By Scott Etkin and Lisa Kava
Shun Lee 98th Street, the Chinese restaurant at 2596 Broadway, whose licensing agreement with the original Shun Lee led to confusion among customers, has rebranded to Dim Sum Bloom. “Our initial intention was to carry on the Chinese culinary culture of Shun Lee in an innovative way,” the restaurant posted on the Nextdoor neighborhood app. “However, we encountered significant obstacles as people perceive and love Shun Lee as a high-end Chinese restaurant brand, expecting an upscale dining environment. It was not feasible for Shun Lee to take a more mainstream approach.”
In April, The New York Times followed up on a post from West Side Rag about Shun Lee 98th Street, publishing a deep dive into the deal that allowed the new restaurant to use the “Shun Lee” name, and why the lasting impact of the original, iconic Shun Lee led so many patrons to feel protective of the brand. Dim Sum Bloom has made changes to the menu and is offering dim sum and lunch specials.
Ample Hills Creamery, the Brooklyn-based ice cream chain, is planning to reopen its Upper West Side location (Amsterdam between 85th Street and 86th Streets) in mid-July, co-founder Brian Smith confirmed in an email to West Side Rag. Ample Hills started out as a pushcart in 2010 and expanded quickly as it gained popularity. But it declared bankruptcy after almost ten years in business and, early in the pandemic, sold to Schmitt Industries, a machine parts company in Oregon. Schmitt also struggled with the business and suspended operations in December 2022, giving an opening for the original co-founders, Smith and Jackie Cuscuna, to buy the shops back for $150,000, The New York Times reported. Ample Hills has reopened its original location in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, and will open three more locations in NYC this summer.
Beambar, a teeth whitening salon, has signage up at 290 Columbus Ave in the space formerly occupied by the New York Barber Shop Museum, which closed in November 2022. Beambar, which expects to open the UWS salon in mid-July, was founded by two Columbia Business School students along with a dentist. The salon offers professional teeth whitening in a “fun, relaxed setting,” a representative from the company wrote to the Rag in an email. “The session takes an hour and feels like a spa for your mouth.” Beambar opened its first location at 267 Bleecker Street last year. “We are excited to be expanding to the Upper West Side,” the rep said. A teeth whitening session costs $129 and can be booked online. (Thanks to David for the tip.)
Dark Bullet Bar – which specializes in sake, whiskey, bourbon and scotch – has opened at 722 Amsterdam Ave between 95th and 96th Streets. The spot was formerly a Thai restaurant. Dark Bullet also has a sake and oyster bar at 154 West 72nd Street. (Thanks to Ian for the tip.)
Frame Coffee, a cafe, is opening on Amsterdam between 74th and 75th Streets (on the second level above Hummus Place). In addition to coffee drinks, the menu includes matcha and chai lattes, pastries, toasts, sandwiches, and bowls. Frame has another location on the Upper East Side. The space used to be a massage parlor. (Thanks to Katelyn for the tip.)
Mejuri, a jewelry store, has signage up at 495 Columbus Ave (84th Street), at the former location of a Jeffrey Stein Hair Salon, which closed in March 2018 and merged with the Broadway and 86th Street location. The space has been empty for five years but construction has been taking place for the past few months. Mejuri sells contemporary jewelry, including earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings, and diamonds, and has two dozen stores nationwide and in the UK and Canada. There is one location in NYC in the Flatiron District. Mejuri also offers piercing services and styling appointments.
Lenny’s Bagels, at 2601 Broadway (98th Street), is closing after 23 years in business at that location. The last day will be Thursday, June 29th. A sign posted on the store thanks customers for their unwavering support and refers to “fond memories of loyal customers, shared conversations, good coffee and homemade bagels.” Yelp reviews have been consistent in complimenting the bagels and friendly efficient service, and describing Lenny’s as a down-to-earth, easy-to-grab-a-quick-bite, neighborhood spot. (Thanks to Mark for the tip.)
Bourke Street Bakery, at 313 Amsterdam Avenue (between 74th and 75th Streets), has a sign in the window saying they are “closed until further notice.” A representative from the company told WSR that the temporary closing is due to a broken air-conditioning unit and they expect to reopen in a week. The sign directs customers to their other Manhattan locations in Nomad, Chelsea, and Grand Central. Bourke Street Bakery began in Sydney, Australia. The first NYC location opened in Nomad in 2019. The bakery sells coffee, pastries, sandwiches, muffins, cookies, and drinks, and offers catering services. (Thanks to Moline for the tip.)
