A new Panera express shop has opened at 110 University, the first retail shop to open in the pedestal of that high-rise apartment building since it was completed three years ago. The format is entirely new, will be 40% smaller than the average Panera café at 2,000 square feet and will be designed toward to go-customers with dedicated shelves for rapid pickup, a digital menu, tracking screen technology with detailed order statuses, and very limited seating.
The Union Square Partnership (which is our business improvement district) has come up with a sweeping five-point plan to help the neighborhood bounce back after COVID. Check it out.
Another dry cleaning option has arrived. Young Cleaners is located on University Place between 12th and 13th St.
Ralph Lauren has closed all his Rugby stores, including the one on University and 12th.
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.”
7 For All Mankind has opened on the corner of 5th Ave. and 15th St. at the former site of Au Bon Pain. So instead of a $3 muffin you can get a $300 pair of jeans.
The University Diner has finally found its new identity…as a European cookie shop. The details:
“Almost a year after the closure of the classic diner University Restaurant, an Austrian corporation will open a specialty food shop in its place later this month, the owner of the incoming business said Tuesday.
“Gunz Fine European Food will sell cookies, snacks and other fine foods imported from across Europe, Daniel Gunz said.
“It will be everything from Belgian chocolate to Spanish cakes to Italian olive oil,”