We noticed last week that Luna Sur was abruptly closed, and assumed it was temporary. Turns out it wasn’t. There’s now a big “store for rent” sign in the window:

They’ve also taken their website down in the last 48 hours, so you know it’s official. We reached out to them when we saw they were closed, but never heard back, so the closure is still a mystery.

Way back at the start of June, we looked at the impending plan to convert a cabaret into a hopefully-​classier restaurant or bar or something. As of a few weeks ago, progress:

Back in June:

The building is way out on W 47^th St, almost right next to the West Side Highway, but things are starting to pick up with all the new hotels and developments popping up all over the place (Gotham West anyone?), so it’s in with the restaurants and out with the “gentlemen’s lounges”.

Limón Jungle, one of the many Mexican restaurants on 9^th Ave, is growing. The store next door, formerly the real estate company Citi Spaces, has been vacant for some time now, so Limon Jungle have taken over the place:

Here’s the new, expanded storefront:

Crews are still working on the interior of the new half, with a lot of work still ahead of them:

Meanwhile, Lime Jungle three blocks south is still closed, with no signs of life in months:

Sorry about the title.

Somewhat of a minor local landmark, the iconic H&H Bagels signage opposite the Intrepid has towered over the West Side Highway for years, even after the company’s eviction at the start of last year.

The location is planned to be an event space, as reported by DNAinfo. Work has begun on the transformation already, and unfortunately, the signs were the first to go:

Flashback:

Here’s what we can look forward to, per DNAinfo:

Back in June, we covered a new gay bar coming soon to 9^th Ave. The bar is taking over the location previously occupied by Vintage, which has been closed since April.

The signature Vintage sign is gone:

The same storefront two months ago:

Now that construction is fully ramping up, we should be seeing a lot of progress in the coming weeks.

W 35^th St can look forward to a new hotel opening between 8^th and 9^th Avenues. Here’s something like we can expect from the 25-​story building, per the site:

Trendy!

The newish brand EVEN Hotels are taking over lots 321 – 325, from the applications. The spot, formerly home to a bike shop and pedicab garage, is currently a vacant garage:

The hotel isn’t scheduled to be opened mid-​2015. Don’t hold your breath!

A new restaurant/​wine bar, Marston’s, is coming to 53^rd St. The name is still tentative, apparently, but they’ll be taking over from the recently-​closed Swizz – a seemingly-​liked restaurant and fondue spot:

The spot is almost next door to the Broadway Comedy Club, so it’s easy to imagine a decent amount of dinner-​and-​a-​show customers coming through.

Their application to take over the license from Swizz was discussed at the CB4 meeting on Tuesday, so depending on how that went, we can expect to see them moving in soon.

Vynl, at 51^st & 9^th, is planning on moving. The restaurant has been around since 2005, and is an iconic part of the area.

The new location they’re hoping for? Directly next door.

The space is currently occupied by Go Sushi. It’s right on the corner of the intersection, and considerably larger than Vynl’s current home. Applications were filed for the move (#10) for discussion at Tuesday night’s BLP Committee meeting. No word yet on the outcome, but it’s hard to imagine much pushback for the almost comical proposal.

Their current venue:

And a closer look at the new space:

Moving that window is gonna be fun.

The Big Apple Meat Market is eyeing a massive space opposite the Port Authority Bus Terminal, according to DNAinfo:

One of the neighborhood’s few affordable grocery stores is hoping to get a discount on rent at a huge space across from the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

Locals say the space at 551 Ninth Ave. — the former home of Project FIND’s Coffee House — would be a perfect spot for the Big Apple Meat Market.

The space is directly beneath the overpass on 9^th Ave:

It would be a big step up from their current, cramped location a block south of there:

They were forced to move to the current location after being pushed out of their old location just north of the bus terminal:

The community board gave its support to the move at its meeting on Wednesday, so the ball is in the Port Authority’s court.

Kashmir’s Dollar Burger over on 8^th Ave looks like it’s shuttered its doors for good. Read the history of this questionable eatery over at Midtown Lunch

Get ready – another 7-​Eleven is opening up, this one at 9^th Ave just before 53^rd St:

The shopfitting is already coming together:

The Slurpee chain is replacing half of the store previously occupied by the Italian restaraunt Caffe Cielo. Let’s hope they don’t start taking over the same way they are in the East Village

Applications have been filed to convert three floors of a seemingly-​abandoned building in the backwoods of W 47^th St into an “adult eating and drinking establishment”. The building at the moment is nothing to look at:

We’ll keep an eye out for any more details of what the incoming restaraunt/​club/​bar looks like.

No word on the fate of the “gentlemens lounge and cabaret” on the ground floor:

Looks like 9^th Ave is set to welcome another gay bar:

Ben Maisani, whose partner is CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, is set to open a third trendy New York City gay bar in Hell’s Kitchen, The Real Deal has learned.

The space used to be the wine bar Vintage, which closed down in April.

A bit more on the new bar, from The Real Deal:

The new space is comprised of 2,500 square feet of space on the street level and 2,500 feet on the lower level, according to a listing for the property on Buz​zTar​get​.com. The term of Maisani’s lease is 15 years, sources said. Retail rents in the area range from $150 to $200 a square foot, they said.

A new Holiday Inn Express opened up in May on 48^th St, adding to the pile of hotels that have opened up past 10^th Ave in that area:

177 rooms, just down the road from the Intrepid, and of course “near” Times Square. It’ll probably be a hit. This is the second Holiday Inn to open in (roughly) the area this year alone, after the earlier outpost near Herald Square. The beginning of a trend?