Back Forty, Sad To See You Go

December 23, 2014 by Leave a Comment

A rumor caught our attention yesterday that we wished weren’t true, but sadly it has been confirmed: Back Forty on Avenue B is closed. Peter Hoffman, chef and owner, confirmed that Sunday was the last day of operations for the farm-to-table restaurant in Alphabet City. The restaurant which opened seven years ago as mainly a burger joint made its name for sourcing responsibly and organically with a relaxed approach to the seasonal farm-to-table concept. Luckily, Back Forty’s sister restaurant, Back Forty West, is still open in SoHo at 70 Prince Street@Crosby, which used to be the home of Hoffman’s Savoy.

Back Forty West will be serving a Christmas Eve Dinner for $65 which includes one specialty cocktail. Check out the menu for the curried Christmas Eve Dinner:

  • tamarind chicken wings
  • crunchy cabbage and carrot salad with spices and pomegranate
  • squash coconut soup
  • potato and ricotta fritters
  • lamb curry
  • red lentil dal
  • brussel sprouts with turmeric and black mustard seeds
  • fragrant basmati pilaf
  • rugelach
  • winter citrus salad
  • fireplace cardamom crème brulees

For more information or to reserve a table, click here

 

 

 

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Cafe Edison Closing This Sunday

December 18, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Owner Jordan Strohl will unfortunately be closing the beloved lunch spot Cafe Edison on W 47th Street after a long battle to keep the space. There are hopes of opening the notorious theater spot in a new location. The final meal at Cafe Edison will be serves this Sunday, December 21st around 3PM, however, being that the owner “doesn’t like to waste food,” the Cafe will remain open until all the food is gone, down to the last Matzo ball!

Strohl commented on the closing of his Cafe by stating that, “We lost the fight…but we did not lose the battle. Six weeks ago, we would have just shut down, but the campaign to Save Cafe Edison re-inspired my family. We are committed to reopening in a new space, and to bringing our food and our family warmth back to the city. A thousand thank-yous to everyone. We cannot say thank you enough.” Even Mayor De Blasio and Ira Glass joined in on trying to save the favorite lunch counter near Times Square. According to Gerald Barad, who owns the hote, a “name chef” will be moving into the space.

To read more about the dramatic closing of Cafe Edison, click here.

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100 Montaditos to ReOpen in Brooklyn

December 5, 2014 by Leave a Comment

The 100 Montaditos on Ludlow Street that opened three months ago is now set to close. After spending a full year to build out the space the outpost will be closing after a short three month run. Mini Hospitality owns the US franchise rights to the chain, named for its 100 varieties of mini-sandwiches, and is planning to transform the space into more of an upscale concept with a full liquor license.

The concept works very well in Madrid, Spain’s capital, where the chain blankets the city center, but did not have as much luck when it opened in Miami, and is now proving to be unsuccessful in New York City as well. The goal of Mini Hospitality was to open 30 US locations by 2017 but this now seems too aggressive and it may be time to revisit this goal. Mini Hospitality believes the concept of small finger sandwiches and beer will do better in Brooklyn. A release from DNAinfo quoted the franchise owners, “We feel that the demographic of neighborhoods such as Bushwick, Greenpoint, and Upper Manhattan, offer us multiple opportunities to expand our international brand in the coming year.”

To read more about the closing of 100 Montaditos due to a combination of location and concept, click here

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Yaffa Cafe Closes in East Village

October 2, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Yaffa Cafe, a favorite 24-hour restaurant in the East Village, has closed for good after 32 years of service. Yaffa Cafe was a great late night spot in the neighborhood popular amongst NYU students. Last month the Department of Health shut down the cafe for several violations including a lack of a secondary fire exit in the backyard. The managers at Yaffa Cafe tweeted that their recipes would live on at their sister establishment, Simone Martini Bar, which can be found just down the block.

Locals took to twitter to express their anger, nostalgia and bitterness about the sudden close of Yaffa Cafe. It seems the general feeling is that Yaffa Cafe in St Marks Place will be missed for its quirkiness and all-night backyard hangout space which has already been dismantled and removed. The editor of the Guardian, Alex Koppelman, tweeted, “Yaffa Cafe is gone, and 23-year-old me is very sad.”

