By Scott Etkin and Lisa Kava
Poppie, a toy and children’s furniture brand, has opened a pop-up store at the corner of West 83rd Street and Broadway, running from November 18th to January 7th. Poppie was founded in 2018 by Upper West Side mom, Carlijn Joosten, who is originally from the Netherlands (“poppie” means little doll in Dutch). “I wanted to make beautiful toys with sustainable materials,” Joosten told West Side Rag. Using the material rattan, a wooden weave, she designs toys and children’s furniture that is then handmade in Indonesia. Her UWS pop-up features rattan dolls and doll furniture, pretend play pieces, kid’s chairs, shelves, hangers, and tables. The company’s ethos holds that “young kids do not need the overstimulation of computers or more (plastic) close-ended toys,” it says on the website.
Joosten has never had a storefront before, but sold her brand to toy stores and people she knew through the toy industry. When Joosten noticed the empty space in her building that used to be a Bank of America branch, she approached the landlord, who is allowing her to use the space while he tries to find a permanent tenant. In addition to her own brand, Joosten carries dolls and toys from makers that she has “befriended in my toy adventures of the last ten years.” All toys sold at Poppie are tested by a third-party company for child safety. (Thanks to Sara for the tip.)
Le Vin Coeur, a French wine bar, is opening at 108 West 81st Street (between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues). Le Vin Coeur, which translates to “heart wine,” will have an extensive wine selection and serve baguettes and French food. Brunch on Saturdays and Sundays will go from noon to 5 p.m., and regular wine bar hours from 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. The space was previously CookTravel.Net, a travel agency. (Thanks to Joseph for the tip.)
Canto, an Italian restaurant, is opening at 2014 Broadway between West 68th and West 69th streets. This will be the second location for Canto, which opened in the West Village in 2022. “We’re really looking forward to having some more space on the Upper West Side,” Allen Chan, a representative of Canto, said at a recent Community Board 7 meeting. He also mentioned that the menu at this location will be modified slightly to better suit this neighborhood’s clientele. In addition to the regular menu at the West Village location, there is also a cafe menu with lighter fare, such as sandwiches. It replaces Sapphire Cuisine of India, which closed in 2019.
Village Square Pizza is opening on Broadway between West 92nd and West 93rd streets. Village Square opened its first location in the East Village in 2019 and now also has pizza shops in the West Village, Midtown, and on the Upper East Side. The menu features “gourmet New York style pizza [made from] a family recipe that has been used for generations,” according to the company’s website. The Infatuation recommends the bruschetta. The UWS Village Square will replace another pizzeria, Perfecto Ristorante, which closed in December 2022.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we want to take a moment to say we are grateful for all of our tipsters and for our loyal readers. Please keep the tips coming, we couldn’t do this column without all of you. Happy Thanksgiving!
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I will definitely try Village Square. There’s also a place called Mimi’s Pizza opening where Sforno used to be on Broadway.
Assuming the Mimi’s is the same people as the UES joint on 86, the pizza’s fantastic.
I miss Saphire. Another UWS Italian is something we don’t need.
Miss Sapphire a lot. No other Indian restaurant is comparable.
Sapphire moved to that location in 2019 and closed in either 2022 or ‘23.
Sapphire had excellent food in its original location. Never regained the touch in the last one. We could use a Spanish/Portuguese restaurant on the UWS.
Robert, have you tried Buceo 95?
There’s not enough clientele for that cuisine.
Does Perfecto exist anywhere?
Best of luck to all the new businesses. That said, I have a difficult time understanding why a restaurant doesn’t include vintages on its wine list, particularly when some of the bottles are priced well over $100. I hope Canto adds vintages to its list. As for Le Vin Coeur, it’s even more baffling that a wine bar would go to the trouble of describing all of its menu items—which look good, by the way—but not list its wines.
Menu looks good and I don’t want to be judgmental of any new business but its highly by the book “classic French.” I would love them to differentiate themselves with a creative menu like you actually get in Paris neo-bistros and wine bars these days. Or even Downtown NYC at places like Libertine and Ella Funt.
Looked into Poppie today. Beautiful little shop, unfortunately half hidden at the moment by scaffolding. The kind of unique, personally curated shop that used to be more common on the UWS, with a selection of tasteful and thoughtful gifts for children. No, I’m not related to Carlijn, but I wish her well in her new enterprise.
It’s a super cute shop and that awful scaffolding has been there for over 5 years for zero reason with no discernible work being done. It has created blight, vermin and nefarious activity. The landlord clearly does not care for its tenant or the block.
Happy Thanksgiving West Side Rag team, we appreciate you!
Yes, best wishes to all for the great work.
Happy Thanksgiving to all on the UWS great newspaper WSR keep up the great work
New village Pizza right next to existing pizza store??
Correction: Sapphire closed at the end of 2022. It had moved from its old location, at Columbus Circle, in 2019
I think Made In New York pizza, on Amsterdam between 72nd and 73rd, has incredible pizza. I have stopped going there because I’m gaining weight.
On this Thanksgiving Eve, I am grateful we have the W.S.R. May you all enjoy a happy holiday!
Village Square should be a welcome addition. I like their grandma slices.
How is Village Square going to afford the rent (about $17k a month) when the previous pizza place couldn’t?
Anyone know the status of the new Morton Williams grocery store opening near the Apple store on around 69th and Broadway?