By Scott Etkin and Lisa Kava
Avenue Bakery, a kosher bakery and café is opening at the corner of West 84th Street and Broadway. It is replacing a Variazioni clothing store. A variety of coffees, tea, lattes, and cappuccinos will be served, in addition to bakery items, sandwiches, and cakes by the slice, a representative told West Side Rag. Avenue is a new bakery, planning to open its first locations on both the Upper East Side and Upper West Side by the end of February. (Thanks to Yvonne, Ian, and David for the tips.)
Boulud Sud, chef Daniel Boulud’s Mediterranean-inspired restaurant at 20 West 64th Street, has closed for renovation. Details about the renovation and the timing of its reopening were not available, but a company representative told WSR in an email that some of the classic Boulud Sud dishes will be added to the menu at Bar Boulud. (Boulud Sud’s sister establishments on the same block, Épicerie Boulud and Bar Boulud, remain open). Shortly after Boulud Sud originally opened in 2011 it earned two stars from The New York Times. “Boulud Sud is the Manhattan equivalent of a private yacht anchored off Monaco, serving the food of Sardinia, Greece, Tunisia, Gibraltar, Beirut,” Sam Sifton wrote in his review. “And you are invited along.” (Thanks to Thomas for the tip.)
The restaurant at the historic Central Park Boathouse (72nd Street in the park) is reopening on March 4th after a renovation, The New York Times reported. The Boathouse’s outdoor café re-opened last June, but the restaurant has been closed since December, 2022. Legends, the hospitality company behind the food service at Yankee Stadium and other New York City landmarks, now operates the restaurant. It has committed $3.25 million in capital investment and $250,000 for structural-maintenance improvements to the Boathouse.
Marine Layer, a men’s and women’s clothing store known for casual, comfortable apparel, is moving from 205 Columbus Avenue (between 69th and 70th), to 420 Columbus Ave (between 80th and 81st streets), in the space previously occupied by Rituals, the skin care/cosmetics shop, which closed in May, 2022. The last day at the Columbus location was January 24th, and the goal is for the new location to open in mid-March, the area manager told WSR on a phone call. Marine Layer was founded in 2009 in San Francisco by Mike Natenshon after his girlfriend threw away his favorite “soft” T-shirt, which was worn out. The company strives to sell “absurdly soft” apparel for a “seven-day weekend” lifestyle. Marine Layer has approximately 50 stores nationwide. The first UWS shop opened in 2019, taking over the lease of Kate Spade, the clothing and accessories store. That lease is up and Marine Layer is expanding into the larger space further up on Columbus, the manager told the Rag.
The Starbucks at the corner of West 75th Street and Broadway is closed for renovation and is expected to reopen this fall, according to a sign posted on the storefront. The nearest open locations are at 73rd and Columbus, and 81st and Broadway. Customers can also check the store locator in the Starbucks app.
One Bite Omakase, a sushi restaurant, is opening at 411 Amsterdam Avenue between West 79th and 80th streets. Omakase translates to “I leave it up to you,” which refers to how the sushi chef makes the decisions about what to serve. At One Bite, the set meal will consist of 13 courses for $89 per person, the company posted on Instagram. The chefs leading the restaurant previously worked at Masa and Blue Ribbon, both high-end Japanese restaurants. One Bite is replacing Bardolino Pizza, which closed in March last year.
In case you missed it: Morton Williams Supermarket opened on January 26th on Broadway from West 68th to 69th streets. The grocery store takes up the full block, making it one of the largest markets in the neighborhood. (Click here for our full story about the opening.) CPW, a longstanding women’s clothing boutique at 495 Amsterdam Avenue (84th Street), is closing on January 31st. (Click here for our full story about the closing of CPW.)
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Very disappointed with Morton Williams new store on 68th/Broadway. The isles are so narrow that its just not navigable for me. The entire place feels claustrophobic to me.
Agreed. Was hoping for a modern supermarket, but ended up with another MW stuck in the 90s. Huge store but lots of items not found, prices exceeding Whole Foods (but without the quality), and aisles claustrophobic. I’ll pass …
I go to the MW on 9th Avenue for the things I cannot find in Whole Foods. It is expensive but not as high-priced as D’Agostino.
