This month we saw a large number of openings, many of them on formerly deserted Bleecker Street. And the momentum continues, with many stores planning a late fall or winter opening, with increased activity on Greenwich Avenue. We also noticed that wine bars serving natural wines are taking over the Village, so raise a glass to (hopefully) better times ahead.
Open
One of our coffee-shop loving readers alerted us to the opening of Gold Star Coffee Restaurant (200 West 14th Street at 7th Avenue). This small eatery sells their own brand of coffee (freshly roasted in Brooklyn) and Argentinian food such as Empanadas and Alfajores (a butter cookie filled with dulce de leche). The manager explained that the owners’ goal was to have an affordable restaurant with healthy delicious food, prepared from scratch in-house. St. Jardim (183 West 10th Street at West 4th Street), an all-day restaurant, natural wine bar and grocery has finally opened in the tiny space where Bar Sardine used to be. The owners live in the neighborhood, and the consulting chef is Tony Nassif, a Montreal native who came to New York City in 2015 to cook at his cousin’s restaurant, Mile End Deli. The restaurant serves coffee and a brunchy menu 7 days a week until 4PM, and morphs into a wine bar in the evenings on Wednesday through Sunday. Another Tomorrow (384 Bleecker Street at Perry Street) is the first brick and mortar store for this clothing brand which offers “Modern sustainable luxury. Community. Action.” The storefront is one of the ones purchased a few years ago by Brookfield Properties, and Another Tomorrow has signed a year and a half lease there. A block farther up Bleecker, jewelry store The Last Line (395 Bleecker Street between Perry and West 11th Streets) has opened. They promise: “The Finest Fine Jewelry and Even Finer Piercing Experience.” And next door, Pink Chicken (397 Bleecker Street) sells mostly children’s clothing (with some Mommy and Me pieces, and even something for Dads), featuring bright prints and vintage-inspired patterns. Pink Chicken also has boutiques on Madison Avenue and in the Hamptons. And as promised, The Mary Lane has opened at 99 Bank Street (at Greenwich Street), complete with an attractive outdoor shed, decorated with The Mary Lane logoed awnings.
Re-Opened
Many were sad when Jonathan Waxman’s restaurant Barbuto closed in 2019, and then excited when it re-opened at 113 Horatio Street (near West Street) in February 2020, until, that is, it closed again a month later. I was assured by a number of my neighbors that this was the end for the beloved institution and its iconic roast chicken. But not so! Barbuto opened again in October and will be a great option for dinner after a visit to the Whitney (or lunch on Sunday), IF you can snag a reservation.
Closed
Big Gay Ice Cream (61 Grove Street at 7th Avenue South) has a sign on the door announcing that they are temporarily closed. Let’s hope it’s temporary. I am already missing the Salty Pimp. Long-time favorite Tomoe Sushi (172 Thompson Street between Bleecker and West Houston Streets) posted on their Facebook page: “It is with much sadness to announce that Aug 29, 2021 was our last day of Tomoe Sushi. Words cannot express our sincere gratitude for your patoronage (sic) and friendship over the decades. Tomoe Sushi on 172 Thompson Street in NYC served many loyal customers from across the world for 39 years and is closed for good. it will NOT be passed onto anyone else. If we reopen, we will make the official announcement here or Instagram @tomoesushinyc ARIGATO.” Over a hundred people commented, lamenting the closure. The Loyal (289 Bleecker Street at 7th Avenue South) was always my least-favorite John Fraser restaurant, and now it is gone. It closed at the beginning of the pandemic, re-opened briefly, closed again when indoor dining was suspended, then finally re-opened again, but not for long. John Fraser’s Times Square restaurant, 701West, also appears to have closed, but he recently opened a Mediterranean restaurant called Iris in midtown focused on Greek and Turkish food which has received many positive reviews.
THE MARY LANE’S outdoor shed. Photo by Maggie Berkvist.
