Hot & Crusty is set to close on Thursday night after decades at 2393 Broadway near 88th Street. Tipsters were distraught. One customer brought flowers to the cashiers, wrote Marcia. “Sadly their bacon egg and cheese got up to $9+, but I will miss their hot coffee any time. Am in there 2-3 times a day,” wrote Jon. “32 years. Another one bites the dust.” Joshua, a deli counter man at Hot & Crusty, confirmed the closing, saying he found out about it last week and will be losing his job. He doesn’t know why. We are trying to reach the owners to find out. Thanks to Marcel also for the tip.
After a long closure following a problematic health inspection, Cafe 86 has reopened, but now has a For Rent sign on the window. Thanks to Sue for the tip.
Tavola Della Nonna (Grandmothers Table) is now planning to open next week in the former home of Lincoln Square Steakhouse at 208 West 70th Street. We hear it will be “Italian American” with a pizza bar too. Thanks to Amelia and Robin for the tips.
Ateaz tea and coffee shop is opening at 146 West 72nd Street, the former home of The Lite Choice, according to a real estate brochure. Ateaz sells organic coffee and tea and has other locations downtown and in Queens. Thanks to Upper West Sider for the tip.
And there appears to be a new restaurant opening in a long-vacant space on Amsterdam Avenue. “A new restaurant is coming to the Southeast corner of 67th and Amsterdam where the Eden Farms bodega [and Sunflower Deli] closed years ago,” writes Helaine. “All of the vacant signs are down, work permits are up and, when I asked one if the workmen what‘s happening, he said that a restaurant was opening.” Thanks also to Mallory for the tip and photo.
Hot and Crusty charging almost $10 for a basic BEC or SEC was insane. Went once a few years back and had no idea. Gave the guy a $10 and got almost no change. I couldn’t believe it. Nothing fancy about those breakfast staples. I just stick to the 87th Street Deli now for my morning sandwich for $4.
What’s a BEC? What’s an SEC?
Bacon, Egg & Cheese; Sausage, Egg & Cheese
BaconEgg&Cheese
SausageEgg&Cheese
Bacon egg and cheese? Sausage egg and cheese?
Bacon Egg Cheese. Sausage Egg Cheese. Why does this Jew (who does not eat pork), have to explain that to you Cato?!
The Mandee at Broadway and 100th Street has closed.
The Starbucks at 103rd and Broadway will be closing on January 19th. Like the Starbucks at 99th/Broadway that closed, this will close right when scaffolding arrived…
That block is just no-man’s land. It’s pretty sad. I avoid walking it.
It’s closing because they’re demo-ing the whole building to build a luxury high rise on 103.
Yes, as anyone who was paying attention when the Marrakech closed and reports were posted of the building being sold, it was plain that the Starbucks at 103rd days were numbered.
Meanwhile, the Subway sandwich shop directly across Broadway from that Starbucks just closed. And there’s an empty spot across 103rd from where there used to be a bank branch. Given Starbucks’ love for locations close to subway entrances, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of those two spots got snatched up, although the Subway location is pretty small.
Also in close vicinity, the retail spot at the NW corner of Broadway and 102nd St had now been empty for just over five years. Previously an HSBC bank branch, and before that a… Starbucks.
Very true. Why the city doesn’t take over that empty movie theater is beyond me. That whole block is a wasteland.
The 67th and Amsterdam space has been undergoing renovation for the past two years. It literally looks the same now, as the day the brown paper went up.
They are actively working on the space now. They scraped to old name off the windows. Something, finally, is moving in. I heard Spanish restaurant.
A while back it was said to be a Toloche owned restaurant but never materialized.
I’m amazed that the empty space on the northwest corner of 66th and Amsterdam has never been occupied since the building was put up. At one time it was supposed to be a home design and supply store, but it never came to pass. Now that both Lowe’s and Gracious Home are gone, maybe someone should resurrect the idea.
I think its time to start cooking at home.
WSR published this about the Amsterdam Edens Farm space back in May of 2018:
Chef Julian Medina and partner Louis Skibar are looking to expand their Mexican cuisine empire (Toloache, Tacuba Cantina, Coppelia) later this summer with Damiana at 153 Amsterdam Avenue at 67th Street. Medina says Damiana’s menu will emphasize Baja-style seafood and offer 100 different tequilas and mezcals in a 65-seat restaurant serving lunch and dinner.
If a Toloache style restaurant is coming there, it will definitely be a plus for the neighborhood.
So many people will be upset about Hot and Crusty
A place to read the paper and have iced coffee!!
Like a sort of neighborhood club house…Food
Was always good!!!
Why did they close with no warning? Lease was up?
Most places post a sign at least, but i had no clue. Went to buy my challah there and…boom. Nothing
One of the construction workers said the restaurant going in at 67th and Amsterdam will be a Mexican restaurant
SO sorry to hear about Hot & Crusty. I liked their pizza~ Hard to find a decent slice these days.
Sal’s is still excellent, even under new management (ownership?)
Mama’s Too! Great, highly addictive pizza. Best I have ever had, and at a reasonable price. Wonderful mix of local patrons, Columbia students and people on their way home to New Jersey.
I was going to say the same thing. Their pizza was surprisingly good.
