Brit chain Pret A Manger had moved into the former Tisserie space at 857 Broadway (at 17th Street), and now comes official word that when it opens for a test run this Friday, it will give away 3,000 free sandwiches starting at 12:15 p.m. — provided you snag one of the flyers that will be given away at the Union Square subway entrances between 8 a.m. and 9:25 a.m. that morning. Pret is calling this the “Guinea Pig Day” for what will be their U.S. flagship (the store features a fresh design and free Wi-Fi), but for better or worse, cuy won’t be served — instead, Pret is sourcing food directly from Greenmarket vendors. The location opens fully on June 22.
You may remember The Adore on the 13th St. block. Now, a couple of doors down at the former site of the copy shop and, briefly, Blossom de Jour, will be a new French/Japanese bakery called Patisserie Fouet.
This 1920 photo shows the northeast corner of 5th Ave. and 13th St., the current location of The New School’s main building. If you look down 13th St. at the right of the photo, you can see our 13th St. building. 104 years ago!
The former TGI Fridays on Union Square East will become a standalone site for Spacious, the co-working space that already operates within Corkbuzz from 8-4 every day. Details here.
From The New School:
Next week (September 19 to September 23), Contractors will continue to excavate earth and rock, and load out material. Installation of bracing rakers and line drilling will progress as well. Concrete foundation walls around the perimeter of the site and slab on grade work will continue. Interior core foundation work and underground electrical and plumbing will proceed. Contractors will be removing the interior earth ramp. DOT approved street connections to underground utilities on Fifth Avenue will progress. A small cherry picker crane will arrive on site next week, and be stationed inside the Fifth Avenue fence. This crane will remain on site for approximately two months.
The following week (September 26 to September 30 ), we will continue with concrete foundation walls and slabs, line drilling, rock excavation, loading out, interior core foundation work, street utility connections on Fifth Avenue, and underground electrical and plumbing.
DEP continues to repair the water main along 13th Street. As part of this work, the DEP may periodically shut water service off. This work is out of our control.
The site will be open on Saturday, September 17th. Work hours are between 9AM and 5PM as permitted by the City. To control noise levels, work activities will be limited to the placement of formwork, plumbing and electrical work, site utility connections, waterproofing and rebar for concrete placement, and the installation of walers and braces. There will be no rock excavation, rock chopping, or hauling on Saturday.
