Thursday, April 26, 2018

Former Rainbow Music shop will be a Chinese restaurant



There was a partial reveal yesterday at the under-renovation 130 First Ave., the former Rainbow Music just south of St. Mark's Place...

A worker confirmed to EVG correspondent Steven that a Chinese restaurant is opening here soon, though didn't provide further details...



Rainbow Music owner Bill "Birdman" Kasper retired and closed up his cluttered used-CD shop in September 2015.


[Rainbow Music photos from March 2014 by EVG reader Chris F.]

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Birdman of the East Village

On Avenue A, Coney Island Baby debuts tonight; live music returning to the Pyramid


[169 Avenue A last night]

Coney Island Baby opens its doors tonight at 169 Avenue A between 10th Street and 11th Street with a set by Murphy's Law and other special guests TBA.

This was the first look at the live-music lineup for the bar-venue...


The Coney Island Baby website has the updated list of bands here.

The venue's partners reportedly include Laura McCarthy, former owner of indie-rock club Brownies (in this space from 1989-2002), and Tom Baker and Don DiLego of Velvet Elk Records. Jesse Malin of Niagara, Berlin and Bowery Electric is also involved.

HiFi closed last October after 15 solid years at the address.

Meanwhile, over at the Pyramid, the club at 101 Avenue A between Sixth Street and Seventh Street, announced the return of bands next month ... via Instagram...

**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT** We’re excited to announce that starting May 20th we’ll be featuring Live Bands on our Main Floor, every Sunday! We’re kicking it off in a HUGE way (those details will come soon). If you’re in a band, or know someone in a band, reach out to us! We’d love to have you perform on the same stage where Nirvana and the Red Hot Chili Peppers performed their first time in NYC! You may send your social media links, videos, and/or contact information to: thepyramidclub@gmail.com Rock On!! See you on May 20th!! #pyramidclub #pyramidclubnyc #thepyramidclub #thepyramidclubnyc #nyc #nycnightlife #nycdj #nycnightclub #nycdjs #newyork #newyorkcity #darkwave #synthpop #goth #punk #punkrock #postpunk #livemusic #liveband #rock #rockband #rockers #drummers #nyclivemusic #nyclivebands

A post shared by The Pyramid Club NYC (@thepyramidclub) on


Previously on EV Grieve:
Coney Island Baby opens on April 26 with Murphy's Law

Bar taking over former HiFi space on Avenue A is called Coney Island Baby

High praise for Mani in Pasta’s Roman-style pizzas on 14th Street

Mani in Pasta opened back in December at 245 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

Haven't heard anything about the place. Until now! Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld at New York magazine are impressed by the restaurant's Roman-style pizza via Giuseppe Manco, the pizzaiolo-chef and co-owner.

The pan pizza "is terrific — the crust dark and crackly around the edges, the tender crumb boasting the kind of webby, widely inscribed holes that hint of long fermentation. Manco attributes its texture to high-hydration dough that lazes about developing flavor for a whopping 96 to 110 hours, and the blend of flours he uses: wheat, soy, rice, and semolina."

And!

Toppings fall on the spectrum somewhere between Neapolitan restraint and modern-Roman-pizza-maker whimsy. We particularly liked the carbonara and the Regina Margherita, in spite of the fact that the latter’s halved cherry tomatoes flew off the slices when we picked them up like drunken lumberjacks at a log roll. You can also get the pan pizza by the slice at a mostly takeout Mani in Pasta satellite in Midtown East, but then you’ll miss out on the comparatively deluxe surroundings and cheerful vibe at the East Village nook (a half-dozen-or-so tables, cloth napkins, the occasional Felliniesque gathering of Italian expats), not to mention the tag-team table service — enthusiastic and hands-on but never-intrusive — provided by Manco and his business partner Pietro Toscano.


The Manu in Pasta website and menu are here.

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Wednesday's parting shot



The foggy finish to the day captured at dusk by jdx ...

Today in late-morning gloomy weather photos



A view to the south(west) this morning via Bobby Williams...

Cherche Midi space on the market for new retail development on the Bowery at East Houston


[Via Google Streetview]

There's a new retail listing for 280-282 Bowery at East Houston.

The corner space is currently home to Keith McNally's bistro Cherche Midi while No. 282 houses Yasakart Restaurant Supply.

Here are details via RKF:

• At the nexus of SoHo, NoLIta, NoHo, The East Village and Lower East Side
• Steps from four major hotels: Bowery Hotel, Public Hotel, The Ace Hotel and CitizenM
• Across from Whole Foods Market, The New Museum and the International Center for Photography
• Second Floor space can be made available
• Lower Level can be converted to selling
• An additional 1,500 SF of Lower Level space can be made available in Space B

The rent is available upon request.