There are Mejuri posters on other construction sites in the neighborhood too. Is that a confirmed new location or just advertising?
I’m with you on this one; I think it is just a sign, and a jewelry store on this corner seems out of place. my hunch is the karate studio expanding, but again, that’s a hunch.
Just want to say that losing the bagel on 98th st place is a complete disaster. Any explanation? Was it a greedy landlords jacking up the rent? Or something else? Also how is the food at the former Shun Lee/Dim Sum place? Should I go? Grain House is so delicious. It’s hard to imagine trying somewhere new. THANKS.
Shun Lee/Dim Sum Bloom at 98th St has been great every time I’ve had a bite too eat.
Absolutely ridiculous re: Lenny’s closing. There are a bunch of empty storefronts in that building, including the store next door, and the next one, and then Regional mid-block. The only storefront remaining is Cleanport (dry cleaner).
Lenny’s has been there for 23 years. That’s a long time. Not every business lasts forever and there are numerous reasons why a business will close.
Stop ranting nonsense about “greedy landlords” when the article made absolutely no mention of rent being a factor in Lenny’s closing.
Lol I figured my comment would annoy someone. Thank you very much for being the first to reprimand me 😉
They named rent specifically.
I’m also bummed about the loss of Lenny’s Bagels! Shun Lee at 98th aka Dim Sum has been excellent the two times I tried it. I hope they haven’t completely changed the menu. We are living in something of a food desert on Broadway in the 90s. We need more good restaurants around 97th/98th! They’re all over on Amsterdam or Columbus in the 80s.
Had assorted dim sum and spareribs –they were very good!
Lenny’s is my family’s favorite thing about the neighborhood. Whenever we’ve talked about moving away to flee the armies of rats that have overtaken our street, the conversations have been cut short by the same question: “What will we do without Lenny’s?” The bagels are criminally underrated, and the owners and workers are the nicest I’ve encountered in any shop in the city. The reason for their closing has become predictable. I Love the UWS reported: “[W]e got in touch with owner Linda Choi who said ‘I am so sad, we have so many regular nice customers, we tried to keep the store open.’ Unfortunately, she added, ‘the rent is too much, it’s unreasonable.’”
I agree, Lenny’s Bagels was terribly underrated. They had some unusual bagel flavors also, which I liked (Bad Boy especially). I used to live across the street from them but moved 13 blocks, where the bagels aren’t as good.
I liked Lenny’s 2-bagel plus lox $10 special. Unfortunately, we stopped going there when the pandemic hit, so now I feel guilty.
Rent is unreasonable… and so the property will sit vacant for a decade. Unreal.
There are 3 other empty storefronts in that building. Only 1 is occupied!
The old Jeffrey Stein location is FINALLY getting a tenant! How long was that vacancy? 5, maybe 6 years? Assessing a tax on these perpetually empty properties is long, long overdue.
There already is a tax on lanlords with empty spaces. It’s called “no rental income.” Not having income while still paying property taxes and upkeep is incentive enough to try to re-rent.
Stores are closing because landlords are raising the rent.
Yes, I live across the street and I’ve never seen a tenant on this corner! Pretty much anything would be welcome
Lenny’s has a great bagel. Hope they find a new home, fast.
Can we please stop w/ the “greedy landlord” moniker? Does anyone actually know how difficult it is to own/run a business in this city? I’m on the board of a relatively modest co-op building, and we are at wits end trying to manage expenses without raising maintenance an absurd amount to shareholders. Taxes, water, LL11, wages have all absolutely exploded in NYC. Our building is relatively well run, and we are likely going to have to impose an unexpected assessment just to keep up. NYC taxes and regulations are to blame.
Combine that w/ the collapse of commercial real estate (office), and tighter bank lending and I would NOT want to be a landlord in NYC. Yet all these comments portray all landlords as Scrooge McDuck swimming in his pool of gold coins. I bet more of these guys are sweating to pay bills then you might think…
God forbid you get involved with landmarks preservation also. After 120 years of repairs with whatever was available , they now insist that new mortar or stone match the color, texture, AND the original material, regardless of whether it’s even still made. We will have to have scaffolding up for maybe two years while we find the one company in the world who can recast some decorative stones 5 floors above the street in the original material.. a huge assessment (that’s a rent increase for those of you not in a coop) and a 10% monthly increase. Truly insane.
