Boticarios opens on 1st Street

Boticarios is up and running now at 58 E. First St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

Don't know too much about the restaurant at the moment. (The CB3 minutes from the September SLA committee meeting described it as a "Pan-Latin" restaurant.) The applicants have experience at Casa Mizcal on Orchard Street and the Black Ant on Second Avenue.

The restaurant has a Facebook page here and an Instagram account here.

And here's the menu posted on the front door...



Esperanto Fonda lasted nine months here, closing in May 2017. Before that, the First Street address was home to BARA for two years and Prima for three years. The Elephant, a Thai restaurant, was previously here for 17 years.

Keeping up with the Kardashianisms

Several readers have pointed out that the Continental expounded on their (tongue-in-cheek) ban on the word literally. Their stated goal now, per the updated flyer above, is to stop “Kardashianism.”

Bar owner Trigger Smith told Grub Street yesterday that the sign is not meant to be serious, though he does hate the word literally.

Per Grub Street:

"I had a woman from Miami the other night tell me it's happening down there," he says. "And it’s not just millennials. Now you hear newscasters using 'literally' every three minutes on the Sunday news shows. What’s annoying is people aren't even aware they're saying it. How could you be so unaware of your words that it's coming out every couple minutes?"

There are also posted notices stating that the bar's last day here on Third Avenue at St. Mark's Place is July 1...



Also updated: it is now six shots of anything for $12. Previously five shots for $12. And five for $10 before that.

Anyway, as previously reported, Real Estate Equities Corporation plans to demolish the existing low-rise buildings at 3 St. Mark’s Place, 23 and 25-27 Third Ave. to make way for a 7-story office building.



H/T Eden to way back when!

Wednesday's parting shot

In the window this afternoon at Academy Records on 12th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue... RIP Mark E. Smith of the Fall. He died today at age 60.

Report: Discrimination suit claims principal overlooked racial issues at Tompkins Square Middle School

A Tompkins Square Middle School teacher says in a Manhattan Federal Court discrimination suit that Principal Sonhando Estwick "put his career at risk by failing to address racial issues at his school," the Daily News reports.

Per the News:

The 34-year-old teacher, who is black and has 10 years of experience, seeks $5 million from the city.

Doe says his relationship with Estwick soured in 2012 when he asked during a meeting whether the school would be celebrating Black History Month.

Estwick, who is also black, replied the school doesn’t celebrate the month because it celebrates diversity year-round, according to court papers.

The teacher alleges that the principal said that "his radical views are not welcome at the school," and that he was "an affirmative action hire."

And then...

In October 2016, a parent complained to Estwick that a teacher cracked a joke about a Muslim student who dresses conservatively, the suit says.

The teacher, who is white, joked about the classroom needing a Muslim ban — but replaced the word “Muslim” with the student’s name, the suit says.

Despite some complaints, that teacher was never reprimanded.

According to the News, the suit was filed as a John Doe case "to protect a vulnerable student." The John Doe is still employed at the school, on Sixth Street at Avenue B.

Taco Bell premiering its Nacho Fries on the Bowery; reservations available

Taco Bell recently announced that it was adding Nacho Fries to the $1 menu.

Today and tomorrow, you can head to 212 Bowery near Rivington for a sneak preview — or premiere.

Here's more info via OpenTable, where you can get a reservation for the fry seating:

Live Más Productions presents Nacho Fries, debuting in Taco Bell restaurants nationwide on January 25 for just $1. The most-anticipated menu item release of the year will be available crisped to perfection with bold Mexican seasoning and served with a dippable side of warm Nacho Cheese. Ahead of their nationwide release, Taco Bell will host fans in New York City for a complimentary, advance screening of Nacho Fries and the trailer “Web of Fries” that will leave fans hungry for more – more Nacho Fries that is. A five-star menu item like Taco Bell’s Nacho Fries is worthy of its own red carpet, and that’s exactly the treatment Taco Bell is rolling out with its first “big screen” debut.

The pop-up is open today from 4-8 p.m. and tomorrow from noon to 4 p.m. and again 5-9 p.m.

