Why Businesses Fail

When you walk around the East Village, you're bound to notice that some business you love… is closed! Shuttered! Gone forever.

Many times, these failures are preventable. For example, with the beloved Agios Greek Rotisserie, on St. Mark's Place — who can even see their name behind the No Parking sign?!

Sign is blocked.

It couldn't have helped that they were beside the beloved Aria Body Piercing either. Imagine coming out, after having just finished dinner, to see someone screaming as a spike is driven through their nose!

Another example is the beloved East Village Meat Market, on Second Avenue.

On Super Bowl Sunday, a day when an astonishing 1.35 billion chicken wings were eaten, they were closed.

No wings for you, East Village!

Think about the community!

#eastvillage #agiosgreekrotisserie #closed #eastvillagemeatmarket #secondavenue #signs #stmarksplace

Sidewalk Closed

East Villagers are familiar with sidewalk traffic being hampered by abandoned furniture, but it's not very common to see the sidewalk closed due to it!

That seemed to have been the case here on East 4th Street at Avenue D, oh, about eleven days ago:

Sidewalk closed.

It turns out that the sidewalk was closed because of construction!

Construction.

A short two days later, here is the result:

The result.

Here is a close-up of the new wheelchair ramp:

Wheelchair ramp.

Don't want to get too fancy — it wouldn't be the East Village if it were too fancy!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #abandonedfurniture #avenued #closed #orangebarrels #sidewalks #wheelchairramps

Unhappy Ending

If there's one thing East Villagers love, it's a bit of prostitution with their foot and back rubs.

So a great cry of sadness rose today as the beloved Nie's Service Center, on East 4th Street, was closed by the New York Police Department for prostitution!

Best Chinese Foot & Back Rub.

Behold:

Restraining Order.

…and again:

Closed.

Prepare to see a lot more sad-faced East Villagers hobbling around with sore feet and backs in the coming days!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #bestchinesefootbackrub #closed #newyorkpolicedepartment #niesservicecenter #nypd #prostitution #restrainingorder #signs

Shocking Discovery

I was walking down upper Avenue A recently, when I passed the formerly‑beloved Empire Biscuit (with probably the coolest doors in the East Village):

Cool doors.

Naturally, I took a peek inside.

Dead tree.

It was a dead tree.

What I discovered next will shock you. This is the sign in the window:

Sign in the window.

No Bar/Restaurant?! Who ever heard of a place opening up in the East Village that wasn't a bar or restaurant?

What do they think is going to open here, a shoe repair store?!

#eastvillage #avenuea #closed #deadtrees #empirebiscuit #signs

Gone, And Forgotten

Back in February of this year, there was some question as to the economic health of the beloved New Carolina Deli Grocery, on the corner of Avenue D and East 3rd Street.

That question has been resolved:

Closed.

That leaves only No-Name Grocery Inc. and L.E.S. 7 Day Deli & Grocery for your scary, snack-food purchases!

#eastvillage #3rdstreet #avenued #closed #newcarolinadeligrocery

No Sorry We're Closed

I was walking around the East Village this past Saturday morning, when I passed by the beloved David's Cafe, on St. Mark's Place.

They were closed:

No Sorry We're Closed.

By beginning the engagement with the answer No, this sign assumes the posing of the question "Are you open?" — even before spoken!

I thought to myself: What if the question is "Are you closed?"

What a strange and confusing answer!

#eastvillage #davidscafe #stmarksplace #signs #closed

Goodbye Mac & Cheese

East Villagers love macaroni and cheese. Who doesn't?!

So when the beloved New York Macaroni Co. on St. Mark's Place closed, a great cry went up:

New York Macaroni Co. closed.

Of course, every closure is an opportunity for a picture of the empty insides:

Empty insides.

Empty insides, just like bellies without macaroni and cheese… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #stmarksplace #newyorkmacaronico #closed

Seedy Venue

A gypsy must have put a curse on the store next to the beloved Sidewalk Bar and Restaurant, on East 6th Street — nothing ever stays open here for long!

Today, it's just another one of the eyesores East Villagers love so much:

Eyesore.

Here's a picture of the inside:

Inside.

It looks pretty seedy to me!

#eastvillage #6thstreet #closed #graffiti

New York Village Deli

The beloved New York Village Deli on First Avenue was home to some of the East Village's finest confections, but no longer:

New York Village Deli no longer.

In the end, two things did them in: 1) they had a ridiculously-high minimum on debit/credit card purchases; and 2) they stopped selling bacon, egg, and cheese on a roll at noon!

East Village Today has one piece of advice to the owners of the new deli, if that's what opens here: Don't stop selling bacon, egg, and cheese on a roll at noon!

#eastvillage #firstavenue #newyorkvillagedeli #closed

The Closed Door

Do you recognize this door, on Avenue C and East 4th Street?

Door.

Of course you don't! That's because this is the first time this door, to the beloved Avenue C Deli Corp., has ever been closed!

No one knows why it was closed, but it's my guess that the cord that was being used to keep it open broke, or came undone. Something!

You saw it here first, folks… on East Village Today!

#eastvillage #avenuec #4thstreet #avenuecdelicorp #doors #closed

Places That Are Closed

As you know, I like to take pictures of the insides of buildings — when the doors are open, through windows, anything legal and ethical!

Unfortunately, I don't always remember where I was when I took a picture. These are two of them.

February 28:

Inside some place I don't remember.

March 7:

Inside some other place I don't remember.

Well, they're in the East Village — does anything else matter?!

#eastvillage #inside #closed

Snow Days

Until we resolve this exclamation point thing, I'm going to refrain from using them.

This past Sunday, I passed by this place on East 10th Street, called Snowdays:

Snowdays.

I've heard a lot about this place, and I wanted to try it, but they were closed! (I think that deserves an exclamation point).

Since they were closed, I took a picture of the inside. They certainly have a lot of room! I think it's for when so many people come to buy snow cream that some have to wait, and rather than have them wait outside, blocking the sidewalk, they make room inside.

A lot of room inside.

I guess I'll have to try my snow cream another time.

Inside Empty Storefronts

You may have noticed this already, and I don't know why it is, but when I see an empty storefront, I have to take a picture of what's inside it. This is on East 9th Street, close to Avenue A:

Inside a storefront on East 9th Street.

I don't know if you can see what that is in the back, but it's an old-fashioned sewing machine!

This is on East 10th Street:

Inside a storefront on East 10th Street.

You can see it's a smaller space, but it has a toilet!

There are a lot of empty storefronts in the East Village!