By Scott Etkin and Lisa Kava
Patis, an artisan bakery specializing in European and American pastries and breads, opened on January 4th at 676 Amsterdam Avenue and 93rd Street, a manager at the Grand Central location told WSR. The bakery also sells ice cream, macaroons, chocolate, sandwiches, coffee, and juice. Patis offers dairy free bakery items and is kosher certified. Originating in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, Patis has expanded to Brooklyn, Long Island, midtown Manhattan and the Upper East Side. This will be the second Upper West Side location for the bakery, which is currently located in the Arthouse Hotel at 2178 Broadway. (Thanks to Marek for the tip.)
West Side Pharmacy at 255 Columbus Avenue between 71st and 72nd Streets is changing ownership on January 20th. “After 51 years of great service to my community and for health reasons, I have decided to say goodbye,” Dr. Said Saber wrote in a retirement message posted on the storefront, which also thanks his customers. The longtime pharmacy, which will remain in operation, has been frequented by some of the celebrities of the UWS, including John Lennon. “This is a great neighborhood,” said Dr. Saber in a phone call with the Rag. “When you develop a good relationship with people, they will love you no matter what. You just have to be honest and sincere, and that’s it.” (Thanks to David for the tip.)
Ban Ban Shop, a Southeast Asian restaurant serving Bahn Mi sandwiches, Bao buns, grain bowls, salads, and maki rolls, is coming to 2911 Broadway between 113th and 114th Streets. The new concept is led by Nils Noren, a Swedish chef who has previously worked at top restaurants in NYC including Aquavit and Red Rooster Harlem. Ban Ban Shop is expected to open in the first quarter of 2023, according to an announcement from Columbia University, which owns the property.
Top Lashes Studio has opened on the second floor of 148 W. 72nd Street between Columbus and Amsterdam. The salon does eyelash extensions and tinting, eyelash lifts, as well as eyebrow waxing and tinting. “The women who work there are great, and so are their services,” writes tipster Jessica.
Dunkin / Baskin Robbins has opened at 2600 Broadway on the corner of 98th Street – moving from Broadway between 96th and 97th Street. The space used to be a 16 Handles, the yogurt shop. Dunkin, formerly Dunkin Donuts, was founded in 1950 in Quincy Massachusetts and owns the Baskin-Robbins ice cream chain. Dunkin officially dropped “donuts” from the company name as part of a rebranding effort in 2018. Baskin-Robbins was founded in 1945 by Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins, who wanted to offer flavors beyond basic vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. Today the ice cream company has 1,400 flavors and stores all over the world. (Thanks to Jodi and Karen for the tips.)
Levain Bakery at 351 Amsterdam between 76th and 77th Streets is closed temporarily for renovation and is expected to reopen in three weeks, a company representative told WSR. During the renovation, customers can go to the company’s first location at 167 West 74th Street, which opened in 1995. Levain Bakery was founded by competitive swimmers and triathletes Pam Weekes and Connie McDonald who bonded over baking. Today Levain has locations in Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, Bethesda, Maryland, and in Wainscott, Long Island. Other shops in NYC are on the Upper East Side, Noho, Harlem, and Williamsburg.
Sapphire, the Indian restaurant at 2014 Broadway between 68th and 69th Streets, closed permanently on December 31st. A sign in the window reads: “We wish to sincerely thank all of our patrons, friends and relationships that we have made over the years.” Sapphire, which opened in 2019 whose goat curry was a fan favorite, wrote that it was unable to survive the pandemic, “other arduous regulations imposed upon us and the loss of business.” (Thanks to Ian for the tip.)
Lovesac, a furniture company specializing in modular sofas that are easy to clean, is opening on January 6th at 230 Columbus Ave. (between 70th and 71st Street). The space was formerly occupied by Theory, the clothing store. Store hours will be Monday through Saturday 10 AM to 6 PM, and Sunday 11 AM to 6PM. Lovesac gained popularity with its line of large, round bean bag chairs. The company has over 100 stores nationwide.
I loved Sapphire when it was in its original location. My friends and I voted it the best Indian restaurant in the area. It wasn’t the same since it moved to the 70th street but I’m going to miss it anyway.
I never went to its new location, but the few times I went to the old one I thought they were very snooty, especially when I went there alone.
