The neighborhood’s cookie king is growing, a super taco spot is opening, and a kid-friendly restaurant shut its doors with no clear explanation.
The new Levain Bakery is getting closer to opening on Amsterdam Avenue between 76th and 77th Street (next to Tessa). An employee told us they’re hoping to open later this month, though no exact date has been set. Corrie got the shot above of the interior. Levain is expected to keep its location on 74th Street just off of Amsterdam too; we first wrote about the plans here. Thanks to Corrie and Tom for the tips.
The Super Taco truck guys are opening a Super Tacos restaurant at 96th Street and West End Avenue, the former home of a deli that we’ve been hearing for months would become a Mexican restaurant. Thanks to Lisa, Paul and several others for the tips and photos.
2nd Time Around, which offers clothes on consignment, is now closing all of its locations, blaming “increased competition from on-line retailers combined with skyrocketing rents.” We had previously reported on their closure at 2624 Broadway between 99th and 100th. The store at 72nd (above) had a “going out of business” sign up this week and the one at 79th Street has closed, with a marshal’s notice on the door giving the landlord possession. Frustrated consignors have said they haven’t gotten paid, though the company told us in a statement that “we remain committed to paying consignors for all sales made on or after May 1, 2017. Further information relative to consignor sales prior to May 1 will be forthcoming, pending the conclusion of remaining sales.” Thanks to Jeff, Jackie and other tipsters.
Sugar & Plumm on Amsterdam Avenue between 78th and 79th Street has been closed with its windows papered over for more than a week. No one has been answering the phone, and they have not responded to multiple emails we’ve sent, but one of our tipsters said they got back to him and said the closure was temporary. It does seem odd, several tipsters noted, that they wouldn’t give any notice to the community, however. Thanks to Rita, Julie, and several other tipsters.
Have a tip? Send it to westsiderag at gmail dot com.
Line management for Levain on Amsterdam Avenue could be a HUGE issue. The sidewalks are too narrow for foot traffic now. I wonder if the space is designed to be big enough for everyone to wait inside.
Agreed with Linda: the new Levain has gotten a big space. Look at the picture before complaining about the non-existent future crowds who might get in the way of double strollers. Plus they’ll be competing with both themselves and other recently opened bakeries.
(By contrast, the original Levain accommodates a few people in line and maybe twice that many next to the line before people spill out onto the sidewalk.)
So maybe we can have an express lIne for NYC residents and a separate line for tourists buying cookies?
🙂
The inside of the new shop is significantly larger than 74th St, and they will have twice as many cash registers so they should be able to handle the traffic.
Margaret-
The line at it’s current location is a HUGE issue that Levain seems oblivious to. Don’t count on any “line management” on Amsterdam either. The line will continue to block residents and foot traffic unless multiple complaints (not just mine) are filed with the city
I live about 100 ft from Levain, and I do NOT experience them being “oblivious” to the line. Especially on weekends, when it is long, I frequently see bakery staff out asking people to leave a path, not eat on the steps of buildings, etc. Yes the line is long, and sometimes crowds the walkway, but it’s a happy line generally filled with friendly people, who always move out of the way when I ask them. Levain is run by two of the hardest working women I know, they give their employees health benefits and profit sharing, and they put out a great product. And a lot of why they are opening the new location is to try to relieve the stress on 74th St. Everyone has their right to shop where they want, and if you’ve got a place that you like better that’s just fine, it leaves more great Levain products for those of us who love them and are thrilled by their success.
First, I don’t “not love” Levain… although I did decide, to my dismay, their cookies aren’t worth standing in a touristy line for an hour.
Then, 74th street sidewalks are narrow, but if/when there are too many people in line on the 74th street sidewalk for, say, a UWS resident to walk her dog, or a mom to push a stroller heading one way while a dad pushes his stroller the other way, or a wheelchair user to roll by, or me to carry groceries home from Fairway…. if the 74th street sidewalk is too narrow bc of Levain customers in line, people can safely step on the street.
And that’s just not the case on Amsterdam Avenue. That’s why I’m asking! If there isn’t enough space inside and their lines back out onto the sidewalk, maybe applying for an Amsterdam Ave parklet is a good option.
They can line up in the underused bike lane. That will make all the kvetchers writhe with schadenfreude, no?
People have a right to stand, walk, skip…on the sidewalk. Another thing would be if they had camping tents or were riding their bikes. Not sure what you are complaining about.
It is called a “sidewalk” for a reason – not a “sidestand.” Though I don’t have a problem with people standing there in an orderly line. It is when the line goes 3 across or more and blocks the whole sidewalk that I have a big problem. Putting simple barriers up to remind people to stand single file next to the building is an easy solution to the problem.
Lines are very long but not that long. I meant that three people standing side by side takes up the entire width of the sidewalk. If you have to wait in line, single file please.
People are really waiting in line for 3 blocks for a cookie? Damn I`m in the wrong business.