1) Mama’s Too! 2) Little Italy Pizza 3) Daniello’s
Everything at Mama’s Too is burnt beyond recognition. I live one block away from Daniello’s and have no idea how it stays in business, it’s awful. Little Italy is good.
the poached pear and mushroom onion slices at Mama’s Too are fantastic. the house slices do get burned sometimes, but if you have one that is not, it’s great.
Made in New York Pizza
The Hot & Crusty at Lex/86 closed several months ago.
I won’t miss Hot & Crusty. When I first moved to the area I went in there for a loaf of bread. It was around $10, mid-quality and served with a scowl. Once bitten, twice shy. Instead I buy my bread daily from Kirsh, Zabars or Orwashers.
Looking forward to whatever moves into this space.
Orwashers is a gift to us all.
Agree
For those who may remember, maybe Williams Chicken will move back in ….. I know just dreaming!!
Ah, yes . . .
i called the container store from time to time and ask that they open a store here. maybe good idea to call companies and ask them to open on the UWS.
I loved Hot & Crusty – and they were always busy!
Agree with the insanity of Hot & Crusty’s prices. A Breakfast sandwich hitting the $10 mark is insane and I stopped buying sandwiches there years ago when they hit $13. It’s same or subpar to bodega quality but double the price. Plus it was a hotbed of homeless encampment in the evening.
Despite it being a stone’s throw from our apartment, convenience can only take a business so far. I hope its replacement is better and the bodega on 87th/Amsterdam gets increased business but retains prices.
I liked Hot & Crusty, liked their salads which I took home to eat, and their bagels which I sat there to eat while yes, reading the paper. Too bad.
I thought Hot and Crusty changed locations. I don’t think it was in that space for decades.
Ur correct. Hot & Crusty was located in a larger space just a few storefronts south on the same block. I believe they moved sometime around 2002. Their current location used to be a chicken takeout place, perhaps even Chirping Chicken.
There’s a street guy named Peter that I’m sure many of you know, even if just by sight. He knows a lot about what’s going on in the neighborhood, and he told us about 5 months ago that Hot & Crusty was probably going to have to close because they were already paying $10k a month for rent and wouldn’t be able to afford the increase the landlord told them he wanted. And sure enough…now they’re closed. Whether you liked the place or not – and I didn’t – it’s still the loss of a place like that, and another empty storefront in our ever-growing landscape of empty storefronts.
Their rent was not even close to $10K/month. $10K on UWS Broadway will barely rent you space big enough for a lotto/smoke shop.
@Kenneth, I meant to say their rent was going to increase 10k a month. My mistake.
I’m sure a “street guy named Pete” is an expert in commercial real estate and the highly competitive bakery/breakfast business.
@Sherman, thanks for your snarky response! The bottom line is that Peter knew months ago this was going to happen because the people at Hot & Crusty knew already and had told him. What’s your problem with that? No one said he was a commercial real estate expert. What a stupid response to my comment.
Street Peter knew 5 months ago, and yet Counterman Joshua only found out last week?
Why didn’t Peter tell Joshua?
Really, implausible.
Not implausible, as Pete rH. is sort of a rainman–knowing facts about the most amazing things
Kudos. We can sure use LESS SNARK on WSR!
Europan on 78th and Bway has been closed for a week now. No sign, no information, just closed.
Hot & Crusty was nice to have b/c it offered a place to sit and eat . The quality of food and the cleaniness of the store left something to be desired. Is there anything worthwhile and open between 86th and 96th on broadway?.. It’s a retail deadzone. I guarantee you H&C space is vacant for 2 years
So where do I buy challah now? I have been buying it at H and C for many years!
Fantastic challah at Silver Moon on northeast corner of 105th and Broadway – Thursday through Sunday only.
Where will you get now WATER challah(Challah without eggs)?
They have water challah at Fine & Shapiro. Last time I was in there, another customer explained to me the difference between “regular” and water challah (basically, no eggs and less sugar in water challah).
I thought eggs were one of the key elements that make challah challah?
H&H Midtown at 85th and Columbus, Citarella, even.
1)Fairway 2)Kosher Marketplace 3)Fischer Brothers 3)Fine & Shapiro 4)Breads Bakery
Every New Yorker has their favorite bagel place and this Hot and Crusty was mine. I’m so sad about this closing. No other bagel has quite lived up to texture and flavor for my tastebuds. I remember when I first moved to NYC from down south in 2001 and did note the scowls and hurried pace that others commenters have described, but found this was true everywhere. I later came to enjoy the staff there, and the hurried, get to the point pace just seemed to be part of it’s NY charm.
Hot and Crusty was my go-to both for fresh fruit salads that were on the less-than-ripe side which I prefer, and also for carrot cake to take home, warm a bit, and eat with hot strong tea. Yum
PS re Hot and Crusty–are there any more in Manhattan? The one at 104th and Broadway closed years ago.
I always thought it was a terrible name, though.
Think this was the last H&C in Manhattan.
One at Grand Central closed years ago. Ditto Second Avenue and 63rd street.
https://www.villagevoice.com/2012/09/01/bakery-workers-occupy-hot-crusty-when-owner-closes-it-down-rather-than-allow-union/
Other UES location on Lexington between 85th and 86th closed for “renovations” in 2019 IIRC. But in meantime Paris Baguette opened a few doors down, and that seemed to have been that. Hot and Crusty never reopened.
Owners of H&C have other stores in Manhattan, but under different name.
Their BEC never got close to $9/10.
I ordered from there nearly every day for 10 years. That’s just simply not true. I only moved about 3 weeks ago.