By Jaclyn Anglis
A few changes to the Upper West Side restaurant scene were revealed at a Community Board 7 meeting Wednesday night.
Seafood restaurant Mermaid Inn, currently at 568 Amsterdam Ave. between 87th and 88th street, will be moving into the space next door, the former home of Mamajuana Café. It has yet to be determined what will take its place at 568. The community board’s business committee recommended approval for the restaurant’s liquor license Wednesday.
Tolani Eatery & Wine at 410 Amsterdam Avenue between 79th and 80th street is planning on making a business transfer at a yet-to-be-determined time. The business owner said the new restaurant will be called Thanda and it will be a South African restaurant with a new approach to food. However, the change can’t be made until the owner posts a flyer, so complete approval is conditional on him posting.
Sugar Factory, a national American food company with a candy emporium applied for a permit to open a business in the space where Ollie’s used to be, at 67th Street and Broadway. But no one showed up at the community board meeting to address the application. Though Sugar Factory has applied for a two-year liquor license, it is not clear when or if it will indeed begin operation there. Stay tuned.
Sushi Shop, the sushi restaurant and takeout spot that just opened on Broadway between 77th and 78th streets, closed suddenly this week. Workers at the midtown location told one customer that business had not done as well as they had expected. Thanks to Anthony, Jeffrey, Risa, Allison, Rob and others.
I recently ordered from Sushi Shop for the first time. It was decent (albeit not amazing) and I liked that they offered some unique roll choices that my other neighborhood sushi spots don’t have. However, delivery was slow, and I found it very expensive compared to the other takeout sushi places I usually frequent. That block of Broadway is so desolate, though, so it’s sad that we’re back to having another empty storefront. Wonder how long it’ll sit vacant this time?
I’m a huge Tolani fan… wondering how they could make it better than it already is.
Walked into Sushi Shop once and couldn’t find anything I wouldn’t rather get from Planet Sushi or Momoya. 🙁
Congrats to Mermaid on their expansion! Whenever I walk by the place, I always see their patrons enjoying their meal.
Tolani is taking a big risk in ‘tweaking’ their business. They’ve been considering this new cuisine since their chef visited South Africa 2-3 years ago. If its not broken, don’t fix it! Regardless, good luck!
Mermaid Inn is the best eats on the Upper West Side! Their manager, Adam C., always ensures we have a great meal and experience every time. Also, Dollar Oyster Happy Hours!
Mermaid Inn is very good, reasonable prices, good service, and good value. Sushi Shop, on the other hand, I thought was lousy. I had lunch there and within seconds of ordering my sushi was ready, they have pre-made refrigerated rolls that they just cut up and plate. Sushi is not supposed to be cold, and sushi rice is NEVER supposed to be refrigerated.
Hmmm…guess it could NOT be said of the Sushi Shop owner that he “knew Sushi, like we know Sushi….”
Play it, Al
As a regular sushi eater, I was quick to try out The Sushi Shop. It was so clearly inferior to everything else in the neighborhood, I never went back. Also, it smelled fishy…never a good sign with sushi.
We also went to Sushi Shop once and never went back. The sushi did not seem fresh.
Sad to see Sushi Shop go. I loved it. Always found it fresh and good quality. It was inexpensive and quick. Similar to Wasabi on 7th ave 41st street. Oh Well.. The Upper West Side- Where restraurants go to Die !
Another vote for Mermaid, which is one of our favorite places in the neighborhood. I’m quite confident that the extra space they gain in the move will be put to good use.
But will the Mermaid Inn bring their glass-front garage door concept to the larger space??? I hope so – that was so cool…..
I thought Sushi Shop’s prices were ridiculous. There are so many other Japanese restaurants on Amsterdam that are better priced.
DNSInfo reports that the managers of Mermaid will be opening an Italian restaurant in the space
In their original space – not the newly acquired space.
I thought Sushi Shop was perfectly average sushi… like any other place on the UWS. Good for a quick sushi fix… but what was really weird was that the store never showed up on the sushi shop app, which they were really pushing (to bypass Seamless, I suppose). I downloaded the app, and it only showed the midtown location. Whole thing seems to be a halfbaked idea… I wonder how much money they lost on the venture.
Ate at the new Lincoln Square Steak house. .busboys hovering over you, even picking their nose. No lobster she’ll crackers, instead waiter put on rubber gloves to crack while lobster was already on the table. Give this place a huge pass. Never again.
I think the idea of bringing the lobster to the table whole is to show you that it was freshly cooked, rather than having been sitting around already cracked.
The idea of having the waiter crack it for you is to save you from the effort of having to do it yourself. You know, like having the doorman carry your Tiffany’s bag from the taxi door to your elevator.
That said, I’ve never been to this place (and, short of a winning Lottery ticket, not likely to be), and have no affiliation with it. Just trying to offer another explanation for the horrible indignities you had to suffer. (There’s *no* excuse for bussers to pick their noses in the front of the house, I’ll give you that one.)
There was a sign at the sushi shop today that the owners owed the building 2 months of back rent.
I always wanted to try Sushi Shop; but since I never saw any customers in there, I hesitated. I’ve ordered from the one in Paris (It’s a Parisian based company) and it’s been excellent. Now, I’m sorry to see it go.
YogurtLand closed yesterday!
Essentials, in financial trouble for the last 6 months, finally closed.
It was essential: I bought cleaning supplies, moms bought diapers, jocks bought beer. It stayed open to 11:45 PM.
If the upper west side can’t keep retail stores open (because of escalating rents) we’re in trouble. We don’t need a bank, a CVS or a Duane Reade on every corner. We need affordable clothing stores, food shops, hardware stores (now that Basics is closed for renovation there’s no hardwarde store below 95th St.)
How many Aldos, Teavannas, Geoxes do we need?
What’s needed are lower rents and more more (sort of) mom and pop stores supported by the community they exist in.
Tolani is actually going to close in about 5 weeks. One of the main servers there told me that. They don’t know what will replace it.