The more of us who write to Rep. Jerry Nadler about reducing the residential tax limits imposed by Trump, the better. With elections looming for Congress, he might just get some attention to our complaints.
Simplistic name calling such as “greedy landlords” is sometimes unfair and misleading , to be sure, especially with small family owned buildings. However, how else do you explain the closure of a longtime neighborhood mainstay due to sharply increased rents, only to have the location remain unleased and shuttered for years, due to the inability of a business to afford the demanded rent?. It’s a sadly common sight, which leads to unclean and unsafe streets, and an overwhelmingly depressing neighborhood environment. It’s even worse when the shuttered location belongs to a coop or condo building. In the absence of a commercial tenant, individual unit owners have to pick up the tab by way of assessments and higher common charges. Whose interests are served by pricing a location so high that it sits empty, without generating income for years?
There is no simple solution, but I’d sure like to know that our neighborhood and citywide elected officials are discussing meaningful ways to address this. Does anyone know?
The barber shop I patronize lost most of its customers in 2020 and 2021, and was only able to hang on because the landlord cut them a sharp rent decrease. The shop remained open, and is again thriving, while other businesses on the block closed down 3 years ago, and remain empty and boarded. A block away, a former Barnes and Nobles, on a major, iconic intersection, closed, and the location remained empty and derelict for well over a decade. This had a ripple effect on the neighborhood, and diminished a busy, heavily touristed location How can our elected leaders permit this to happen?
I question the narrative that rents are a key driver of stores closing. Storefront owners aren’t stupid; it’s tough to find a tenant. There’s no value for them keeping an empty storefront (contrary to urban legend there is no tax break for vacant storefronts). The real issue is there are only so many people willing to take a chance on a new retail business these days.
Besides, real estate taxes are by far the biggest cost driver of any real estate operation. Our city budget passed today is about as large as the budget for the whole state of Florida. Vacant storefronts are just one sign the city is squeezing itself with the past 15 years of above inflation real estate tax bills.
Tax vacant storefronts.
If you want more weed bodegas, definitely do that. In London there are chic areas where landlords are fined for vacant spaces and they fill those with money laundering fronts like weird 24-hour overpriced stores that sell American candy. Landlords will rent any garbage tenant.
Thank you for proving my point……when in doubt, raise taxes, that always works…..take a building owner , struggling to find a profitable tenant and tax him…..or force him to sign a 10yr lease with an unprofitable tenant. You will see landlords hand over the keys to the banks and NYC become San Fran. Cities that are thriving are low tax business friendly cities. The idea of crushing businesses with onerous taxes and regulations to fund bridges to nowhere and pie in the sky projects will doom NYC. Remember, “capital will go where it is wanted and stay where it is well treated.” ….at the moment, this is NOT nyc….
Are you sure about Mejuri coming to Columbus Avenue? It could simply be advertising, as they have posted those bills all across the city. What is the source of this news report?
Exciting that Dark Bullet is expanding! I score cool points introducing friends to their 72nd street location, one of the only bar pool tables left on the whole island, a nice happy hour, and an interesting menu of oysters/ Japanese bar snacks. Always very friendly staff too
Ample Hill reopening is terrific news! As good an ice cream shop as you’ll find in NYC. It was deflating when they shut down last year. Big shout out to their Night at the Moo-seum UWS flavor.
Agreeing with Frank Grimes’ comment: “Can we please stop w/ the “greedy landlord” moniker? Does anyone actually know how difficult it is to own/run a business in this city?”
It is not only just high rents as this IS MANHATTAN. Your small business owners know that the rents are high but we want to be here. Our own landlord is wonderful. This city is SO
NOT SMALL BUSINESS friendly or focused. If you haven’t paid attention to the news, your current politicians have done everything opposite to helping small businesses stay (aside from restaurants who have doubled their size with outside huts). Our TAXES are sky high, we have rules and regulations that make us terrified to hire anyone for all that entails. We can’t keep up with the mandatory wage increases as it makes EVERY wage then increase. Inflation and supply costs are through the roof. An added part is our neighborhood and city are full of shoplifters, criminals and aggressive mentally ill people that keep more people from walking on the sidewalks to shop than you would think. Plus the problems it causes in our stores would make most owners want to leave this city.