I agree it’s crowded with narrow isles, but it’s still great to have another supermarket in that immediate area and their opening sales were fantastic – best to shop off hours there.. Unfortunately that space isn’t really designed for a large food store – it’s from an older building than the one on WEA and 60th – and it was meant for smaller retail stores.
That’s exactly how I felt when I visited there yesterday. Lots of sudden dead ends and narrow aisles reminiscent of 1970s Manhattan grocery stores. I’ll stick with Morton Williams on West End & 60th Street. Much more airy and easier to get around.
Can’t wait for the next iteration of Frugal Franny’s column to include the Morton Williams! Outside of a few grand opening sales it looked quite expensive – I expect Trader Joes will remain the reigning champ
I hope they’re serving that grapefruit dessert thingy at Bar Boulud for the duration. That thing is wild.
Totally agree re the grapefruit dessert.
I respectfully disagree with most of the comments here. While it is true that MW is not set up exactly like a “normal” supermarket – its layout is based on the combining of several oddly shaped stores, including some with “cubby-hole” style short aisles, I found the store to be actually far larger than I expected, and not difficult to navigate. I was surprised that they even had room for a salad bar.
As for prices, I found that most things are about average for the neighborhood (comparing to, say, Fairway, Pioneer, Key Food), and some are higher (e.g., a can of Progresso soup, currently $5.49 everywhere else, is $5.99 at MW), I also found that some of their sales were better than other stores (e.g., I pay ~$5.50 for a large plastic bottle of Ocean Spray cranberry juice everywhere else; MW has it for $3.99).
I think people just need to get used to a slightly “different” (and perhaps “awkward”) store, but I found it to be clean, bright, and pretty well-set-up, with very friendly and helpful staff.
It’s not the size that’s the problem, its the lack of room to navigate. The isles are so narrow, there is no way you can walk around someone without involving them. I’ve never seen anything like it. As for prices, I overheard 2 people complaining of prices at checkout.
Stores with narrow *aisles* have been a stable of NYC grocery stores or supermarkets for decades, especially in Manhattan.
You want wide open spaces head out to suburbs (LI, NJ, Westchester) or maybe parts of Brooklyn, Queens or Staten Island.
Only huge sort of supermarket on can recall in Manhattan was that Pathmark near Brooklyn Bridge off FDR in FiDi. It closed long ago with property being redeveloped into luxury housing.
the pathmark on lex and 125th too.
Isn’t this the case with every Manhattan supermarket not built in a new construction building?
I’ve personally not seen anything like it.
Glad to have this new grocery story
but,
can’t deny, it does feel claustrophobic.
The food items are also akin to shop rite…
Nothing special.
How about stocking more Eli Zabar fresh breads?
The bakery items didn’t look fresh,
they looked as if they were removed from packaging.
The cakes looked heavy and rather waxy.
The sushi didn’t look great. Just the usual packaged kind.
The employees weren’t very cheerful.
Did anyone feel this too?
It’s like a shop rite under the Morton Williams umbrella.
Can’t say enough… So cramped
Oooh! Poetry!!!
Morton William & Gristedes purchases wholesale from Wakefern, parent company of Shoprite.
Morton Williams, Foodtown, Freshtown Marketplace, D’Agostino, Gristedes, Pathmark, LaBella Marketplace, Brooklyn Harvest Market, Market Fresh, Big Deal Food Market, Green Way Markets, Food Basics and Shop ‘n Bag are all part of Allegiance Retail Services LLC. A co-op that besides having their own supermarkets (Greenway and Foodtown) supplies members of group in PA, NJ and NYC area.
Thus if you shop at Morton Williams three private label brands you’ll find area Greenway, Shoprite, and Foodtown.
Wakefern also owns Fairway which they purchased when that company went bankrupt. This is why Fairway is largely Shoprite things now.
https://www2.wakefern.com/brands/fairway-market/
Before going belly-up in bankruptcy Fairway’s distribution system supplied many supermarkets in NYC and NJ besides their own. Again once FWM went bankrupt that was end of that and supermarkets had to find other sources. Enter Wakefern and Alliance.