And here's the rendering showing the possibilities on this southwest corner of the Bowery and Houston...


[Image via RKF]

Rumors surfaced last month that McNally would be closing his four-year-old bistro. (A rep for McNally, who also runs the Odeon, Balthazar, Minetta Tavern and Augustine in the Beekman Hotel, confirmed to Grub Street that Cherche Midi will close in early June.)

This marks the second high-profile restaurant to close on the Bowery and East Houston since last August. Daniel Boulud shut down DBGB Kitchen and Bar after eight years in the Avalon Bowery complex between First Street and Houston.

If success restaurateurs like McNally and Boulud can't make these corners work... then what? An EVG reader left this comment on the previous Cherche Midi post:

My prediction for the gentrified Bowery, chain restaurants (as in Chipotle and Shake Shack, some run of the mall shops which most New Yorkers have never heard of, and all this surrounded by high end luxury condos. This is what the lack of urban planning and unleashed developer money brings.

Jane's Exchange is not closing!


[Image via Facebook]

Back in late March, the owners of Jane's Exchange, the children's and maternity retail and consignment store on Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B, reported that they would likely have to close when their lease was up this summer.

However, co-owner Gayle Raskin remained cautiously optimistic that they could extend a lease with new owners.

Looks like it worked out. As they posted on Facebook:

Dear Friends,
WE ARE NOT CLOSING!!! WE ARE NOT CLOSING!!

WE WERE ABLE TO SECURE ANOTHER 5 YEARS ON OUR LEASE! YAY!!!

Gayle and Eva will continue their partnership through December 2018 at which time Gayle will leave and Yelena Ferrer will become Eva’s new partner beginning Jan. 1, 2019. Yelena has been a longtime consignor and we are so excited to welcome her to the fold.

We are overwhelmed by the love and support we have received from all of you. A number of you came forward with great ideas, financial and otherwise, to keep Jane’s Exchange going and it has been so appreciated. It takes a community to preserve local businesses and we value your ongoing participation in this effort.

It begins now — we need your word-of-mouth help to bring more customers to the store. Advertising is expensive as you can imagine. We will be making flyers available for online and hard-copy distribution.

We dodged the bullet this time. We are a children's and maternity store but even more than that, we are a service in the community. We are thrilled to be able to continue that service.

Consignment is a great way to recycle so PLEASE MAKE YOUR SPRING/SUMMER APPOINTMENTS AND THINK OF US BEFORE YOU GO ON AMAZON:)

Thanks,
Eva and Gayle

Jane's Exchange is now in its 24th year in business.

Previously

Reader report: Economy Foam & Futon is leaving 8th Street for Chelsea



EVG reader EJ shared the above photo... showing that Economy Foam & Futon is leaving its home of 15 years on West 8th Street between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue.

Per EJ:

They close at the end of the month. But they're moving to Chelsea, though "under new ownership." The gent there said it'll be a much smaller space, so there will be many fewer offerings. Still lotsa stuff there at a discount before the move.

Economy Foam & Futon was a Lower East Side fixture, anchoring the corner of Houston and Allen from 1937 to 2003...maybe you bought a futon there...

No Malice Palace is closed again



No Malice Palace, the bar on Third Street just west of Avenue B, has been dark of late... a sign on the gate notes that they are "closed until further notice" ...



Owner Phil Sherman died right before Thanksgiving 2016... various signs on the gate early last year noted that they would reopen, but were just "waiting on legal things to happen."

NMP remained closed until early December, when it emerged as a pop-up holiday bar called Donner and Blitzen's Reindeer Lounge. No Malice Palace returned then in January ... and was in service until at least the second weekend of April, according go to various social media posts.

According to public records at the State Liquor Authority, the No Malice Palace liquor license expired back on Jan. 31.



Google and Facebook now list the bar, which first opened in 1999, as permanently closed.

The building that housed NMP, 197 E. Third St., is also on the sales market for the second time in three years.

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

CB3 to hear City Council report 'Planning for Retail Diversity'

Tomorrow (Wednesday) night, CB3's Economic Development Committee will hear a City Council report titled "Planning for Retail Diversity: Supporting NYC’s Neighborhood Businesses."

Brian Paul, the author of the City Council report, is presenting. CB3 hopes to support actions from this report. (You can find a PDF of "Planning for Retail Diversity" here.)

The meeting is open to the public... it starts at 6:30 p.m. (Wednesday, April 25) in the University Settlement at Houston Street Center (273 Bowery).