There’s a vast difference between having a right and *abusing* that right.
Sure, people have a “right” to be pedestrians on a sidewalk, and no one is disputing that. What irks people, and what you dismiss so blithely, is that *so many* people are lining up, constantly, for such a length of the street in order to buy a cookie that they are denying those (other) pedestrians *their* right to walk on that sidewalk.
You may have a right to do something, but that doesn’t mean you can exercise that right in a way that denies others their same right to do that same something.
In other words: Other people have the right to walk down that street, and they are largely being denied that right because of the throngs at the storefront.
Or even more simply: You can’t use your right to deny me my right. “I was here first” isn’t a rule for civilization outside of the junior-high-school school yard.
Got it now?
Amen cant stand that knee jerk, “people have a right…” its such a silly logic to answer a charge, your answer is good.
With the JCC just a block away (hundreds of cookie-chomping toddlers in strollers every day, plus moms and nannies), and schools all over the neighborhood, the congestion will be insane. But I must admit it was clever of Levain management to locate in this hotbed of sweet teeth.
and Dads
i heard Sugar and Plumm was closed because of a rat problem.
Place was closed back in March by DOH for violations including mice and or signs of; nothing was mentioned about rats.
https://www.westsiderag.com/2017/03/24/kid-friendly-spot-sugar-and-plumm-closed-by-health-department
Normally where you find populations of mice there aren’t rats. The latter will feed upon the former which acts as sort of a control.
@BB
In other words exactly like the rest of NYC 🙂
Levain! Hurrah!
Did you know that beloved Isabela’s restaurant at 78th
Columbus is gone too.
So many store closings, it’s scary.
Their closing is no loss to the neighborhood even if I am sorry people will lose their jobs.
Speak for yourself. We and many of our friends enjoy going to Sugar & Plumm a lot, and find there to be many delicious (both healthy and unhealthy) options for both grown-ups and kids. We hope it reopens soon.
If Starbucks closes because the rent is too high you know we have a very serious problem on the UWS caused by the lack of regulated commercial leases.
My educated guess is that Sugar & Plumm was had not been busy enough to pay the astronomical rent!
Saturday and Sunday sometimes they were busy, most other times I went in or walked by they were empty!
Landlords and co-op boards are gouging commercial tenants and run them out of business on the UWS.
The types of rents a business pay they can’t survive unless they are packed all the time.
good for Super Taco! A good use of that space… and it has a chance of survival!
Good Luck to Levain Bakery they are not going to be successful with us locals since we now have a superior bakery in the neighborhood, Orwasher’s is a few blocks away and worth the walk any day.
I immediately stopped going to Levain when I had something better!
Let all the tourists keep Levain in business with their inedible enable gummy cookies.
Sugar & Plumm was closed by health dept
According to the Health Department restaurant inspection website, https://a816-restaurantinspection.nyc.gov/RestaurantInspection/SearchResults.do ,
Sugar & Plumm had its last graded inspection on May 3, 2017, and got a grade of “A”. It is not listed as Closed (and with a grade of “A” there would not be reason for it to be closed).
I don’t know how much lag there is between inspections and postings. What’s the basis for your report that Sugar & Plumm was closed by the Health Department? Is there a notice posted at the entrance?
They were closed awhile back for a rodent issue and it seems that did them in. Reputation is everything.
Hooray for Super Tacos. Love that truck!
Curious given that they were graded A with only two violation points a month ago.
https://a816-restaurantinspection.nyc.gov/RestaurantInspection/SearchDetails.do
Super Tacos rules. Happy they will still be close to 96 and Broadway. Hope the truck lives on.
Sugar and plumm is closed down for good due to rent going up. Owner not able to afford new lease.
Health dept. Did NOT shut S&P down.
Yes, that you’re right but the current reason is due to the rent going up. If you notice there is a A on the window.
The “owner” is a chain.
Sugar and Plumm is not a chain. That was the only location. Idiot.
The fact that the poster was (or may have been) wrong does not make him or her an “idiot”. What was the point of ruining your corrective posting by calling the first person a derogatory name?
Looks like they did just 3 months ago though… https://www.westsiderag.com/2017/03/24/kid-friendly-spot-sugar-and-plumm-closed-by-health-department
Yesterday, I called the main office of Sugar and Plumm. They said they were temporarily closed because of “plumbing issues.” I mentioned it would be nice if they put a sign outside with an explanation. Haven’t checked back to see if they’ve done it yet.
Ah Sally… That’s just Plumm crazy! They were just Sugar coating the real issue! 🙂
LOL! So punny!
🙂
Or maybe it was because of “sugaring issues”?
Heck, probably both, right?
I would love to see Irving Farm open another location- maybe carve out a fraction of the Sugar & Plumm space (if they’re closed for good)?? Irving Farm is consistently packed to the gills and I still find myself waiting in the long line each day for their amazing coffee. it’s that good.
