By Scott Etkin and Lisa Kava
Kancil, the Malaysian restaurant at 434 Amsterdam Avenue (southwest corner of West 81st Street), closed on Sunday, April 13th, a worker told West Side Rag and the food website Eater reported. Kancil opened five months ago in November 2024, replacing another Malaysian restaurant, Wau. Both Kancil and Wau were backed by restaurateur Salil Mehta. Kancil’s chef was Simpson Wong and the menu featured Southeast Asian dishes in addition to Malaysian “street snacks.” Kancil did not respond to West Side Rag’s outreach for more information about the closure. (Thanks to Harvey, Ken, and Yael for the tips.)
Tim Morehouse Fencing Club, which offers after-school lessons and summer camps for introductory and competitive young athletes, has signage up on the east side of Broadway between West 103rd and 104th streets on the third floor. Tim Morehouse, an Olympic medalist in the 2008 Beijing Games, has fencing facilities in Manhattan, Connecticut, and Westchester. The club’s existing Upper West Side location, situated in a synagogue at 210 West 91st Street, is expected to remain there for at least another year, a representative confirmed to the Rag. The new location could open as soon as this summer or in the fall. In addition to Morehouse, many of the Club’s instructors are also elite athletes, having competed in the Olympics and other international tournaments. The space appears to have been vacant for the past few years, but it used to be a yoga studio.
Sky Locksmith & Hardware has moved from Broadway between West 78th and 79th streets to 169 West 81st Street (Columbus and Amsterdam, downstairs). They’re still in the process of moving inventory to the new space, but it is open as of this week, a representative told the Rag on a call. Sky had been at its Broadway location for eight years. “We love the neighborhood. We have a lot of clients that we will still serve,” he said. Sky provides locksmith services, makes key copies, and carries common hardware store items like light bulbs, SodaStream canister replacements, and tools. The shop is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and closed on weekends, but emergency locksmith services are available 24/7.
Aves, a Chinese restaurant at 102 West 86th Street (between Columbus and Amsterdam) is temporarily closed. A sign posted on the storefront says the restaurant is closed “indefinitely” and to check the company’s website for updates. Aves opened in December in the former home of the French restaurant La Mirabelle. It was packed on a recent Friday night, writes tipster Nancy. We have contacted the restaurant’s management and will provide an update when possible.
Easyplant, a plant store for “self-watering” plants, opened last week at 334 Columbus (between West 75th and 76th streets). Each potted plant is equipped with a patented reservoir system that slowly drains water into the plant’s soil. It needs to be filled once every one or two months. “We tend to do well in strong residential neighborhoods, so that’s why we chose to open on the Upper West Side,” Jenny Merrill, a retail executive at Easyplalnt, said on a call with the Rag. The plants are grown in Maryland and delivered to the UWS every Tuesday and Friday morning. “We make sure that all of the plants work well with the self-watering concept,” said Merrill. She explained that the concept tends to be popular with people who have had issues with over-watering or under-watering plants, travel often, or have second homes. The UWS space has been vacant for the past few years, but it was most recently a branch of Bank of America. On Sunday, May 4th, Easyplant will be hosting an opening event that will feature tables with painting kits to allow customers to paint their plant pots.
El Coco, the Mexican restaurant on West 73rd Street (between Amsterdam and Columbus) is temporarily closed. There is a “vacate” order from the Department of Buildings posted in the storefront window for the rear dining area on the ground level. El Coco did not respond to West Side Rag’s outreach.
ICYMI: New Absolute Bagel has signage up at the same location as the original Absolute Bagels at 2788 Broadway (between West 107th and 108th streets). The commercial space’s broker confirmed to the Rag that a “new bagel group” has signed a lease for the storefront. Absolute Bagels closed in December 2024, as first reported by West Side Rag, after serving customers at the location for more than 30 years.
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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Bummer so many good restaurants closing, I liked Wau a lot but had never tried the new iteration.
Wau was absolutely wonderful and always seemed to be bustling. Kancil was excellent too but more upscale and never seemed to catch on. Such a shame.
Aves had issues according to the DOH on April 9. Although the DOH didn’t close it, the restaurant may be having a hard time fixing the issues, who knows?
What does “issues” mean? Violations?