$10 million minimum opening bid today at auction of former building that housed Lucky Cheng's

[Photo from Dec. 31]

As I reported on Jan. 2, the potential development sites at 24 First Ave. (the onetime home of Lucky Cheng's) and 99-101 E. Second St. are headed to the auction block.

The bidding action begins today at 1 p.m. at the Hotel on Rivington. The minimum opening bid is $10 million. (Find more details at the auction site here.)

Landlord Carmar Development, LLC, had put the two-building parcel up for sale in February 2017. (We wrote about that here.) The L-shaped properties were seeking $26 million then.

Uri Marrache, a principal at Carmar Development, was reportedly at risk of defaulting on his $11 million loan against the vacant buildings.

As Crain's reported, while the bidding will start at $10 million, a winning offer must at least exceed the $11 million owed to the lender.

Per Crain's:

“The owner was behind with the lender on payments,” said Richard Maltz, chief executive of Maltz Auctions. “Going through an auction process like this allows a property owner that needs a quick exit to execute on a sale.”

As for what a new landlord might be able to do here, we'll go back to the auction site:

Currently Improved with a 7,748 Sq Ft Mixed-Use Building & 4,648 Sq Ft Retail Building
Substantial Unused Air Rights
• 28,540 Sq Ft Buildable Site (3,418 Sq Ft Cellar) – Per Architect Plans, with Inclusionary Housing
• 26,483 Sq Ft Buildable Site (5,297 Sq Ft Cellar) – Per Architect Plans, without Inclusionary Housing & with Full Lot Merge
• 24,610 Sq Ft Buildable Site (5,298 Sq Ft Cellar) – Per Architect Plans, without Inclusionary Housing

Annual Real Estate Taxes: $141,977
Currently Vacant

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.

Suthon had owned the properties 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

Report: New owners of building that housed Lucky Cheng's looking to attract restaurant group

Onetime home of Lucky Cheng's and adjacent property on the development market for $26 million
Building that housed Lucky Cheng's on 1st Avenue now on the auction block

Champion Coffee taking over the Madman Espresso space on 14th Street

Madman Espresso has closed its location on 14th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue. (H/T to EVG regular Pinch for the tip!)

There's now a sign hanging on the door titled Good Bye & Good Luck:

Madman Espresso adventure in the East Village/Gramercy area comes to an end. A nice lady bought our shop. They will renovate and reopen in a couple of weeks.

If you really can't live without us, please come see us at University Place and 10th Street or in one of our Midtown locations.

That "nice lady" is apparently Talitha Whidbee, who founded Champion Coffee in 2006 in Greenpoint.

Champion announced their new location(s) on Instagram back in December...

✖️EXCITING NEWS✖️ • Our Christmas gift to you this year comes in the form of a big announcement: We are kicking off 2018 with the opening of - not just one - but TWO new @championcoffee locations in Manhattan! • 210 E 67th | *Coming January 2018* 319 E 14th | *Coming February 2018* • Can’t wait to see you all there and share our yummy coffee with friends, both new and old ☕️

A post shared by Champion Coffee (@championcoffee) on Dec 23, 2017 at 6:48am PST

Madman Espresso opened on 14th Street, its first location, in January 2013. The University Place outpost arrived in 2015.

Champion Coffee was one of the first vendors at the Bowery Market, the year-round open-air food market at 348 Bowery and Great Jones, but they eventually pulled out for undisclosed reasons.

Some Tasty Taiwan for the former TK Kitchen on St. Mark's Place

TK Kitchen, which served bubble tea and various Taiwanese street food, closed in December here on St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

The goodbye noted posted to the TK Facebook page left the door open for a return: "[W]e have a new idea [that we are] planning at the moment, we will be back soon!"

There is now a Community Board notice up in the window (the February meeting hasn't been announced yet) ... noting that Tasty Taiwan LLC plans to open a restaurant ... and they will be applying for a beer-wine license...