I join you in that opinion. I ate there many, many times and entertained many guests there. In the original location, the food and drink was excellent. The room was lovely. Their tandoori lambchops were my favorite dish. I also ordered out constantly as I live nearby. It was a real loss, and although the new location was not as good, it was my go-to Indian food. I am so sorry. The building they were forced out of is still not finished.
The new space was unappealing and the food was never the same as the original.
Do you have any TOP Indian restaurants in the area? I have been living in the UWS for about 3 years now – I love Indian food (Chicken Vindaloo is my go to – spicier the better). This place never looked that good when I would walk by so never tried it. Would love any recommendations!!
Anar on 106 and Amsterdam is amazing. (I know – it is above 96th St. ). Delicious, reasonably priced and because they do not have a liquor license, it is BYOB with no corkage fee.
For at least the past decade, Alachi Masala on Amsterdam & 84th Street is our tried-and-true go-to for Indian food.
We’re always on the look out for the tasty Indian food. But every time we order from Alachi Masala, we always have the same comment–wow, this is so much better than any of the (many) other restaurants we’ve tried.
Particular favorites include their Lamb Vindaloo, Rogan Josh, Lamb Saag, and Chicken Tikka Masala. It’s not on their website, but if you call them or get a copy of a paper menu, you can order a delivery special that’s quite reasonably priced.
Indian Tampura on Amsterdam Ave & 87 Street which I have been going to for about 20 years is a small place but has consistently very good food & very good prices. The fact they have been there for so many years they must be doing something right.
We like Swagat. Very reliable and good.
Angaar at Columbus and 73rd is a very different type of space, very cozy, but the food is always very good.
I get delivery from Angaar all the time and it’s reliably wonderful
Unfortunately nothing is comparable to the original Sapphire. There a few small hole-in-a-wall places that have some tasty dishes but are inconsistent. Sometimes I go to Karahi, but it is already in Hell’s Kitchen. I wouldn’t make a special trip there, but it is worth trying if it is on your way.
Aangan on Bway and 104th and Indus Valley on 100th and bway
New Indian restaurant just opened on 72nd between WEA and Broadway. Haven’t tried it yet.
I am far from an expert on Indian food but I like Swagat on Amsterdam near 80th.
They do a good job but Sapphire was special. It never regained its footing on 69th street, but it was still superior.
Very sad to see it go.
Ode to JL and those Dunkin’ Hopper moments…
Bye bye Westside Pharmacy… while I’d never occasion to go inside, I always enjoyed seeing that large evocative photo of John Lennon seemingly forever in the pharmacy window every time I passed by, & which you can still see in your photo above, especially magnified. Any reminder of John Lennon living amongst us and only a block away is (& now was) a blessing. Will Dr. Saber take it with him or will it remain behind as a gift to the neighborhood that loved him?
One is reminded with increasing frequency of relentless time.
And Dunkin’ Donuts has dropped their Donuts? Possibly part of a corporate slimming campaign? Good luck with that, we all know how hard that is. Many’s the time I spent bulking up in one or another of their sugar, caffeine and fried dough establishments that currently blanket our land, blissfully unaware of what I was actually doing to myself while instead a vision of Hopper’s “Nighthawks” played in my mind.
The optician on 99th and Broadway that was a Cohen’s Fashion Optical is now called Eyes & Optics
The photo above the Ban Ban Shop paragraph shows Dos Toros, is there a new UWS location?
I spent years fighting NYCHA for using the corner of 103/Amsterdam as a garbage dump. The piles were mountainous. They finally rectified the situation, but you must relentlessly use social media and use it smartly.
I see Rite Aid on 97th & Col. is closing at end of the month.
Wow… and I just posted a piece a week or so ago about how helpful and nice the employees are there; how awful this must be for them… CRIME VICTIMS!
No crime is victimless.
Please tell me this is not true!
Oh wow, I was wondering about that. where did you see this posted?
I didn’t realize Baskin Robbins has 1,400 ice cream flavors. Can you please list them?
When I was a kid, Baskin Robbins had 31-derful flavors. Even then it was difficult to choose!
Gotta be a made-up number…
Miss Sapphire. The entire Manhattan doesn’t have anything like that.
heads up you had Crumbl Cookies opening Jan 5. it’s still not open yet
Jaz Restaurant on Ninth Avenue near 54th Street is excellent.