Losing La Mirabelle was one of the worst blows for UWS dining. A victim of ridiculous COVID protocols.
To be honest, I didn’t think it was very good. It was ok, but I did not find the service pleasant or the space amenable.
With the benefit of hindsight, some protocols do seem to have been unnecessary- keeping kids home from school is one that many question now, based on data that could not possibly have existed then. But I haven’t seen data suggesting that keeping adults from congregating in urban settings was one of the protocols that have been proven not to have been helpful. Do you have a source for data suggesting otherwise?
It was ok to have a protest and riot.
The data on schools did exist then. You just had to look to Europe.
Regarding restaurants, I recall a briefing by Cuomo when they ordered restaurants closed after they had been open. I think it was during a surge. He had stats that showed that something like 3 % of covid could be attributed to restaurants, but said they would have them close anyway for lack of other solutions.
Oh man Bill…how are you going to survive with no other French restaurants in Manhattan?! La Mirabelle wasn’t even top tier
COVID protocols were not ridiculous at all. One million Americans died and millions more have long COVID issues. Restaurants were open for both take out and delivery. Maybe they just could not adapt or had other issues.
Covid protocols were not ridiculous? What planet do you live on? How many nursing home patients did Cuomo kill? How many people used it to work from home and are still working from home? Don’t forget how Covid was used to hide Biden’s dementia. How many people are still wearing masks? Disgusting.Covid was for most people a mild illness, many times people didn’t even know they had it until they got tested. I personally would rather die than mask on.
Tell that to my dead sister
“I personally would rather die than mask on.”
Sally forth, bold OPOD, and never, ever let reality distract you!
You clearly don’t know and have not spoken with any doctors or nurses who worked in hospitals in the United States of America during the pandemic or you wouldn’t be spouting such abject nonsense!
This is some unhinged stuff. Congrats!
This is standard fare for our Newsmax-pilled friend here
COVID-19 was not a “mild illness” for my mother, who died oc over it December 13, 2020. Your comment in an insult to all of those who died of it.
Sorry for your loss.
So sorry.
So many restaurants closed during COVID, and taking out French food is probably not the best. Maybe they would have closed otherwise. Maybe they just wanted to close after so many years. But blaming it’s closure on COVID after so many years is not insane.
Rediculous?!
Tell it to the tens of thousands we lost.
Go eat somewhere else.
My wife: Bagel?
Me: Absolutely.
Everything always seems to be happening in the 70s or 80s. When are we going to get some great restaurants in the 90s on Broadway?!? It’s a food desert!!
I live in the low 100s and totally agree.
Your politicos need to do more to decrease crime, dirt, homeless, and allow new construction.
Try Yasouvlaki nearby at Amsterdam and 89th. Good recent addition to the area.
I used to like Alouette, but they are long gone.
we used to have Happy Burger 🙁
And Happy Burger II. 🍔🍔
Many thanks for keeping us apprised of the openings and closings.
Any updates on 75th Organic Deli and Market?
Wow, Aves seemed to have been open for just one hot minute.
Hopefully it’s nothing bad. I was excited to try it soon.
Easyplant sounds like your typical venture capitalist funded business that is tying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. Every time I see their sign that reads” Not a normal plant store” I think to myself that a “normal” plant store would be just fine thank you.
[Apologies] Score another one for Kancil culture [/apologies]
🙂 Always thought that was an unfortunate name. (Not that Wau was such a bargain either.)
As an owner of an UWS place that opened up in October, winter seems to have hit hard for many new and older restaurants. January was mild, but horrible cold weather from February through even now meant more people stayed inside. Takeout doesn’t help either, as most revenue comes from alcohol.
Here’s to a warmer spring for the neighborhood…
Let’s have the sane support for a New Levvy’s bagels at 98th! Also Lenny’s was much more than just bagels & had seating & free delivery.
New McDonalds on W125th and Broadway just opened this week.
It is sad that Sky Locksmith has to move to an obscure address, below-grade, in the basement. They have been very helpful several times to me, unlike the other hardware store. I hope they can find more business where they are.
Miguel (Sky Locksmith proprietor) told me last year he would have to move to a cheaper location at some point — and tank you, WSR, for telling me where to find him!
I hope rodents won’t be a freebee at the new bagel place