A little late on this one, but the seemingly-​popular Turkish spot Lezzette, near the corner of 34^th & 9^th, has closed its doors for good, as noticed by Midtown Lunch.

They’ve had a rough year, being closed by the health department, then closing again, but this time it’s official.

Fortunately, for those who need their Turkish fix, Turco further up 9^th Ave is still up and running, and are even opening a second location soon.

The first part of the incoming monster development Gotham West is nearly here. Gotham West Market is holding its opening party tonight. The event is fully sold out, but those who already secured tickets have the chance to try food and drinks from the various “eclectic” “artisanal” (of course) restaurants within the market, as well as meeting the chefs themselves.

The market hasn’t been terribly well received by everyone in the community. Initially, the store was planned to be a supermarket, but the president of the development group apparently decided the spot was too small for a supermarket, so instead we get Gotham West Market.

Anyway, with the opening party tonight it’s only a matter of time before the market is officially open. They’re being very careful not to announce an official date yet, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

It looks like the pizza bar Zigolini’s on 9^th Ave has joined the list of Fall closed restaurants. They haven’t been open for at least the past few days, and they’ve even taken their signage down from above the store:

Previously:

Doing a quick check, their Twitter and website are still up, but it looks like their Facebook page has been deleted.

It’s been a rough few months for Zigolini’s – they were shuttered by the health department for a week back in August, then closed for a bit during September for renovations. Their former neighbor Phở 66 also closed this year, and no new tenant have taken their place yet, so this strip will start looking a bit bare with Zigolini’s gone too.

The plywood has come down outside the rapidly-​approaching Green Rancho, revealing a much classier exterior than the previous Lime Jungle:

Here’s a “sneak peek” inside:

The plywood went up only a few weeks ago, after months of silence from the site, and it’s already come back down again after a massive appearance transformation. Here’s our previous coverage.

With the exterior almost ready and the interior filling up inside the store, it looks like we can expect an opening very soon. The big question is whether they stick with that slogan of “Mexico history & guacamole is our passion”.

A quick reopening note: Bali Nusa Indah, on 9^th Ave between 45^th & 46^th, has reopened after being temporarily shuttered by the health department, as noticed by DNAinfo.

They’re Manhattan’s only Indonesian restaurant apparently, so an entire country’s cuisine is now back on the menu!

Another day, another closure. Kiran Indian Cuisine, just west of 53^rd & 9^th, looks like it’s shuttered its doors. Some of their furniture was dumped on the sidewalk over the past few days, and their usually-​bright lights haven’t been on lately.

The spot has had its ups and downs, including scoring a C on their health inspection earlier this year (which was later upgraded to an A). Regardless of what’s in store for this place in the future, we’ll be interested to see if their year-​round-​Christmas lights stay up.

Hell’s Kitchen can look forward to our very own outpost of the Greek restaurant Snack Taverna. The store is taking over the checkerboard store formerly home to Sandwich Planet on the corner of 39^th & 9^th, bringing their Greek menu to the area around Port Authority.

The fitout of the store is now fully underway. Lots of dust flying around with the construction:

They’ve been steadily making progress over the past few weeks. Here was the scene last month:

Snack Taverna has been part of the West Village for a decade, so this store will be opening on their “10 year anniversary” of sorts. DNAinfo have more from July about the incoming restaurant. Their plan is to open either this month or November, just in time for winter.

Fall really is the season of change. Along with the numerous new places opening in the coming months, there’s also a couple of closures that have appeared suddenly. The latest one to join this group is Chanpens, a Thai restaurant at the corner of W 51^st St & 9^th Ave, as spotted by nearby neighbor George Stoll.

They’ve already cleared out all the furniture from the store:

Chanpens closure was almost in sync with across-​the-​intersection neighbor Go Sushi, who also shuttered in the last week. Any more and we’ll have a trend. Fortunately there’s no shortage of Thai food on 9^th Ave, so it shouldn’t be too hard for regulars to find a new place to get your pad thai fix. Nothing will be able to beat that super modern signage though.

Thanks George!

Go Sushi, on the corner of 51^st & 9^th, has closed its doors. The place had been open for over 8 years, with its bright neon signage always standing out.

It’s been a long time coming, but it looks like this is the first step of Vynl’s big move one store over. Back in the start of June we noticed the application submitted by Vynl to make the move into Go Sushi’s spot, but until now nothing had come of it.

We’ll be watching the spot closely to see what happens now. In the mean time, memories:

The 43^rd St Kids Preschool are holding a fundraising bake sale today at the corner of W 43^rd & 9^th Ave, with all kinds of sugary treats.

The stall’s running until 6pm this evening, so stop by and grab a cupcake!

Who can say no to cake?

They’re not messing around with the incoming second outpost of Turco. We covered the new location last week, which had been sitting seemingly dormant for a few weeks, but it looks like whatever they were waiting for is over, and they’re getting straight in to the store fit out.

They’ll have to make the most of the small space in the old Verizon store:

In the mean time, you can get a taste (in every sense of the word) for what’s coming by checking out the original Turco at 43^rd & 9^th.