Goodbye Garden of Eden, Hello Atherea
Garden of Eden is gone and missed. In its place will come Atherea, a more organic, health-food focused market and cafe. Does that mean $$$$? Probably. Here’s what they say:
Garden of Eden is gone and missed. In its place will come Atherea, a more organic, health-food focused market and cafe. Does that mean $$$$? Probably. Here’s what they say:
Interesting fact. The new Best Buy at the corner of 14th and 4th will be open all night.
Certified closed: Recess, the angular coffee and snack shop on the corner of University and 10th. It lasted only about six months.
A sign of the times. The long abandoned Zen Palate restaurant on Union Square West has been stripped of its copper facade as high as human hands can reach. Copper scavengers on the prowl.
Did you catch the NY Times raving about Union Square? Good for real estate values.
State of Play Hospitality group has signed a lease to open Flight Club, a technology-enabled darts gaming facility, at 31 Union Square West in Flatiron, Manhattan. This will be the group’s first venue in Manhattan, and its ninth lease for the Flight Club brand in North America. The location will be a global flagship for the brand. Flight Club will occupy a 10,700-square-foot space at 31 Union Square West, a 16-story Renaissance Revival building designed by architect Bruce Price. The building was constructed in 1902-03 as the headquarters of the Bank of Metropolis. It was designated a city landmark in 1988 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
The brand’s new location is scheduled to open in late 2025, joining the building’s history of housing venues like Zippers nightclub in the early 1980s, Metropolis restaurant and club in the late 1980s, and Blue Water Grill from 1996 until recently.
“We’ve been looking for the right real estate opportunity to land Flight Club in New York for over five years, and this site has the potential to be a genuine landmark for the city and the group,” said Toby Harris, CEO of State of Play Hospitality. “Both 31 Union Square as a building and the stunning split level Flight Club space are as close to the physical brief for the brand that we could wish for. I’m confident that by complementing and retaining the character of the building, we will be able to do it justice.”
Since launching the first U.S. Flight Club in Chicago in 2018, State of Play has expanded the brand to Boston, Houston, Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Denver, with new venues set to open in Washington D.C. and Philadelphia in late 2024.
From the Times: “Venice was Chris Jaeckle’s inspiration for this duplex restaurant. “It has always had the most global outlook of any place in Italy,” said Mr. Jaeckle, the chef and a partner. “And that goes back 800 years.” But Venice is only a starting point. He also applies a touch of Japanese flavor to the typical Venetian rice, noodles and seafood. “With these ingredients, Japanese food has a lot in common with Venetian,” he said. Sardines with typical sweet-and-sour “in saor” flavors are artistically arranged Japanese-style. A touch of miso brightens razor clams. He interprets Venetian liver and onions with monkfish liver and adds a touch of curry to spaghetti with clams. Chris Cannon, the manager and consultant, has created a list with more than 36 Italian sparkling wines (white, rosé, red and even orange varieties) to pair with the food. The upstairs dining room is relaxed and understated; the ground floor is the bar. (Opens Monday): 22 East 13th Street, 212-231-2236, allondanyc.com.”