I.Q. Decor closing on 14th Street

[Photos via EVG reader Shiv]

Several EVG readers have pointed out the IQ Decor is closing on 14th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue...



Closing signs arrived last week at the store that sells discounted toys, housewares, rubber boots, cleaning products, NYC gifts, luggage, etc., etc. (Last day for now is Feb. 28.)

The Saving$ Paradise shop at 250 E. 14th St. merged with I.Q. Decor in the spring of 2016.

This closure, I believe, brings an end to any discounted shops on 14th Street between Avenue B and Third Avenue.

H/T EVG reader Jen!

Tuesday's parting shot

This mural arrived over the weekend here on St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue... Interstellar work by @dirtcobain and @outersource ...

And another angle via @dirtcobain ...

Noted

Multiple media outlets (like ABC 7 and the Post) are reporting on a jacket or bag fire that happened on a northbound F train as it pulled into Second Avenue early Saturday morning.

This social media user captured the fire...

Ahh, New York ❤️🔥 pic.twitter.com/d6kG7A7AIf

— Stephen (@Stibbanski) January 21, 2018

The incident snarled subway traffic for an hour, as the F trains were rerouted first to the A line, then over to the E line. Service resumed within an hour.

Per ABC 7: "Authorities have not confirmed how the fire started or who caused it."

Cinnamon Garden, a new Indian restaurant coming soon to 6th Street

Signage is up for a Indian restaurant called Cinnamon Garden on Sixth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... promising "authentic Indian cuisine."

The restaurant has a website (here!) with a menu — and prices. There isn't much info on the site about who will be operating Cinnamon Garden, other than this line: "From an outstanding chef with amazing taste."

This will be the fifth restaurant to serve Indian food on this block, joining Apna Masala, Raj Mahal, Malai Marke and Taj.

For further reading ... this piece from 2016 by Robert Sietsema at Eater has some history on the Indian-Bangladeshi restaurants that have populated this block and adjacent Avenues through the years.

Chelsea Thai closes ahead of move to former Neptune space on 1st Avenue

As noted back in the fall, Chelsea Thai, which has operated a stall in the Chelsea Market for 19 years, signed a 10-year-lease at 192-194 First Ave.

Turns out that Chelsea Thai isn't opening a second location, rather closing their space on Ninth Avenue ahead of a move to the East Village. EVG regular Bayou shared the top photo, noting that the quick-serve Thai restaurant's last day was Friday.

Meanwhile, on First Avenue between 11th Street and 12th Street, renovations continue at the former Nepture diner space...



Chelsea Thai (not sure if they are keeping that name with the move east) is only taking half of the Neptune storefront. The other half is on the market for $7,500, per Eastern Consolidated.

No word on an opening date.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Chelsea Thai coming to former Neptune space on 1st Avenue; Filipino fare for Avenue A

Ciala has apparently closed

Several EVG readers have noted that Ciala at 77 Second Ave. has been dark in recent weeks.

Google says that the restaurant between Fourth Street and Fifth Street is permanently closed. Their social media hasn’t posted since December and their phone just rings without an answer.

The restaurant serving Georgian cuisine opened last July. Two months later, they closed, with a sign noting that they would reopen with an "all new and exciting menu." They made a pivot to French cuisine — specifically crepes. (The Ciala Facebook page said that they are "a new bistro and wine bar serving Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian fare.")

Here's what one EVG commenter had to say in September:

It's been sad to walk by and see this empty restaurant. With the doors wide open, there was always a view of the long faces of the staff waiting for customers to cross their threshold.

Unfortunately, their menu was mostly heavy meat dishes, unappealing in the heat of summer. I would certainly have considered that menu on a cold winter night, but not in June, July and August (and this hot September).

I hope their new menu is more appropriate to the season and wish them great success. This stretch of 2nd Ave is becoming desolate with so many empty storefronts.

In denying their liquor license last March, CB3 wrote (per the meeting minutes): "the applicant has no experience operating a licensed premises and has no experience working in a similar type of business."

