By Lisa Kava and Tracy Zwick
Water & Wheat, an Italian restaurant, is opening on September 24th at 2418 Broadway (southeast corner of West 89th Street). This will be the second location for Water & Wheat, named for the two main ingredients that pasta is made from, a spokesperson told West Side Rag. An Upper East Side location, at 1379 Third Avenue, opened in 2023. “Our pasta is homemade, and customers can choose their preferred shape of pasta from the menu along with the sauce,” the spokesperson said. In addition to homemade pasta, the menu includes artisanal pizza flatbreads, salads, and Italian staples such as chicken parmesan, risotto, and lasagna. “Upper West Side residents are known for appreciating good quality food,” chef and owner Konstantinos Moschos wrote to the Rag. “The UWS community values both innovative cuisine and neighborhood mainstays, making it a perfect place to showcase our menu.” Cibo e Vino, another Italian restaurant which closed in March, was formerly in the space.
Rosa Mexicano, a longtime Lincoln Center-neighborhood Mexican restaurant, relocated on September 10th from 61 Columbus Avenue (at West 62nd Street), to 44 West 63rd Street (between Broadway and Columbus). The new space is inside The Empire Hotel. The reason for the move was that “more space was needed,” a representative told West Side Rag on a phone call. The Lincoln Square BID website describes the new space as having “expanded dining areas, multiple bars, vibrant event spaces, and a refreshed design.” Rosa Mexicano serves Mexican fare such as tacos, enchiladas, empanadas, fajitas, and tortillas. It has several locations throughout the country, including two others in New York City: on the Upper East Side and in Union Square. Ed’s Chowder House, a steakhouse that closed in 2018, was the last tenant in the space. (Thanks to Lincoln Square BID for the tip.)
Xi’an Famous Foods, a Chinese restaurant, will formally open at 2814 Broadway (between West 108th and West 109th Streets) on Friday, September 19th, CEO Jason Wang wrote to West Side Rag in an email. At the opening on Friday, Xi’an Famous will “provide a choice of one free dish [per customer] for being our social media follower and reposting our comeback” to the Upper West Side, Wang said. The restaurant previously had a location at 2675 Broadway (between West 101st and West 102nd streets), which closed in July of 2020. “It was with regret that we had to leave many locations during COVID,” Wang said, “but we’ve always planned a comeback, as the neighborhood always treated us well when we were at 102nd & Broadway.” Xi’an is known for its hand-pulled noodles, spicy cumin lamb burger, and dumplings, all “based on our treasured family recipes,” Wang explained. Xi’an, named for the capital of the Shaanxi province in Central China, specializes in food from that region. The restaurant has 17 locations in NYC and beyond, including another on the Upper West Side at 309 Amsterdam Avenue (at West 74th Street.) It also has locations in Chelsea, the Upper East Side, Chinatown, FiDi, Brooklyn, and Queens. According to Wang, “dish prices at any time of day range from $6 to $14, no tips required.” A Santander bank was previously in the space. (Thanks to Ben and Connor for the tip.)
Aura Yoga + Pilates, is having a grand opening on Thursday September 18th, at 239 West 72nd Street (between Broadway and West End), on the 2nd floor. The studio had a “soft launch” back in May, owner Shannon McGinn told West Side Rag, with a very limited class schedule and hours. ”Now with everyone back in the city we are excited to officially open. We are doubling our class schedule, have added more instructors and private training options, and are holding a party at 6 p.m. on September 18th, to let the neighborhood know we are here,” McGinn said. Free sound healing sessions will be offered all evening along with a live DJ and complimentary champagne from 6 to 7 p.m.
McGinn has been a private yoga, Pilates instructor and wellness coach for 10 years, working one-on-one with clients at various studios or in their homes. “Aura is my love letter to the Upper West Side, the neighborhood I’ve called home for my entire life,” McGinn told the Rag. There are two separate studios, one for yoga and one for Pilates. Aura offers class packages, membership programs, and drop in sessions.
Central Park West Dentistry, moved from 25 Central Park West to 1881 Broadway (corner of West 62nd Street), on August 23rd. Central Park West Dentistry offers general dentistry, emergency dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, Invisalign, periodontics, and endodontics. The new space has twice as many exam rooms as the previous office, and occupies the building’s entire 4th floor. Founded in 1998 by Dr. John Lhota, the practice now has over 50 staff members.
(Thanks to Lincoln Square BID for the tip.)
Mikado, a Japanese restaurant, has signage up at 137 West 72nd Street (between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues.) Mikado serves Japanese fare such as teriyaki, noodle dishes, and dumplings, and has a full sushi menu. It has other NYC locations in Chelsea, Brooklyn, FiDi and on the Upper East Side. We will update when we have more information. Zen Medica, a vitamin shop which closed earlier this summer, was previously in the space. (Thanks to MJ for the tip.)
The Upper Room, a hair and nail salon, opened at 967 Columbus Avenue (between West 107th and West 108th streets) in May. Crystal, the owner and a stylist herself, told West Side Rag that appointments can be made online. Hours vary by stylist.