To read some of the tweets that came upon the news of the closing of Yaffa Cafe, click here

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Rescue Plan for Crumbs Bakery

July 14, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Marcus Lemonis, star of the CNBC show and CEO of Camping World and Good Sam Enterpries, decided to take action when Crumbs Bakery closed their doors last week. Lemonis is devising a plan to attempt to rescue the bakery by partnering with owners of ice cream brand Dippin’ Dots to not only loan money but also to outline a new strategy which involves incorporating more products into a larger sweets shop beyond just cupcakes.

For the moment Lemonis is financing the chain to get their doors back open but is still working on a plan to really bring the company back to life. The owners of Dippin’ Dots are already investors in Crumbs whose ultimate goal is to buy the company. Lemonis is seeking to involve the founders of Crumbs, Mia and Jason Bauer, throughout the process even if it is only at an advising capacity.

Lemonis, who hosts a reality show based on helping troubled companies return to turning a profit, stated,  “I don’t believe a single (product) cupcake business is viable in the long term,” Lemonis said. “It was originally envisioned as a bake shop.” Hopefully Lemonis’ plan will be successful and enable Crumbs Bakeshop to recover, stay open and do a complete turnaround.

To read more about Lemonis’ involvement in resuscitating the bakeshop, click here

 

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New Amsterdam Market Comes To An End

July 14, 2014 by Leave a Comment

The New Amsterdam Market has ended having hosted its last market on June 21st. The market will no longer be taking place on South Street in Lower Mahattan on the site of the Old Fulton Fish Market. Unfortunately, Robert LaValva, founder of New Amsterdam Market, informs the public that they did not manage to raise the funding necessary to ensure the survival of the organization. Sadly, more than one acre of the public space will soon be property of a suburban shopping mall developer.

The market had been growing in frequency ever since its opening seven years go. The market consisted of a community of businesses who prioritized fair trade and sustainable food production. The market created over 350 jobs and supported 500 food entrepreneurs during the 88 times the market was held. The New Amsterdam Market also hosted numerous events to celebrate regional fare and products.

To read more about the market’s fate, click here

Filed Under: Closings, Local Market Buzz

Modernist Cooking not Immune to Modern Real Estate

June 13, 2014 by Leave a Comment

After 11 years Wylie Dufresne is forced to close his lower east side modernist restaurant, wd~50. November 30th will be the influential restaurant’s last night of service. Wd~50, named after the chef’s initials and the address, 50 Clinton St, is a fine-dining New American restaurant known for the chef’s experimental cooking methods and unique use and manipulation of ingredients. Wylie Dufresne had a vision and he admirably stuck to it for 11 years, never rethinking his concept or straying from his original idea.

Unfortunately, a developer has plans to build on the site which is forcing the restaurant to have to close. Wylie is looking for a new location in the city but has nowhere specific in mind at the moment. After Wylie announced that the restaurant would be shutting its doors, a number of disappointments with the situation were expressed by fellow chefs and thoughtful testaments flooded the twitter feed. David Chang, Korean chef/entrepreneur and founder of Momofuko added “This is unfortunately what’s probably going to happen to almost everybody, unless you can buy the building.”

To read more about the closing of wd~50 click here

 

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Stronghold Williamsburg Verb Cafe is closing

June 6, 2014 by Leave a Comment

The Verb Café has been open on Bedford Ave in Williamsburg, Brooklyn since 1999.  The café could not afford to keep their doors open after a rental fee increase of 70% and is now set to close. The Verb was not necessarily known to brew the best cup of coffee, but was more of a popular hipster hangout which attracted many artists and musicians over the past fifteen years. It is uncertain whether or not they are relocating or if this is the final adieu, but either way the Williamsburg locals will always treasure the memory of Café Verb.

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South Brooklyn Pizza Leaving Popular East Village Corner

April 23, 2014 by Leave a Comment

South Brooklyn Pizza’s sole Manhattan location (there are four additional locations in Brooklyn) on E. 7th St and 1st is closing at the end of this week and moving to an undisclosed new space. Shortly after the opening, South Brooklyn Pizza expanded into the space next door, formerly occupied by Ruben’s Empanadas.  In addition, next-door neighbor Kim’s Video and Music is also closing in the months ahead leaving a substantial space open on the popular East Village corner.

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‘Inoteca Closing This Weekend, Needs Help Consuming Remaining Wine

February 7, 2014 by Leave a Comment

‘Inoteca management has announced the tapas restaurant will be closing forever this weekend. Guests are invited to help finish the remaining 1,300 bottles of Italian wine by Sunday morning at 4am. Steep discounts of up to 80% have been applied.

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