Openings and Closings: Ayurveda Cafe, Green Park Deli & Pizza, Lululemon, Patisserie Chanson
Ayurveda Cafe, the longtime Indian restaurant on Amsterdam Avenue between 94-95, featuring a preset vegetarian menu that changes daily, is closing on May 4.
“The number one [reason for closing] is we have been here more than 25 years and we want to do something new,” said Guru, the co-owner. “Maybe we’ll open up another place with a different concept.” He did not have details to share about the new restaurant, but said it would also serve vegetarian food and be located in the same neighborhood. He will take the next few months to plan the new restaurant, despite the challenges of the business. “The rent, the supplies, the labor, it’s so high now,” he said.
Ayurveda Cafe’s menu followed 5,000-year-old well-being practices from India, a tradition that incorporates six tastes in every meal: “sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent and pungent.”
The restaurant has a loyal following. Guru said that when he posted the announcement on Facebook, the response was almost immediate. “In a couple of days, almost 1,500 people [have reacted],” he said. “They’re very sad we’re closing.” Tipster Chelsea and her husband Damien were regulars at Ayurveda: “We’ve shared many great memories there including our second date, our wedding rehearsal dinner, our daughter’s first restaurant, and a weekly dinner as a family with our now 6-year-old daughter! We will miss Guru and all of the sweet and caring staff that we’ve gotten to know over the years.” (Thanks also to Jonas for the tip.)
Green Park Deli & Pizza on 79th Street between Columbus and Amsterdam has reopened after a one-month renovation. “Everything is new,” said Singh Pravinder, the owner. The space is brightly lit and is lined with a deli counter on one side and a refrigerated section on the other. They serve pizza, sandwiches, snacks, smoothies, convenience store items, and a large selection of cold drinks.
Lululemon, the workout apparel company specializing in stretchy clothes for yoga and running, is now open on the corner of 70th and Columbus. Their hours are 10am to 7pm and 11am to 7pm on Sundays. The space used to be an Athleta. (Thanks to Mindi for the tip.)
Patisserie Chanson, a dessert bar and café with ornate pastries, is coming to the corner of 70th and Broadway. It describes itself as a “combination of classic European coffee shop and French bakery ambiance.” The menu includes a variety of croissants, éclairs, tarts, and macarons, as well as brunch and sandwiches. Chanson opened its first location near Madison Square Park in 2016, and has a second store in Tribeca. The space used to be a T-Mobile store.
— “Ayurveda Cafe’s menu followed 5,000-year-old well-being practices from India, a tradition that incorporates six tastes in every meal: “sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent and pungent.””
Well, now we know why Ayurveda had to close — they didn’t include the recently-invented but now Instagram-obligatory flavor of “umami”, so their customer base has been aging out.
Scientists have known about umami for more than a century, and glutamate-rich sauces that impart umami flavor have been used by cultures in Europe and East Asia since ancient times.
By “recently-invented,” do you mean “thing I didn’t know about until a little while ago”?
Very sad but not surprised that Ayurveda Cafe is closing. The stretch of Amsterdam between 93rd and 96th is a disgusting mess, speficially on the west side of the street. It’s a weird zone, anchored by the blight at 700 Amsterdam: the endless scaffolding around the building in disarry which harbors blatant, well-known drug activity, constant music blasting, public drinking and drunkenness, public urination, and frequent violent outbursts. When the scuffles get too heated, or someone from the bodega has the sense to shoo the partiers away, they wander down Amsterdam yelling and muttering. I’ve seen them harass diners at Ayurveda many times. Hope the storefront doesn’t stay vacant for too long, the block really needs a positve presence there. Best of luck to Guru and his staff!
You mean it’s not normal to be chugging beers in the middle of that intersection at 9:30am on a Monday???
Right? Same group everyday and we never get invited to the party! In all seriousness, I have idea what I as an individual or we as a community can do get these men the help they need, or at the very least to discourage this antisocial, destructive behavior. Tattling to 411 or the NYPD is not the right answer. Any thoughts or suggestions would be more than welcome!
re: empty stores
Wait till the banks and Duane Reade stores start to close. Then you will see how desolate the UWS will become. Small stores cannot survive because the city taxes and regulates them to death.