Maddening thing is my AMEX and few other CCs give extra points for shopping at Shoprite.
Even though Morton Williams carries lots of
What I like about this Morton Williams store is the glass doors from ground to ceiling. It features a cheerful drawing of foods, creating a happy atmosphere on the sidewalk. I hope no one breaks into the glass for whatever purpose. With the supermarket operating and being watched daily, I believe no homeless individuals will occupy the block.
Nice to see something opening in the former Rituals space on Columbus. Between that, the new Warby Parker and the forthcoming opening of the Japanese place on the corner where Andy’s Deli was, that rather forlorn block is gaining some retail vitality. (But I was sad to see Rituals close; it was such a pretty store and a great resource for gifts and little luxuries, not to mention the little cups of tea they served to browsing customers.)
What I don’t understand is why the space across the street where the old Food Emporium used to be wasn’t used for the new Morton Williams store. Food Emporium was a huge real supermarket, with high ceilings and wide aisles. It was even big enough for a Lowes! It’s been empty for years, perfect for a new supermarket to move in.
Instead Morton Williams spent over a year trashing a residential building with its endless renovation to create a rather lame, narrow-aisled dinky supermarket.
A. What makes you think 2008 Broadway was not considered?
B. Residents of Dorchester Towers have dealt with endless construction for years. Between condo owners renovating their units and Ogden CAP Properties renovating remaining rental units as they become vacant and other work.
C. Ground floor retail at 2008 Broadway is not owned by condo building above but is a separate property. Former Lowes space is currently owned by Jamestown Properties who purchased a 37 year master lease back in 2015.
Without knowing details such as Morton Williams budget, space requirements, what Dorchester Towers offered versus Jamestown Properties (if they did at all), among other things it’s very difficult to trash MW’s decision.
Agree! To my recollection the old Food Emporium/Lowes location was a big boxy space. Previously had a large supermarket in the space. Instead MW spent $ remaking the new space and it has a very cramped vibe. (Agree w/all the other posters saying the aisles are too narrow.) Have no idea what terms of the lease were for the new space in comparison to the FE space or what kind of work would be needed to make the FE space usable but the new MW won’t be a regular shopping spot for me!
I really doubt that the MW owners didn’t investigate leasing the old Food Emporium space – I’m sure there are logical reasons they chose this location. Probably financial.
Morton Williams on 9th Avenue is open 24 hours. For that I was so grateful during the pandemic. Everything else closed so early and most stores still have earlier closings than they did pre-pandemic.
Yeah. A lot of 24 hours places now close by 10. A bunch of places that were 24 before the pandemic are not now.
CVS on Broadway and 93rd permanently closing.
If recent history is any guide that Starbucks on W75th and Broadway will have less seating when it reopens after renovation.
Trend for Starbucks has been either to close larger stores and open something smaller nearby, or renovate but having less overall seating.
So far the only problem with this new store are the narrow isles in only one section of the store and a lot of people are complaining. The fish and meat sections, the pre-prepared food sections, the fresh fruits and vegetables and nuts and dessert sections are out in the open, spacious and easy to pass through while pushing shopping carts. But the areas where the narrow isles are can only accommodate one person with a shopping pushcart at a time. These narrow isles can be widened and hopefully the store will do it in the future . A couple of years ago Fairway had this problem with narrow isles in one of their sections and they widened them.
As for prices , I find them very reasonable and similar to Fairway’s, Jubilee’s and Key Food. As everybody knows, Trader Joe’s prices are the cheapest, but that’s only “Trader Joe’s”. Keep in mind that this new Morton Williams’ market has weekly special sales at cheaper prices for various items! Pick up circulars in entrance area.
Not “only” the narrow aisles but also the abrupt dead ends. And this store is lacking self-checkout – I much prefer self-checkout to waiting for a cashier. The MW on 60th & West End has self-checkout, as does Fairway.
Does anyone know what’s happened with 1020? I heard it’d closed; but the bar’s website and Instagram (perhaps out of date) indicate it’s open.