14th St. in 1939, Part II

Coming to 39 East 13th St., the former home of Spice Thai restaurant, is Moja, which will offer:  “The juicy, hard-seared satisfaction of an American smash burger. The flaky, buttery, laminated layers of a South Asian paratha, rolled into a coil and griddled until the layers pull apart. Put one inside the other and the brioche bun starts to look like a compromise. Not a trend. A texture upgrade.”

Sad to see Patsy’s Pizzeria leave University Place. For more than 15 years it was the most reliable pizza in the neighborhood. What will take its place?

The annual sharehoilders’ meeting will take place on Thursday, October 26th, 2023 at 7:00pm and will be held via Zoom conference call; both audio and video options are available. Please see your e-mail for log in instructions or contact Richard Cacciato, rcacciato@akam.com, if you need the instructions.

From Bedford + Bowery:

A Union Square institution, Coffee Shop, served its final brunch Sunday with one last samba performance by Maucha Adnet, her trio, and a pair of roving carnival dancers. Charles Milite and Eric Petterson– who own the restaurant with Karolyn Effer, wife of music producer Jellybean Benitez— were on hand for the farewell, and fondly remembered a New York magazine story about the Brazilian diner’s opening 28 years ago. It noted “the  late-nighters who’ve been thronging Coffee Shop and its secret room in the back–artists, actors and young models wearing black tights and gold medallions.” At the time, Patterson said he wanted the 23-hour diner to recreate the feeling of Brazil: “the sensuality, the music, the friendliness of the people.”

Since then, Coffee Shop has held on, despite never really being a foodie destination; its basement, once an after-hours party spot for ’90s cool kids, recently served as a chill-out zone for off-duty models during Fashion Week. And its outdoor tables were a dependable spot for leisurely people-watching. But back in July, it was announced that the restaurant would close. “The times have changed in our industry,” Milite, himself a former model, told the New York Post. “The rents are very high and now the minimum wage is going up and we have a huge number of employees.”

Rock venue Irving Plaza is set to go quiet this summer for an eight-month renovation. The 150-year-old venue hosts its last scheduled show for the year on June 30—headlined by tropical band Guaco—before shutting down for work that is scheduled to last until next spring.

Live Nation, the concert hall’s operator, announced the planned renovations this week along with the Polish Army Veterans Association, which has owned the building since 1948.

The 3,300-square-foot hall was converted from a Polish-American community center into a concert venue in 1978. Since then, Irving Plaza’s marquee has listed big-name artists including Bob Dylan, the Foo Fighters, Radiohead and the Talking Heads. Paul McCartney played a surprise show there to a capacity crowd of about 1,000 on Valentine’s Day in 2015.

But, as some Yelp reviews document, concertgoers have complained about the venue’s narrow interior and a layout that makes it difficult to buy a drink or use the restroom without missing segments of the show.

Live Nation is promising that the venue will reopen with a revamped lobby, new bars, a downstairs VIP lounge and a remodeled mezzanine with a new configuration for box seats. A Live Nation spokesman said four new bathrooms are on the way as well.