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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We are very much looking forward to Water & Wheat! We have enjoyed their fine food and welcoming service on the East Side and we are happy they have opened here on the West Side. We will be there soon!
Anyone know what’s going into the old “You’ve Got Mail” cafe? Totally gutted and work underway!
Are you referring to Cafe Lalo?
I miss that place.
Yes!
Jack’s Stir Brew Coffee is coming there 🙂
The Sunshinery just opened in that space! They had their grand opening this past weekend!
You mean, the Sunshinery, the gift shop? I thought they were at 551 Columbus. Cafe Lalo was on 83rd Street.
Great news that xi’an is coming back!
Yes! I’m excited!!! I like the hand pulled noodles, but those “burgers” are even better IMHO. And that dish with tofu in spicy sauce. The food is dangerous for my white clothes, though…
Yes! It always seemed so unfair that the pandemic killed the former Broadway location.
Disappointing, yes. Buy why is it “unfair?”
Because it suffered from its own strength: hand-pulled noodles, while tasty, have only a brief window after preparation before their texture deteriorates. They were honest about that, so they didn’t do delivery and discouraged takeout. COVID thus hit them especially hard.
🤡
Anybody know if the Absolute Bagels is really still coming back? The banner that was there announcing the return has been gone for weeks! Thanks.
I spoke to one of the construction workers the other day. No bagels…another pizza store. We need bagels, not pizza. Fumo, Mama’s Too, Super Nice covers it!
They’re messing with you. It already has a signed lease. It’s going to be a bagel store. Sign is just gone bc someone ripped it down.
I’m gutted 😞
I know that all these pizza stores are opening because of Columbia University students which sucks!
Yes, the thousands of students, staff, and faculty are what keep the neighborhood alive and the establishments in business.
I want Absolute Bagel not more pizza stores!
It is going to be a bagel store.
Great to have Xi’an back to serve the upper upper … it’s pandemic-related closing at W 102 was sudden and disappointing.
Glad to see Xi’an Famous Foods back on the UWS
There’s a location at 74th and Amsterdam.
Looks like a Wendy’s is opening next to Made in New York Pizza on Broadway btw 96 and 97.
Is there really though? I walked by and saw no evidence!
Great news. A Wendy’s is need on the UWS. It beats McDonalds. (I’m not homeless or a loitering teenager, btw.)
It will hurt surrounding businesses because Wendy’s tends to attract the homeless and loitering teenagers.
Funny that people were excited when Popeye’s opened up nearby . What’s the difference? Is Wendy’s food not to your liking?
So do empty storefronts. And Wendy’s creates jobs and tax revenue. I’ll take it.
I have been waiting for Water and Wheat to open since it was announced it was coming to the UWS. So excited!
South of the Clouds Chinese restaurant opened on Amsterdam and W118th.
What is happening to Absolute Bagels location?
Yet another nail salon? Are there enough hands/fingers/nails on the UWS to keep all these enterprises busy?
Mystifying to me, too. I guess there are a lot of people out there who care much more about their nails than I do!
Again, filling storefronts and creating jobs.
I just went to one randomly on 85th and Amsterdam and it was full. Ha!
What’s happening at the original Mama’s Pizza location on 106 and Amsterdam?
It’s still there. They just expanded and took the store also. The works that’s going on is the the former hardware store next to it. Likely just cleaning out the place to show at this point.
Are there any good Japanese restaurants in the neighborhood that don’t do sushi?
A health-focused restaurant with brown rice and seasonal vegetables would be especially welcome. We still really miss Ozu.
I’m not sure about brown rice (it’s not that Japanese) and it’s takeout only, but Shinbashi 72 is reasonably authentic, good, and healthy: https://shinbashi72.com/
Also, although it’s not my personal favorite, many people speak well of Peacefood Cafe, which serves pan-Asian influenced food, including of the kind you describe.
Thanks, I’ll take a look at those restaurants.
Ozu was a macrobiotic restaurant so I’m not sure if that was considered pan-Asian or not.
Any ideas about Miznon on Broadway between 12th and 113th, or Wegman’s?
Something at the NE corner of Columbus and 95th would be nice. There’s an empty freestanding building that used to be a Chinese restaurant and a health food store and it’s just been rotting there in place for the last year. It took close to ten years for the Food City building to get a new tenant, hopefully that won’t be the case here.
I have been waiting for that little one-story shack of a building to be torn down. I do miss the health food store. The Chinese restaurant is where we ate dinner the night of Hurricane Sandy.
Maybe a had a good night sleep, but I found the concept of a yoga & Pilates studio having a “soft opening” amusing. 🙂
I love “Water and Wheat” on the East side 3rd Ave/79 Street…
Try the 10 layer lasagna and their meatball flatbread, yum yum…
Their tiramisu is out of this world!
Welcome to the neighborhood!
– Billy
Rosa Mexicano had so much space, it’s hard to believe that more space is available at the Empire Hotel. I wonder if that’s the real reason for the move. In any case, Rosa had deteriorated badly over the past few years. My last three experiences there were poor.