Coming Soon
An avid reader of the paper noticed a sign in the window of 615 Hudson Street (between 12th and Jane Streets) announcing the arrival of Felice. La Ventura was the most recent tenant, and before that Tavo occupied the space, but a fire destroyed it in June 2017 and it never re-opened. Felice is part of the Sant Ambroeus family of restaurants. There is a lot of activity on Greenwich Avenue: Framebridge, a custom framing company that operates mostly online is opening a physical location in the old Starbucks space at 93 Greenwich Avenue (Bank Street). El Condor (95 Greenwich Avenue between Bank and West 12th Street), a coffee roastery and all-day café will open where Nourish used to be. The owners are trying to raise money on Wefunder, a site where individuals can invest $100 or more in start-ups. After Nourish closed, a Colombian street food restaurant called SoFresco was supposed to open in the space, but it never did. Marian’s NYC (24 Greenwich Avenue between West 10th and Charles Streets) is showing imminent signs of opening. The restaurant, which will occupy the space vacated by The Banty Rooster, will serve French inspired American food. The owner and chef, Christian Rowan, has worked at Bouley, Le Bernardin, Eleven Madison Park, as well as at a number of Michelin starred restaurants in France. Another wine bar is opening where Vin Sur Vingt used to be—Moonflower (201 West 11th Street just west of Greenwich Avenue) will serve natural wines and small dishes. The owners, who also run a large restaurant called Frankie in Jersey City, are West Village residents. Ferdi is applying for a liquor license at 15 7th Avenue South (between Leroy and Carmine Streets). According to the owners: “We are a family owned and operated restaurant who will be catering to the needs of the neighborhood with an American/Italian inspired cuisine.” The previous tenant was Grand Sichuan West Village. Direct to consumer bedding brand Brooklinen is opening their second location at 383 Bleecker Street (at Perry Street). Maria Cher (378 Bleecker Street) will feature “Top Italian Fabrics, Limited Pieces, 100% made in Italy, Remarkable Styles.” Pure barre, which had a branch on Hudson Street that recently shuttered, will be replacing Matt Umanov Guitars at 273 Bleecker Street. (Matt Umanov Guitars still runs an online business). Uno Nove Otto has applied for a liquor license at 117 Perry Street (between Hudson and Greenwich Streets). They describe themselves thus: “We are a wine bar & restaurant focused on serving small, family style, share plates. The cuisine is ltalian and will serve a variety of reasonably priced pastas, appetizers, meats, fish and sides. Beverages will be heavily wine focused, but cocktails & beer will be offered as well.” A neighborhood sit-down pizza restaurant is opening in the old Philip Marie space at 569 Hudson Street (West 11th Street). A classic Italian neighborhood restaurant is planned by the operators of burger and milkshake spot Black Tap at 38 8th Avenue (between 12th and Jane Streets) where Dell’Anima used to be.
Moved/Other
A couple of weeks ago I noticed that the windows of Rahi (60 Greenwich Avenue, near Seventh Avenue South) had been papered over, and work was going on inside. A day or two later I learned that Rahi had morphed into Semma, a southern Indian restaurant by the same group, Unapologetic Foods. Semma is described as “an exploration of heritage Southern Indian cuisine that has rarely been seen outside of local homes and neighborhoods.” I expected a vegetarian menu, but I was very wrong. Dosas are available, but there is also Kudal Varuval (goat intestines, garam masala, kal dosa) and many other meat dishes. Thaimee Love which had been a pop-up at 615 Hudson Street (between Jane and West 12th Streets) has moved to a new location at 116 West Houston Street (near Sullivan Street). Hong Thaimee, the chef and owner, continues to serve homestyle Thai cooking which is meant to be eaten family-style. In addition to Thaimee Love, Pad Thai Mee, a pick-up and delivery spot offering a small menu of noodles and fried rice is also operating out of the new space. By Chloe (185 Bleecker Street between MacDougal and Sullivan Street) has re-opened under a new name, Beatnic. The rebranded chain has seven locations in New York and a few more elsewhere, and will continue to serve vegan food. By Chloe first opened at the Bleecker Street location in 2015. In April of 2017, I did a feature on Love Child Studio and Collective (1 Horatio Street at 8th Avenue) and its owner, Neelu Shruti. What had started as a pre- and post-natal yoga studio expanded to become a place where new and expectant parents could meet each other with activities like crafts, infant CPR classes, newborn care classes, baby-wearing demonstrations, birthday parties, and drag queen story hours, to name a few. I wondered how Love Child had fared over the last 18 months, and as if in answer to my question, I received an email from Neelu’s business partner with news that Love Child would be moving to 9 Patchin Place. The letter explained: “Although she was sad and reluctant to move—having, in fact, paid rent all through the pandemic in spite of having been largely legally and/or epidemiologically prevented from operating at her physical location—she eventually felt driven out by, in her words “a host of unresolved maintenance issues that escalated without resolution (water damage, ongoing leaks, HVAC issues, but most unbearably, that the block has developed a significant rodent problem).” The landlord failed to take adequate action to resolve any of these issues, and to add insult to injury, has also refused to return (so I would say stolen) Neelu’s deposit. Alas.” Love Child is currently featuring Zoom yoga classes, and will be in-person again after the move, offering acupuncture and massage, birth and baby prep classes and more.
We heard from so many of you this month and that makes our job much easier! Please keep writing to us at wvnewsinout@gmail.com
