By Scott Etkin and Lisa Kava
Moshe’s Falafel, a kosher falafel shop, is planning to open at 142 West 83rd Street between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues after Memorial Day weekend. Moshe’s Falafel was established in 1981 and is known for its food trucks in Midtown. “We have a lot of customers [on the Upper West Side] and they’ve asked us many times over if we’d open on the Upper West, so that’s how it’s worked out,” said David, a manager, on a call with the Rag. The menu has vegan and vegetarian options, including falafel, salad platters, hummus platters, and soup. This location will have “maybe a couple of other items that we didn’t have before. It’s going to be good to visit when we open,” said David. The restaurant will be closed on Saturdays. The space used to be Scoozi Events, a catering company. (Thanks to Howard for the tip.)
Alexis Bittar, a jewelry and accessories store, has closed its store at 209 Columbus Avenue (at West 69th Street). A sign is posted on the door directing customers to its Upper East Side, Greenwich Village, and SoHo locations. “It was a corporate decision to close the Upper West Side store and focus on the other Manhattan stores,” the regional manager told West Side Rag in a phone call, saying there were no issues with the lease and that the Upper East Side store was “in close proximity.” She did not give any further information. The Columbus Avenue location opened in 2021. (Thanks to Kara for the tip.)
Sushi Masu opened this past weekend at 286 Columbus between West 73rd and 74th streets and is still in its “soft opening” phase. The omakase restaurant gets its fish (except for salmon) air-freighted from Japan, Lin, a manager, told WSR. Sushi Masu also has a restaurant in Greenwich, Connecticut. “We’re new to the neighborhood, so we’re still learning,” said Lin. It is replacing Kissaki, another omakase sushi restaurant, that also has a location in the Bowery. “In NYC we thought it best to have just one location,” a company representative wrote to WSR, adding that they’re available for to-go on the Upper West Side. Sushi Masu recently removed the sidewalk and roadside dining sheds that used to be outside the restaurant for the past few years. Its website is still in the works.
Central Liquors, the wine and spirits shop at 227 Columbus (between West 70th and 71st streets), is temporarily closed for renovation. A worker told West Side Rag that they plan to re-open in two or three weeks. (Thanks to Kara for the tip.)
New-York Historical Society (170 Central Park West) is hosting jazz performances with specialty cocktails at 5:30 p.m. on Fridays through June, The New York Times reported. The series – called “New-York Historical Summer!” – riffs on the Society’s ongoing exhibit, “Lost New York,” by featuring “lost” music, played by Michael Hashim’s trio, and serving “lost” cocktails with historically-sourced recipes. The performances take place in the ground floor Smith Gallery and the cocktails are served in the museum’s restaurant, Clara, which opened last fall. The series is free with pay-as-you-wish admission.
ICYMI: Jacob’s Pickles, the comfort food restaurant and bar, is moving ten blocks north to 680-688 Columbus Avenue (between West 93rd and 94th streets). “Hours, operation, and concept are all saying the same,” said owner Jacob Hadjigeorgis, speaking at a recent Community Board 7 meeting. “We’ve come to the point where we need a little bit more space and we’re going to lose a lot of space on the patio in due time, so we thought it was the right time to make a move.” The new location – which used to be New Amsterdam Burger Bar and Agave, a Mexican restaurant that closed in fall 2023 – has a large covered, outdoor dining area. It is about double the size of the restaurant’s current location, Hadjigeorgis said. The move is expected to be completed around September and the current location remains open in the meantime.
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Love that Central Liquors storefront and signage – Please don’t change a thing
How many decades has it been Central Wine and Spirt? I never noticed the misspelling until the photo was posted here, lol.
Also, does anyone know who did the flowers at Sushi Masu?
If any store was ripe for a renovation, that one is.
Sushi Masu’s sidewalk dining shed was fully defiant of laws describing how those sheds must be situated. one rule is 8′ from a piece of street architecture, like a light pole, hydrant etc.
glad to see it gone as it was a serious pedestrian choke point without room for two strollers to pass.
and now, fully compliant, welcome to the nieighborhood!
The biggest opening news this week is the Birria-Landia truck coming to 72nd and Broadway starting Friday!
The old Ayurveda Cafe space on Amsterdam/94th is becoming a new Indian restaurant. Will keep an eye out for updates!
Miss them.
I’m never going to finish my falafel taste test round up if new places keep opening.
I don’t know if ingredients flown from a far away location should be a marketing thing these days considering how many people are worrying about climate change and how to reduce their impact on the environment.
Yes- I agree with you about the environmental costs of flying fish from Japan- would also add the health costs of being close to Fukushima. Alas, I wont be eating at this new restaurant bc of this.
Most of the top rated Japanese places do this unfortunately
I think that Central Wine and Liquor has a problem with that fire escape above its sign and awning. It keeps the rain from washing off the accumulating grime. Every couple of years they should give it a hosing.
Everyone complaining about the carbon footprint of fish flown from Japan: It’s still much less CO2 per kg than beef. So unless you are also boycotting restaurants serving burgers and steak, maybe redirect your climate rage..
Does anyone know when Mermaid Inn is reopening on West 76 and Columbus? Also, will there be outdoor seating? Last Westside Rag stated they would be open by May.
Has anyone noticed the store that was formerly BLUE MERCURY on Broadway between 83rd and 84th seems to have a ton of bags and cartons of used books inside the empty store? Could there possibly be a used book store opening up??? How I would love another bookstore so close to my apartment!!! I would also be happy with a book cafe, java is always nice with a book…Book lovers, does anyone know anything about this???
Grrr. to Moshes. The low-mid 80s already have Mamoun’s. Please stop being so greedy with your falafel shops and share with the rest of the neighborhood.