1st sign of Target on 14th Street

An EVG reader said yesterday that a sign for the incoming Target had arrived on the southwest corner of 14th Street and Avenue A.

I guess I was expecting something like this...



But it's more like this for now... just a sign for workers...



Right there...



In any event, as noted before, the Target small-format store will cover two levels here. Per the Target newsroom:

Merchandise includes men’s and women’s apparel and accessories, home, food (with grab-and-go selection spanning sandwiches, salads, beverages and more), health and beauty and electronics assortment.
Services offered: Target Mobile and Order Pickup.

The East Village Target has an expected July opening date.

Thanks to Steven for the photos!

Last day for Unleashed by Petco on 2nd Avenue

The Unleashed by Petco on Second Avenue between First Street and Second Street is looking pretty cleaned out ...

A worker said earlier this month that the last day is Jan. 23 (aka today).



There's no word why Petco decided to shutter this location, which opened in August 2015.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Unleashed by Petco is unloading its pet supplies as store is closing on 2nd Avenue

Discarded theater seats and goodbyes at the Sunshine Cinema

There was a lone dumpster outside the just-closed Sunshine Cinema late this afternoon... workers have started discarding some theater seats...



A little later, EVG reader Karen spotted a now-former Sunshine employer putting up "There Goes the Neighborhood" on the marquee...



The message was later changed to Closed...



Workers will demolish the building here on East Houston near Forsyth to make way for a 9-floor office building.

Post updated at 7:30 p.m.

Today in discarded cat paintings

Derek Berg spotted this on Seventh Street earlier today... not sure what the cat is doing... Deejaying? (scratching records?) Cooking?

Remembering Adela Fargas

[Photo by @polimorfos]

On Friday, friends and family paid their respects to Adela Fargas, owner of the Avenue C institution Casa Adela, who died last week at the age of 81.

There was a well-attended viewing Friday from 4-9 p.m. at the Ortiz Funeral Home on First Avenue.

The entire LES & PR/Latino community came out tonight to pay our final respects to one of the LES matriarchs: #AdelaFargas from #CasaAdela — having a meal at Casa Adela meant that your soul, heart and belly would be filled with love as well as authentic PR cooking. QueDescansePaz pic.twitter.com/rk3hxhzGnQ

— Rosie Mendez (@RosieMendez) January 20, 2018

The Puerto Rican restaurant, which opened in 1976 here between Fourth Street and Fifth Street, will be closed until Thursday.



Previously on EV Grieve:
RIP Adela Fargas

On East Houston, El Maguey y La Tuna will have to close after the landlord doubles the rent

[Image via Facebook]

On Friday, friends of El Maguey y La Tuna shared the news that the 15-year-old Mexican restaurant on East Houston between Attorney and Ridge will have to shut down at the end of March.

Here's part of a Facebook post from the Street Vendor Project:

We're sad to announce that El Maguey y La Tuna, a classic mom-and-pop Mexican restaurant on East Houston street, will be closing at the end of March due to ... yep, the landlord doubling the rent.

Maria Cortez and her family are considering opening a food cart to keep serving the community, and we'll be helping her as we see if anything can be done to save this EV/LES staple. Can you help?

Despite what New York City Hospitality Alliance would have you think, vendors do not drive restaurants out of business — greedy landlords (aided by city policies that encourage gentrification and allow landlords to raise rents with impunity) do! Vendors ARE mom-and-pops, and we stand with all other independent small business owners in NYC.

Cortez told the Lo-Down that the unnamed landlord is increasing the monthly rent from $7,000 to an unmanageable $14,000.

Per the Lo-Down:

Cortez told us it was difficult enough to sustain the small business before the increase. In addition to the higher rent, the property owner wants El Maguey to pay half of his property taxes.

Public records list Habibollah Ghatan of Roslyn, N.Y., as the building's owner.


[Image via Streeteasy]

The restaurant started in Williamsburg, but relocated here after a fire in 2002. According to a feature in The Villager from 2008, "Cortez, who was born and raised on the Lower East Side, said the family decided to reopen there in order to give back food and culture to the Lower East Side."