This month saw many openings and a few closings. Jeans Unlimited (492 Avenue of the Americas) is NOT closing after all and there is still no sign of Brooklyn Fare (The Archive, 666 Greenwich Street), which was originally supposed to open in March or April and then according to the Villager, had a firm opening date of July 22.
The offerings at Gansevoort Market (353 West 14th Street) have expanded. New openings include: Luke’s Lobster, La Sonrisa Empanadas, Billy’s Bakery, SabiSushi Dumpling and Noodles, The Meatball Guys, Gotham Poke, Mission Ceviche and Luzzo’s, which has added a Gnoccheria feature with three kinds of homemade gnocchi. Still to come are Cheesesteaks by The Truffleist and Burgers Inc. Sadly, the space seems undersubscribed, particularly in the late afternoon, and some of the vendors do not remain open in the evening.
Open
Musée Lingerie (119 Christopher Street): This lingerie store/art gallery is a welcome addition to a stretch of Christopher Street with many empty storefronts. The owner, Holly Boardman, was previously a film set designer. Some of the art hangs on the walls, but the rest is the lingerie itself. The art exhibits will change over time, with a corset exhibit arriving at the end of the year.
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Northwell Health Imaging at Lenox Health Greenwich Village (30 7th Avenue): Upstairs from the free-standing emergency room is now an outpatient imaging center providing MRIs, ultrasound, breast imaging, and other imaging services.
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BarWorks (47 7th Avenue South): This co-working space recently opened in the location that previously housed the pan-Asian restaurant Soy and Sake. Unlike their other NYC locations, you do not have to be a member to use the space—one-hour, half-day, full-day and evening passes can be purchased. This location recently applied for a liquor license.
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Azaleas (125 Greenwich Ave): This long-standing East Village lingerie shop has expanded to the West Village. The space remained empty for a long time after the strangely named home décor shop Mxyplyzyk closed. Now, instead of products for the home, West Villagers can shop for lingerie and swimwear.
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Bar Truman (Chelsea Market): Bar Truman, which had advertised their opening in the Fall of 2015 has finally come to the space that used to house Chelsea Market Baskets. The restaurant bills itself as a WWII dining experience, but the menu features mostly comfort food and there is of course an extensive cocktail program.
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Casa Apicii (62 West 9th Street): The Apicii were the followers of Marcus Apicius, the noted ancient Roman gourmet and author of the recently re-released cookbook De Re Conquinaria (On Cookery). The restaurant, which is in the space most recently occupied by The Lion showcases pasta and seasonal dishes and strives to be a neighborhood spot although it can already be hard to get a reservation.
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Le Labo (296 West 4th Street): Rose 31 is the fragrance to get here—I can’t decide if the smell is delicious or decaying, probably some combination of both, but it’s certainly addictive. After choosing your fragrance you will have to select the format—each comes as perfume, body gel, soap, oil, shampoo, etc. The décor is minimalist and chic.
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Shotiros (334 Bleecker Street): Shanisa Wisatesajja, a native of Thailand and the store’s founder, studied and worked in Milan in the fashion business, and then recently moved to NYC where she chose the West Village as the location for her jewelry shop. The pieces are made in Thailand by hand at a home-based family business that has made this style of traditional Thai jewelry for years. Many of the items are stunning, such as a large jewel-encrusted panther bracelet.
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Seabird (361 Avenue of the Americas): Into the old Joy Burger spot came this airy and pastel-colored beach club without a beach, complete with a seafood-focused menu and friendly and enthusiastic staff. The Japanese owners of Harlem poultry-focused restaurant Mountain Bird are partners in this venture.
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Malibu Dog Kitchen (35 Christopher Street): Shina DeGucci founded Malibu Dog Kitchen while in medical school because she felt that commercial dog food did not provide adequate canine nutrition. She abandoned her medical career to turn her idea into a business, and now fresh organic dog food is made in the store daily.
Expanding / Moving
Fried chicken spot Dirty Bird (204 West 14th Street) expanded into the larger space next door. Cha Lait (224 West 4th Street) no longer serves coffee and matcha in Sheridan Square—they are opening a smaller location in Chelsea Market. Vintage clothing store Screaming Mimi’s (382 Lafayette Street) that has been around for 37 years (first on the Upper West Side and then in Noho) will move to a second floor location at 240 West 14th Street. Manhattan Fruit Exchange (Chelsea Market) has moved to a small temporary location in the market while their original location undergoes a renovation. They are expected to move back sometime in 2017.
Closed
The last bastion of the Fatty Crab Empire, the original Fatty Crab (643 Hudson Street) has closed. At one time there were multiple restaurants (UWS branch and Fatty ‘Cue) but the chef/owner, Zak Pelaccio, left the business years ago and now nothing remains. The units in the Greenwich Lane development at the site of St. Vincent’s Hospital have been mostly sold (with the possible exception of a few of the townhouses on 11th Street), so the sales office (450 Sixth Avenue) that had opened in the second location of Jefferson Market has now decamped. In the continuing exodus of high-end retailers from Bleecker Street, this month saw the closure of Lulu Guinness (394 Bleecker Street) and Ralph Lauren RRL (383 Bleecker Street) which had come to Bleecker 10 years earlier. Ovando (91 Christopher Street), which had previously been at 337 Bleecker, provided flower arrangements to the rich and powerful and to fancy hotels and restaurants and is now gone. Nanking Express (63 West 14th Street), a branch of the fast food Asian chain, no longer occupies the space near the subway entrance at 14th and 6th Avenue. The sign improbably said, “Closed due to Plumbing Issue,” but the interior is completely empty. That space previously housed other fast food spots Red Mango and Chickpea.
Coming Soon
Bareburger (103 West 14th Street): an organic burger shop with 31 locations across the U.S. is opening in the old Carta Azul Taqueria space. Orla Keily (372 Bleecker Street), an Irish designer with London-based headquarters, is moving her U.S. flagship, which was previously in Soho, to Bleecker Street just when everyone else is leaving. Ivy Kirzhner (750 Greenwich Street) is opening her flagship shoe store and showroom in a long-abandoned space at the corner of Greenwich and 11th Streets. MatteBento (516 Hudson Street) will serve fast Asian food either to go or to be consumed in one of the restaurant’s 20 seats.
Photos by Maggie Berkvist
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