A $5 Cheeseburger

Here on 13th St., ten-year-old Korean restaurant DoSirak has closed, while across the street in our building, BAK has opened. As it turns out, the BAK folks are the DoSirak folks, so all is well. Kimchi for all.

The long-troubled TGI Fridays in Union Square is finally set to close, as the building goes on the market. “Union Square is so hot down there these days with real quality restaurants it just doesn’t compete well,” explains operator Dennis Riese.

Sort of a surprise that the neighborhood is getting a new bodega at the corner of 13th and University, replacing Basics Hardware.

BodyRok, which offers Pilates-centric workouts with names like “Buns and Guns,” has arrived at 110 University Place. Ironic that it’s in the former location of Stromboli Pizza.

The very expensive new condo at 64 University Place will eventually have a very expensive bakery at street level. Dominique Ansel, inventor of the cronut, is bringing his talents to the street at Papa D’amour. Read all about it here.

Simo Pizza is scheduled to arrive on University Place in the former home of Argo Tea (and before that, good ol’ Dean and DeLuca) sometime in the fall. They already have a branch in the Meatpacking District, and the pizza looks good…and affordable.