L’Annam to Become Hardware Store

That’s weird. Bar 13, which has been at the corner of University and 13th for more than 20 years, has been reborn as Cheers NYC, which is a non-alcoholic bar. Mocktails only. Go figure. Seems it’s true the kids are drinking less these days.

This quarter, a new wave of sit-down restaurants and bars opened in Union Square, doubling the openings in this category for 2024 year-to-date compared to the same period last year. Notable newcomers include jazz club and Japanese whiskey bar Midnight Blue, from the team behind top cocktail bars Martiny’s and L’Americana, and Amo Seafood, a new favorite for Italian coastal cuisine. 17th Street has blossomed into a culinary destination. The newest arrivals are the highly acclaimed Peruvian restaurant Mission Ceviche and the Vietnamese gem
La Dong, which join the notable 2024 arrival Kanyakumari. Alongside beloved staples Lillie’s, Pasta Eater, and Laut, this vibrant street is your go-to spot for an unforgettable meal.

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,”

Now open: Gunz European cookie store, replacing the good ol’ University Diner. It’s a weird addition to the neighborhood for sure.

After almost 40 years, the New York Health and Racquet Club on 13th St. is no more. A few branches of the gym will be taken over by a competitor, but not this one. End of an era.

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.