Ayurveda recently raised their prices for dinner from I think $13.95 to $19.95, which percentage-wise is a pretty big increase. Not surprised they were hurting.
Nooooo re: Ayurveda Cafe.
When you reopen, hopefully sooner than later, please use the same name so that we can more easily find you.
Hi—Patisserie Chanson will be at 70th and Broadway, not 80th. 🙂
Thank you. Fixed.
Yes, let’s welcome Lululemon with its racist name and founder’s scummy history to the neighborhood.
https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2013/12/10/lululemon-chip-wilson-sexist-racist-comments
Omg horrible
That’s not great about Chip! But lets still welcome a company that’s actually investing in to NY and UWS specifically. We need it, and Chip stepped down. So what’s the problem … why is it necessary… Do you like empty store fronts?
Cancel the Cancel Culture.
Stuff like this is why dems are vilified. It has to stop.
I cancel anyone that is for the banning of abortions, if that makes me vilified then come at me with your pitchforks.
Fair enough! I’m with ya!
Yes?
Meanwhile let’s patronize Disney, Nike, ESPN, the NBA and Hollywood who turn a blind eye to concentration camps in China because it’s a very lucrative market for them.
Just what we need in this neighborhood- a third Lulemon.
Imagine if someone found a spot for a grocery store
on Broadway around 75th Street- I’m willing to bet that is
more needed than another Lulemon.
I miss Westside Market every day! I walk up to 97th Street = but, it’s not the same….
Check out Pioneer & Trader Joes…both a short walk away from This Lululemon. If you are feeling spry, Fairway is another 100 yards up the street….. not sure why people complain about “no grocery stores” in the neighborhood….between those and Target , I see nothing I can’t get within a 10 minute walk…
If you want a Grand Union or a Shop-Right, forget it….margins for true “groceries” are slim, and opening in a high rent area does not work.
Not so sure about that. I know plenty of ppl who pretty much wear this stuff exclusively since the beginning of the pandemic.
Will Ayurveda Cafe be opening elsewhere?
Hmm. Did I read this correctly? There is a relatively new T-Mobile at 69th/Broadway, but I don’t ever recall there being one at 70th/Broadway.
Yeah, there was indeed a T-Mobile there on 70th but it was only open limited hours (at least during the height of the pandemic). I couldn’t understand why it was still there when the bigger one on 69th was so close by.
Hi Chris and Sue: Yes we need a decent super market desperately. Morton Lewis would be so welcome and of course Westside Market. I know the managers-you couldn’t pay them enough to open anywhere On Broadway in the 70’s.Why would any store pay these rents to open here and be surrounded by wandering homeless, aggressive panhandlers, and most of all the filthy streets and the eyesore that is Broadway in front of Fairway. An entire block/curb of their dirty shopping carts, empty pallets, and rats and roaches. How can Ms. Brewer expect stores to open here and be surrounded by this? Those blocks of empty stores will not be rented until this mess is fixed. Its desolate, useless, and inconvenient.
P
Uh, Zabars seems to do quite well there in the 70’s.
Zabars is in the 80s. Specifically at 80th and Broadway.
Will Patisserie Chanson be open in the evenings? Most bakeries close by 5 PM. Not sure why.
Morton Williams, perhaps ?
Who is Morton Lewis ?
Please clean up and renovate Broadway and Amsterdam in the 90’s.
On it!
I love Ayurveda Cafe. I’ve been eating there for years and I’m very sad to see it go.
That section of Amsterdam Ave in the 90s is grimy and sketchy and not very safe. I doubt many businesses will be flocking to this area.
Our elected leaders better do something about cleaning up this area.
I guarantee it will be an empty store for years, or yet another smoke shop openly selling cannabis… just what the community needs! No public official cares, we need to make more noise and make them.