Try Joe’s – I loved Irving Farm, until I had Joe’s . . . .
The deli is in between Amsterdam and broadway isn’t it? Not west end
If there is no longer a line at Levain I will not be able to stop myself from having one every day.
Sugar & Plumm was previously closed for sanitation or cleanliness reasons. Do you think this is also related?
I walked by Sugar & Plumm a few days ago. The store looked to be open (no paper in the windows yet) but there was a sign on the door saying they were closed for a “private event” (or something along those lines.) A day or two after that I walked by again and the doors were locked and windows had been papered over. The whole thing just seems…odd.
The 3 May 17 inspection that Cato and I both tried to link (apparently unsuccessfully), did reference a plumbing issue
“Plumbing not properly installed or maintained; anti-siphonage or backflow prevention device not provided where required; equipment or floor not properly drained; sewage disposal system in disrepair or not functioning properly.”
so that explanation is not completely implausible.
Many years ago, the New Yorker published a Roz Chast cartoon on the blight of neighborhood Cutification (“Al’s Shoe Repair’ was now called ‘Al’s Shoe-Bee-Doo’). I thought of it the minute Sugar & Plumm opened.
Maybe Levain will offer an “express” line for real NYC residents. 🙂
It is astonishing to recall that Levain was a real neighborhood bakery when it first opened – and now overwhelmed by tourists seeking cookies.
I know. I have never been fond of the cookies – I bought a couple that weren’t cooked through (probably 15 years ago), and having a phobia about eating uncooked eggs, I have never been able to bring myself to buy another – but I absolutely adore the chocolate brioche. And some of their other breads and things are wonderful too. If there is no line, I may have too much.
Does anyone know what the deal is with the scaffolding around the building that Levain is moving into? It has been up since 2010, with no work being done on the exterior of the building in my memory. At this point it is a permanent structure. The storefronts below were empty for a number of years but have recently been filled with high end shops like blue mercury, chopt and now levain. I thought the new tenants were a good sign that it would come down, but the scaffolding remains. Such an eyesore and an impediment on a busy block.
Mmmmmm…Tacos
According to one of Super Tacos’ grillers, the truck will keep on rolling even after they move into their new digs. She also said that the restaurant was going to be open 24 hours. At least that’s what I think the conversation was through her broken English and my even more broken Spanish. Either way…. grande news por la neighborhood!
Not only is this totally racist and offensive it is the most blatant case of cultural appropriation I have ever seen. That is “Mexican” food not white Caucasian American food. /s
I’m KIDDING folks!! just a little jab at all my oversensitive fellow liberals and intellectuals. I know it sounds ridiculous but I have actually seen serious remarks like this. I wish I was kidding about that.
Y no te preocupes…solo necesitas practicar un poquito mas. Bien hecho!
Gracias GG. Y gracias también por llamar la atención a mis comentarios “ofensivos”. ¡Como si no tuviera suficientes problemas!
Gosh, I’m glad we worked that out.
Sugar and Plumm is indeed closed for good, I know people who worked there. They didn’t give any notice to the community neither employees. Shame on them!
But they’re still insisting they’re NOT closed for good. Why lie about it?
If you check the replies on Sugar and Plumm’s twitter account, they’re still saying they’re closed for repairs…. (https://twitter.com/SugarandPlumm/with_replies)
Well, if it says so on Twitter then it absolutely positively must be the total complete truth, right?
(Ooops…..)
What’s Twitter ?
It’s how all the Twits communicate with each other.
Posted 45 minutes ago on instagram:
To our dearest customers, we have had the pleasure of serving you in New York City for the past 5 years… due to unforeseen issues and higher raised rents we have decided to close our flagship store on the Upper West Side. We want to thank all of your for your support and patronage.
Our factory will remain opened in New Jersey and you will still be able to purchase our products via our website or our partners located all over NYC. Peace, Love and Macarons! #nyc #sugarandplumm #upperwestside #thankyou #orderonline #macarons #macaronlove
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sugarandplummTo our dearest customers, we have had the pleasure of serving you in New York City for the past 5 years… due to unforeseen issues and higher raised rents we have decided to close our flagship store on the Upper West Side. We want to thank all of your for your support and patronage.
Our factory will remain opened in New Jersey and you will still be able to purchase our products via our website or our partners located all over NYC. Peace, Love and Macarons! #nyc #sugarandplumm #upperwestside #thankyou #orderonline #macarons #macaronlove
I am sad to see them go.
I used to work at Sugar and Plumm and the owner decided to shut it down without giving any notice to employees. Weeks prior to that we confronted her (because there were rumors) and she denied she would be closing it. She texted everyone on a Tuesday informing that it would be the last day. Almost 50 people lost their jobs without any notice.
You may have a WARN Act group claim. https://www.doleta.gov/programs/factsht/warn.htm
Get a group together and consult with a lawyer or file a complaint with the DoL, while it still exists. Were you Local 6 members?