.) 

The Virginia-based chain, started by celebrity chef-Food Network star Spike Mendelsohn, has multiple locations in the mid-Atlantic region. You can find the PLNT menu here. 

The space, with room for several diners, is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. 

• Raíz Modern Mexican is up and running at 120 First Ave. (not 120A and 120 1/2!) between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place. 

As previously noted, Raíz is a plant-based, fast-casual restaurant featuring burritos, tacos, salads and bowls. You can find a menu here. 

They are open Tuesday-Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. 

• Vegan Grill, a quick-serve, plant-based restaurant, debuted Thursday at 58 St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue. (First reported in October.) 

The business got its start in late 2019 on Castle Hill Avenue in the Bronx; this will be its third outpost after a grand opening in Williamsburg earlier this month. 

You can find a menu here and some food pics on Instagram. 

Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Top pic via Instagram

What's going on with Pop's Eat-Rite on St. Mark's Place

Workers recently removed the Pop's Eat-Rite signage outside 123 St. Mark's Place. 

The quick-serve plant-based burger joint had been closed the past year, prompting occasional queries from several EVG readers. So we reached out to Robert Ceraso, owner and creative director of the Endless Hospitality Group, about the status of Pop's, which debuted in September 2020. 

For starters, he said that this was always meant to be a temporary pop-up between Avenue A and First Avenue ... "utilizing the space during the pandemic and getting our employees back to work following the shutdown." 

However, Pop's did build a following during its time here. 

"We have been talking to some landlords in the neighborhood about a smaller space to re-open Pop’s. We think that it would be better served in a smaller space with fewer seats inside and more of a focus on to-go and delivery," said Ceraso, whose other East Village establishments include the Wayland, Good Night Sonny and the Wild Son. "People still ask about it all the time, and we would love to get it back open as soon as possible."

EV Grieve Etc.

A few items to note from recent weeks...



Blue 9 Burger closed down on Third Avenue between 12th Street and 13th Street back in February after 14 years... the for rent sign only recently arrived. The rent is negotiable, per the listing, which notes "No Cheesesteaks, No Coffee, No Pizza."

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Rustico closed at the beginning of March on First Avenue between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street. The banner via broker CBRE has been up for a few weeks now, though there isn't any sign of the listing online.

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The space that housed Guayoyo, the family-owned Venezuelan restaurant, has sat empty on the corner of First Avenue and Fourth Street for two-plus years now.

The space was cleaned up early last week... and the Icon Realty sign has been removed... perhaps a sign of a new tenant...


[Photo by Vinny & O]

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A lamp for Clay Pot has arrived outside 58 St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue. The restaurant will be serving "traditional Hong Kong style open-flame cooked clay pot rice" when it opens later this spring.

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[Photo by Steven]

East Side Ink moved one storefront to the south at the end of December here on Avenue B between Seventh Street and Sixth Street.

Per the listing, "all uses considered." No word on the rent.

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The custom frame shop that opened in March 2016 at 36 Third Ave. has closed here between Ninth Street and 10th Street... the sidewalk bridge that has been up the whole time likely didn't help business...

Week in Grieview

[Photo on 9th Street from Thursday by Michael Rosenthal]

Report: 2nd Avenue gas explosion trial to start in September (Monday)

In memory of Kelly Hurley (Thursday)

Jane's Exchange closing this summer on 3rd Street; owners looking for a buyer (Wednesday)

Go on a tour of the East Village tour in 1985 (Thursday)

The latest I Am a Rent-Stabilized Tenant (Friday)

The 31st annual Loisaida Festival is May 27 (Thursday)

7-story residential building planned for former Blue Man Group facilities on 3rd Street (Tuesday)

The Post looks at the Night Mayor's fines as an East Village bar owner (Wednesday)

RIP Gino DiGirolamo (Monday)


[Photo outside Royal Tailor Shop by Dan Scheffey]

'Heeere's Kubrick' at the City Cinemas Village East (Monday)

Full reveal at Thirteen East (Tuesday)

Bubbleology Tea seeking full liquor license for the former International space on 1st Avenue (Tuesday)

Groups file lawsuit ahead of the L-train shutdown (Thursday)

Matthew Kenney bringing yet another plant-based restaurant to 2nd Avenue (Wednesday)

Coney Island Baby opens on April 26 with Murphy's Law (Tuesday)

What you are missing if you went away on Spring Break this week (Monday)

Shi Miaodao Yunnan Rice Noodle opening in the former Mark Burger space on St. Mark's Place (Monday)

Red-tailed hawk week in review: Easter in the nest (Sunday) hawk fight (Monday) Dora re-injures her wing (Wednesday) Dora won't be returning to Tompkins Square Park for awhile (Sunday)

Checking in on 886, opening later this month on St. Mark's Place (Monday)

The historic 137 2nd Ave. — the former Stuyvesant Polyclinic — is for lease (Thursday)

Gothamist turns to Kickstarter to speed up its return (Wednesday)

Flashback Friday: Anthony Bourdain and Nick Tosches at Sophie's (Friday)

The Two Boots on Nassau Street no longer appears to be happening (Thursday)

... and this past week, 212 Arts left Fourth Street near Avenue B for a larger space on 12th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...



Check out their website for current and upcoming exhibits.