By Scott Etkin and Lisa Kava
Buttercup Bake Shop at 166 West 72nd Street (between Columbus and Amsterdam), is closed. There has been a “legal battle going on over the scaffolding that was put up on the first day we opened,” a representative of the bakery wrote to West Side Rag in an email. “There were certain provisions that needed to be adjusted, that the landlord was denying, which hindered a large part of our daily production in the store.” There are no plans to reopen the store any time soon, the representative wrote. Buttercup Bake Shop, which also has stores downtown, in midtown, and on the Upper East Side, opened on West 72nd Street in 2022. It was founded by Jennifer Appel, who also co-founded Magnolia Bakery. (Thanks to Robin for the tip.)
The U-Bar and Grill, a casual bar and restaurant, is planning to open at 1207 Amsterdam Avenue (between West 119th and 120th streets) in the spring of 2025. The owner also manages Inwood Bar and Grill in upper Manhattan. Columbia University owns the retail space, and U-Bar and Grill is “consistent with Columbia University’s long-standing retail approach, which favors local businesses that bring a variety of amenities and experiences to the diverse Columbia community and surrounding neighborhood,” a representative from the University wrote to the Rag. The space used to be Elysian Fields Café.
Sote Coffee Roasters opened Friday, November 1st at 329 Amsterdam Avenue (between West 75th and 76th streets), in the space that used to be VIP Cleaners and Tailor. “We’re all about bringing people together over incredible coffee in a warm, welcoming space,” the owners, Arber and Besa, wrote in a message to the Rag. The husband-and-wife moved to New York City from Kosovo and have backgrounds in the hospitality industry. For now, the menu only includes espresso drinks and other other common café staples, like matcha and chai lattes. They plan to add special seasonal drinks and a wider variety of blends from different regions over time.
The Flowery, a legal cannabis dispensary, has signage up at 2465 Broadway (between West 91st and 92nd streets). It’s expected to open in early December, a representative wrote to the Rag. The Flowery also has locations in Staten Island and Queens, which are included on New York State’s list of legal dispensaries. The new Upper West Side location and a planned location in Soho will be added to the list once they open, the representative confirmed. Customers must be at least 21 years old with a valid driver’s license or government-issued ID. The space used to be a SoulCycle.
Juilliard Station, a pop-up performance space that’s expected to run during the school’s fall academic semester, opened in September at the southwest corner of West 66th Street and Broadway. The space is hosting a wide range of activities intended to engage the public, including: student recitals and rehearsals, early evening “Rush Hour” concerts, pre-concert lectures, chamber music, guest speakers, and more. A performance calendar can be found at the link (select Juilliard Station as the “Performance Type”). The space used to be Tisch WNET Studios, which was used to record New York public media before the pandemic started.
The Openings & Closings column wouldn’t be possible without our many tipsters: thank you! Anyone can send tips about openings and closings in the neighborhood to info@westsiderag.com.
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I saw the signage for legal cannabis dispensary. Legal, ok.
It looks like a Greek restaurant is set to open on 89th and Amsterdam where the Slovenian restaurant had been, where a Subways/Little Caesar’s has beeb been
Great location for a dispensary. Now I can go to equinox and pick up my post-workout treat all on the same block.
Something has to be done about the scaffolding cartels.
It is not the scaffolding companies but the building owners who are the problem.
Not necessarily. Some owners do keep the sidewalk shed in place to avoid doing expensive repairs. But that’s definitely not always the case. My building (a coop) had our shed in place for over three years for what was supposed to be a less than one year project. First, repairs turned out to be more extensive than originally anticipated. Then, work was stopped for COVID, and when resumed, was delayed by multiple specious complaints by a neighbor which resulted in several stop-work orders. Believe me when I say that no one wanted the shed gone more than we collective owners of the building.
Scaffolding absolutely kills businesses. You can’t see the sign or the business. Please set time limits and fine owners.
at least I will have the dispensary nearby to ease the anxiety of mourning the loss of winter in new york city
Went to Sote over the weekend and absolutely loved the vibe, the prices and the location (however the scaffolding has to go there too!). Very good crowd for opening weekend. Looking forward to them expanding the menu.
Do they actually roast coffee or is it only a cafe?
Don’t get me wrong, scaffolding laws need to change so that property owners have the ability to get them taken down faster. The property owners don’t want scaffolding and bridges, but the city rules require it.
And yet, tons of businesses survive with scaffolding /bridges. I think the bakery just didn’t succeed because there was not enough demand. There’s a Magnolia almost right around the corner at Columbus and 71st.
Magnolia is at Columbus & 69th St.
Buttercup had great products – fantastic cupcakes and many other delicious deserts. For some reason I never saw anyone in there even when it didn’t have the scaffolding. UWS is now saturated with great cookie, cupcake and ice cream parlors. And the scaffolding laws need to change. So much of the city is now an eyesore for 20+ years due to the crazy laws.