By Scott Etkin and Lisa Kava
Heatwise, a hot yoga studio, is opening on Saturday, March 9th at 164 West 80th Street just off of Amsterdam Avenue. Heatwise uses electric infrared heat to get the studio to about 98 degrees, which is not as hot as traditional Bikram yoga. “It feels really good. It feels sort of like you’re under the sun, as opposed to next to a radiator,” said Samantha Scupp, founder of Heatwise, on a call with West Side Rag. “Showing up is the hardest part. I know that sounds cheesy, but it’s true. Once you’re here, we’ll help you feel at home and orientated.”
The Upper West Side location will be Heatwise’s fourth studio in NYC. “From what we’ve heard, there’s really a demand [on the UWS] for this, but people aren’t finding it and are looking and traveling for it,” she said. Scupp runs the business with her husband, Ben Kopelman, who grew up in the neighborhood and still has family here. “We feel like we know this community. We have two kids with a third on the way. There are a lot of young families,” she said. “Any woman who has just given birth is trying to get back to movement and sweating and feeling good. This really is the perfect solution for that.” Heatwise is offering a “founding membership” until March 9th that is 30% off the retail price for the first six months.
Van Leeuwen will open a new ice cream shop on Thursday, March 7 at 2578 Broadway on the corner of 97th Street. As a promotion for the opening, they will be selling scoops for $1 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. The first 100 customers will also receive a free tote bag. Van Leeuwen serves unique ice cream flavors such as Leo’s Lizard Lunch, Malted Cookie Dough Shake, and Early Gray Tea. They also serve vegan ice cream, ice cream bars, and ice cream sandwiches. Van Leeuwen has two other shops on the Upper West Side (at 253 Columbus Avenue between 71st and 72nd Street and 448 Amsterdam Avenue (at 81st Street). They also have shops throughout NYC (including Soho, Nolita, Chelsea, Murray Hill and the Upper East Side), among others in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.
Tisch WNET Studios at Lincoln Center on West 66th Street and Broadway, which was used to record New York public media before the pandemic started, will reach the end of its lease this September. “We have not utilized the studio since March 2020 when the pandemic hit. Since that time, we have changed the way we produce many of our programs and the space has remained unused,” a representative of WNET wrote to WSR. Programs that were filmed at the studios, including SundayArts, Reel 13, Metrofocus, and Great Performances, are now available on WNET’s streaming platforms.
The Fashion Class, which runs workshops and camps for kids and teens to learn to sew and make clothes, is planning to open at 2391 Broadway (between West 87th and 88th streets) by April.
“A lot of it is skill building. It’s something that you wouldn’t learn in school,” said Sophia Simonds, who works at The Fashion Class’s Upper East Side location. “You’re learning things like pinning and cutting, which are a lot of fine motor skills. And then it’s a lot of creativity, of course.” The Fashion Class was founded in 2009 by Kerri Quigley, a Parsons School of Design graduate and fashion designer (with her own women’s loungewear line). In addition to hosting sewing and arts and crafts themed birthday parties and field trips, The Fashion Class will also have classes for adults on weekday evenings. The space was previously a wine and spirits shop.
Westville, a casual American restaurant at 2290 Broadway between West 82nd and 83rd streets, is available for delivery and having its “soft opening” on Wednesday, March 6th from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. To celebrate the opening, they will be giving out some free food and drinks to walk-ins, as capacity allows. On March 7th and 8th, they will be serving dinner by reservation only during the same hours. This UWS Westville will have the same menu as the several existing locations in Brooklyn and Manhattan. While Westville serves sandwiches, burgers, and hot dogs, the chain boasts an extensive market-vegetable menu, which includes: roasted broccoli with garlic, cauliflower with tahini, brussels sprouts with honey dijon, and soy glazed green beans, among other vegetarian fare. They also serve soups, salads, and bowls. Westville has big shoes to fill: the space used to be Artie’s, the delicatessen with a loyal following that closed in 2017. (Thanks to Ian for the tip.)
Cologo Nails & Spa opened last Friday at 2649 Broadway between West 100th and 101st streets. Cologo used to have a salon a little farther south along Broadway in the West 90s, but that location closed in May last year. The new space has been vacant for years. (Thanks to Tracy and Gary for the tips.)
Kossar’s Watch Update: The long-awaited Upper West Side edition of Kossar’s, the bagel and bialy shop, is expected to open on the southeast corner of West 72nd Street and West End Avenue in early spring, which is now just around the corner. Here’s a shot of the construction progress taken by tipster Jen.
Subscribe to WSR’s free email newsletter here.
Chelsea House on Amsterdam is closed. I haven’t seen them open in weeks.
Can’t wait to try Heatwise!!!! Really looks great for the neighborhood.
Any chance you could get us an update on when H-Mart, on Amsterdam between 69th & 70th is going to open? Assuming it still plans to. Haven’t even seen any workers there recently.
Their refrigeration equipment is installed and it looks like the bulk of the work is done but not the detailing…
All of the refrigerators and freezers are in. It looks like they are very close to opening. They’ve been preparing the outside of the building for the signage. I’m looking forward to them opening.
Artie’s being replaced by a Westville is emblematic of how this neighborhood has been changing the last 10-15 years, as it becomes more and more similar to any other wealthy neighborhood in NYC.