I implore you all, if you care about your small businesses, in November please VOTE for those that care about public safety and talk about helping small businesses who actually KNOW what it means to run a small business here. We are barely surviving.
Heartbroken to hear about Lenny’s. Great bagels and a great location! I’m going to miss my oat bran everything bagels. Anyone have any good recommendations that aren’t Absolute Bagels?
Tal Bagels is not quite as good, but it’s a reasonable alternative..
I like West Side Market’s bagels
The owners of Lenny’s, after 23 years! are retiring. I wish them well. They deserve it.
The corner Lenny’s is on was a bust for years with the korean grocer holding down the adjacent storefront. Stores came and went until Lenny’s. Nothing stuck there. Now we’ll have a vacant storefront for a few years.
Too bad about Lenny’s. They were nice folks.
Unfortunately for Lenny’s, they weren’t voted best everything bagel and their line isn’t around the block starting at 7am on a Saturday morning.
The closing of Lennys bagels is a Tragedy. There are no really good options for bagels in this area. If you mention absolute bagels, you will be getting single-sided (eg one sided everything bagel) toppings instead of toppings on both sides of the bagel.
does anyone have any suggestions for decent bagels in the 90s and low 100s? Only include double sided bagels.
Broadway bagel at 101 and Broadway is pretty good.
Broadway Bagels at 101st & Broadway is excellent 🙂
Tal Bagels
Broadway & 90th
Loved Lenny’s but Broadway bagel has much better bagels and yes so does Absokute
Agree. I am devastated. There isn’t a decent bagel in the area aside from schlepping up to Absolute and braving the line. Lenny’s was such a gem. I have no suggestions but only hope someone does and that the store from t doesn’t sit empty for years. Tragic.
You know where the good bagels are? Jersey. Fresh, hot, cheap. I buy em by the dozen and freeze them. NYC ain’t what it used to be kids and the dearth of decent bagels is just one outwardly obvious symptom.
Great news about Ample Hills. I was afraid they would never reopen. Much better than that other rip-off joint on the UWS with 2 locations.
The rents go up because the city raises real estate taxes every year way beyond the costs of inflation. Add in the water bills, repairs, insurance etc. and owning a small building in the city has become a great way to lose money. On 72nd St. there used to be maybe one or two store turnovers a year and now 80 percent of stores are new in last 5 years. The city is taxing small business and buildings to financial ruin.
Regarding Lenny’s Bagels:
There you have it folks. If you start a business AND have steady customer flow for 11 hours a day, 7 days a week AND charge market rates for your goods AND avoid spending on expensive remodeling AND do the work yourself to save money AND have your spouse do the same AND do it for 20+ years….you’ll close down and lose it all because your rent nearly doubles.
Personally, Lenny’s was the only store I actually cared about. I spent about $50 a week there.
Bagels are an ethnic food just as kosher style delicatessens are of an ethnic origin. Many such delicatessens have closed in recent years. As the ethnic group in question diminishes in number or becomes totally assimilated such closures are to be expected.
This NYT article on bagels is from 1986 (I saved it for a child who was born that year, but it’s also online). It’s a fun read: https://www.nytimes.com/1986/05/17/business/that-s-bagel-b-a-g-e-l-a-midwestern-treat.html
If by ethnic you mean New Yorkerish.
I don’t agree. Bagels have transcended any specific group. Pretty much everyone eats them in the NYC area.
Huh?
Bagels are only bought by Jews? That’s a good one.
Dim Sum Bloom was Leopold Bloom’s sister, no?
Devastated by losing Lenny’s. Will try the others but sadder about the loss of a great neighborhood staple than anything else. I wish them well in either their retirement or next endeavor.
I discovered Lenny’s had closed when I tried to go for my bagel today. I am still in shock and mourning.
Thank you to the lovely owners and attentive staff! You kept us going through COVID. We will miss you SO much.
As for alternatives, we plan to go to Zabars and store them in the freezer. 30 seconds in the microwave is sufficient to thaw them for cutting and toasting.