The short-lived Phở 66 on 9th Ave has sat dormant for several months now, with thick chains locking the doors. Over the past few days however they chains have come off, and someone has been moving around inside, seemingly clearing out some of the old Phở 66 gear.
Here’s a look inside:
As you can see, still a whole lot of Phở gear, but there was a man moving around in the dark with trash bags (who was very surprised to see a camera), so hopefully we’ll have something new to look forward to soon!
Continuing our non-stop 10th Ave coverage, plywood is going up around the former cleaners on the corner of W 50th St. The spot, which has been for-rent for at least a year now, is finally seeing some life.
Back in November, “As Is NYC” applied for a liquor license at the spot. The new place is owned by the same person behind Atera, a spot downtown which just last year was awarded two Michelin stars, so they know their stuff.
Some architectural diagrams of the future exterior:
Some details from the application: it’ll be a 40-seat restaurant plus bar, and open till 1am weeknights, 2am weekends. If you’re curious, you can check out the application itself, which has an “example menu”…which includes ice cream sandwiches!
Breaking the trend of endless closures over winter, signs of new places are starting to pop up. On 10th Ave, next to the library, Mocu-Mocu is inbound, filling a long-time empty store.
We don’t know too much about the new place…the legal business name is “Sekais Tuck Co”…but for the actual name the closest thing we could find was this logo floating around the internet:
Alternatively, a big stretch, but around the middle of last year, a Japanese/Korean “fusion” spot called Iyazaka Moku near Herald Square closed up, but announced they planned to reopen. Very big stretch, probably no connection, but the more you know.
Anyway, Mocu-Mocu’s application isn’t till March, so we’ll have to wait and see for a bit longer…
They haven’t even opened yet, but it’s already been an eventful year for the incoming Clubhouse BBQ on W 53rd St. The future restaurant posted applications for their liquor license at the start of the year, and almost immediately an extremely vocal resident or group of residents came out to oppose the place– specifically their intended use of the outdoor courtyard.
Proving that you can get anything you want if you’re loud enough, in their application to the community board the restaurant have announced they are withdrawing their plans to use the courtyard, and will be an inside-only establishment:
Despite this setback, the place looks to be still set on powering ahead at the former-home of La Silhouette. The owner was behind Clubhouse Café, a “kosher steakhouse” on W 46th St between 6th&7th that closed last year. No word on whether Clubhouse BBQ will be targeting the same crowd.
Continuing what must be a new trend, a new foreign-railway-station-named spot is coming soon. Nippori, a Japanese restaurant, is opening soon. Seemingly pulling the name from a station in Japan, the place is opening up slightly outside our usual area – just east of 8th Ave. Close enough…
Way back when, the place used to be a dry cleaning/laundry spot, but as we all know nobody wants that anymore… Anyway, with the Gershwin directly across the road, I’m sure the new place will do well with the post-theatre crowds.
While 2014 was supposed to be the end of the horse-drawn carriages, that’s recently hit setbacks. Meanwhile, just a few blocks over from those horse’s stables, the NYPD is gearing up for moving their “fleet” (?) of horses into their future new home at the Mercedes House. Excuse the poor photography (it’s hard sometimes, honest).
Look forward to what we can only assume will be a wide selection of beers on tap, and apparently an “epic” burger. Meanwhile, I still want to know what happened to the sign…
This new 59-story mixed-use tower in Manhattan’s Theater district will redefine the midtown skyline. The as-of-right development will encompass some 468,300SF. The three-story base will accommodate luxury retail space along one of New York’s most prestigious shopping streets. The two upper floors will contain 30,000SF of indoor and outdoor amenities for residents and below grade valet parking. The tower above will house approximately 426 luxury studio, 1 bedroom, and 2 bedroom residences along with a 4 bedroom penthouse with uniquely expansive views over Central Park. A rooftop veranda will offer all residents an outdoor pool and lounge overlooking both Central Park to the North and Midtown Manhattan to the South.
Look forward to that towering over you in the distant future.
Looks like some residents aren’t too thrilled about the incoming Clubhouse BBQ to W 53rd St. An anonymous neighbor (who clearly isn’t impressed with the idea of the outdoor back area of the future spot being filled with people) has plastered this warning next to Clubhouse BBQ’s application notice:
While this is literally a NIMBY attitude, it’s easy to sympathize with the mystery resident (residents?) – they’ve had a peaceful back area for a few months since La Silhouette disappeared mysteriously, and an unknown new place opening would be worrying. Who knows, maybe Clubhouse BBQ will be quiet and peaceful?
It looks like the incoming Tehuitzingo on 9th Ave might not actually be an expansion after all. The “original” location on 10th Ave had some crews working on it around the time we posted about the future 9th Ave location, and now is shuttered:
The closure of the 10th Ave spot could just be temporary – renovations and the like – but it seems like the time to do that would be after the new location is open so there’s no down time, not before, so that makes it seem less likely it’s an expansion… Time will tell!
So close.Galerie 515, the new, huge incoming hotel/condo building on the corner of W 39th St &9th Ave, was scheduled to be wrapped up by the end of December. If you’ve passed by in the last week, you’ll notice that it’s almost there, but the eternal sidewalk shed is still surrounding the building…
We’ve been watching the now-former home of Go Sushi for over half a year now, when we first heard whispers next-door neighbor Vynl was planning to take the space over. Initially, we’d thought they’d just be moving into the bigger, better corner location, but applications filed for this month’s community board meetings reveal they’re actually opening a whole new place.
B-Side will be a “coffee bar/pizza bar” according to plans filed, and is being opened by John Dempsey, the same man behind Vynl (obviously), and El Centro a few streets up 9th Ave, along with a number of other spots across the city.
Here’s the place at the moment. Plywood everywhere.
It’s been a very long process for this new place. The first signs came back in June, then after months of silence Go Sushi abruptly closed in October. The construction paper went up on the windows almost immediately, then a month later the plywood came up. Now, with the dazzling green paint job on the plywood, we’ve got the next chapter. We’ll look forward to the big reveal in the coming months.
The January business applications to the community board are out, so expect to see the telltale notices appearing on empty stores for this month’s round in the coming days. First up is Clubhouse BBQ. Not really anything online about the place, so here’s basically all we have to go off:
“The best tacos in the city” are coming soon on 9th Ave between 41st&42nd. Tehuitzingo, a taqueria and “hidden jem” on 10th Ave opposite Hell’s Kitchen Park looks like it’s expanding, with a banner going up inside the former home of Veggietopia:
No word on whether the new place will have the same deli-up-front, dining-out-back format as the original, but as long as they bring their $3 tacos across we’ll be happy.