Don’t get me wrong, I will still likely try it!
Just read their menu, and while healthy options are available, most American food is quite tasteless. Very surprised to see this in a neighborhood of diverse ethnicities. I shall see.
Not really. There uses to be American style restaurants all around the neighborhood, and they all closed before Artie’s opened in the 1990s.
Westville is a good restaurant, there are several in the city, and I hope it succeeds here.
Tastes change, perhaps as much as demographics. I’m not sure it’s a different populace as much as it’s a more health conscious one. It’s a shame that demand isn’t there for a decent deli, but that’s life.
Perhaps longer life 😉
I was in Artie’s three times – as an extra for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” They used it as the interior of the Stage Deli.
I agree. Le Labo. L’Occitane, Faherty, Marine Layer, Moscot, Parm, Rothy’s, etc.
Same places in every neighborhood. I don’t dislike any of them, but it’s so boring.
L’,Occitane was in the neighborhood probably starting in the ear)y 2000s.
I realize this. At a time when there were very few chains in the neighborhood. Now, it is mostly chains. I am glad the storefronts are getting filled, but it is more than a little dull that our streets more and more resemble a Westchester outlet mall.
i went to Westville in West Village this past fall for the first time. I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was and so many veggie options. prices are very fair. excited to have it in the neighborhood
I’ve been to the Hells Kitchen and Wall Street Westville locations, consistently good fresh food
It’s less expensive than Artie’s was.
And it is also a lot less tasty than Artie’s was.
Strong disagree. Westville is excellent.
As someone who gets a great deal of pleasure (and some nice clothes) out of the fiber arts, including sewing and knitting, I’m glad to welcome The Fashion Class to the neighborhood. It’s great for kids to get their faces out of their screens and their hands into something creative. (Adults, too.)
The classes sell out fast but I’m looking forward to it being here. They’re not charging $300 a class to learn how to sew!
Half of these places have scaffolding in front and will never be seen from the street. We have to do something about all the scaffolding on the UWS killing businesses.
So disgraceful … The scaffolding has been there for-ever…! What on earth is going on> !
What happened to our beautiful neighborhood… It has continued to look like a third world dump for at least two decades. Get that appalling mess taken down and the buildings repaired.. Why can’t they get tenants to pay MCI’s and fix the exteriors and move on..?
All too true, Joe! Sidewalk sheds are the scourge of our city.
Looking forward to checking out the Fashion Class – I learned to sew as an adult at FIT and taking a class is a great way to jump start projects I’ve put off.
looks like Shakespeare and Co and Abigail’s also just opened yesterday. I wish them well!
I remember when Thirteen’s Tisch studios at 66th and Broadway were first announced and their people made such a big deal of the fact they’d now be at the cultural center of NYC and how they felt they’d always belonged there. I guess they no longer feel that way. Bye-bye.
My kid takes classes at The Fashion Class at the east side location, and it’s wonderful! She’s gained great skills, made good friends and is so proud of what she makes. Happy to see it in our neighborhood and highly recommend it to everyone!
The sidewalk in front of the old Candle Cafe on Broadway between 89th and 90th, (previously Dock’s) and next to Murrays has been under repair for many months. Is there another restaurant opening in that spot?
The west side of Broadway between 92-93 has gone from looking promising to looking like a wasteland. The pizza place opened for about an hour, it seemed, and has been closed for months. The Mediterranean kitchen place hasn’t had any work done on it at least a month. Whatever was going in to what used to be the Greek restaurant isn’t. And the CVS has closed. Leaving Blue Mercury and the new barber shop, and Blue Mercury is at the mercy of the chaos that is Macy’s. I miss Cleopatra’s Needle.
Taim is going to open soon. You’ll like it.
Right! Anyone know what the holdup is? Assuming it has to do with the gas issue that shut down the pizza place…
Hard to believe Kossar’s will open in the early Spring. Rarely see any work being done on the space.
They are there every day. They have the windows covered, but clearly that covering fell down for a bit.
And look, a toilet! Big improvement from Pier 72.
I agree. We live down the block and there are workers in the space every day. They aren’t always 9-5, but they are there. A lot of work had to be done in that space. They are combining the old diner space with the old beauty salon space and, my understanding is that the prior tenant did very little work over the years, so the new tenant/building have to do more work than a usual tenant buildout.
Does anyone have any information about the opening of Mermaid Inn? Seems like it’s been a long time since we’ve seen the info that it was going into that huge space on Columbus and 76. Anyone ever seen any workers there?
I caught a glimpse inside a few weeks ago and it didn’t look very far along.
Westville soft opening was AMAZING!!!! This article was not kidding about the free food. We had a wonderful time and ate like royalty!!! I have eaten at other Westvilles, so knew to expect deliciousness. So glad they are here, although of course I miss Artie’s. Westville make wonderful, healthy food and great veggies, so will keep UWS healthy. It’s a beautiful location, nice staff, and we really appreciate the hospitality and generosity last night…Can’t wait to eat here again.
Does anyone have any news on what is opening up where goodwill used to be on 72nd st?
The fact that the Artie’s space was vacant for 7 years is a great comment on the free market system. Next time some landlord complains about rent regulation, just mention Arties and the condition with other commercial space up and down Broadway.