By Lisa Kava and Natalie Demaree
Lily’s Roasters, a coffee shop, is planning to open this spring at 107 West 86th Street (between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues). It is owned by married couple Bessi and Ariana, who have been in the restaurant industry for over 10 years. This will be their first coffee shop. “Hospitality has always been a big part of our lives and opening a neighborhood cafe is something we’ve talked about for a long time,” Ariana wrote to West Side Rag. “We’re excited to create a cozy neighborhood spot where people can enjoy great coffee and feel at home.” Along with freshly roasted, small-batch coffee, the shop will also serve croissants and pastries. The planned hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday. The owners chose the name Lily “because it feels warm and happy, and it reminds us of blooming flowers and fresh beginnings,” Ariana wrote noting that it is also her mother-in-law’s name.
Healthyholic Kitchen, a healthy meal plan service founded by husband and wife Jose Rodriguez and Daniela Padilla, closed their location at 2801 Broadway (between West 108th and West 109th streets), in November. However, the Upper West Side remains a service area, and customers may order meals for delivery online via the website, Padilla told West Side Rag in an email. Healthyholic, which opened the UWS location in June 2024, serves pre-packaged meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with the goal of providing healthy food for people who do not wish to or have time to cook. Meals are prepared by a team of cooks at a hub kitchen in the Bronx. The company’s three other locations (Bronx, Yonkers, and Englewood, N.J.), will remain open.
Pilates Addiction, a Pilates studio, is coming to 117 West 72nd Street (between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues). It was founded in Los Angeles in 2022 as a franchise opportunity, and opened its first studio there in May 2025. The company now has numerous franchises in multiple states. The Upper West location and a planned Upper East Side location will be the first ones in New York. Pilates Addiction utilizes an apparatus called the “WundaFormer” which according to the website “combines the reformer, wunda chair, ballet bar and jump board into one patented machine.” The company has not yet responded to West Side Rag’s outreach, but we will update when we have an expected opening date.
HearUSA, a hearing aid center, will reopen within the next few months at 2825 Broadway (between West 108th Street and West 109th Street), a company spokesperson wrote to the Rag in an email. The location has been temporarily closed since February 2025 due to lack of provider coverage, according to the spokesperson. “Currently we have an apprentice waiting to take her state licensure exam and she’ll move to the Upper West location after successful completion,” the spokesperson wrote. Signage on the door says “We appreciate your understanding and patience during this transition,” There are four other HearUSA locations in Manhattan, with the nearest one at 1212 Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side.
Nightingale Eye Associates, an ophthalmologists group providing comprehensive eye care, moved from 211 Central Park West (at West 81st Street), to 1776 Broadway (at West 57th Street), in December. The reason for the move was that larger space was needed, a representative told West Side Rag on a phone call. All services remain the same.
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 for one will try Lily’s and am rooting for them to succeed, but I worry that opening a coffee shop three doors down from a popular Starbucks location will be difficult hill for them to climb.
Wishing Lily’s the best of luck attracting customers accustomed to frequenting its close neighbor, Starbuck’s, located on the corner, just a few feet east of them. To survive, Lily’s coffee will need to provide a tasty alternative for coffee lovers to explore.
I’m so excited to welcome Lily Roastes into the Neighbourhood. It will be a fine addition. I only hope that they are smart enough to reserve tables for people who are not using laptops.
It has become impossible to go sit down in a coffee shop because people sit for hours with their laptops, and the casual daily drop-ins like myself and friends who want to drink a cup of coffee and chat for 20 minutes are no longer able to ever get a table.
It really defeats the whole purpose of a great local café: no one can pop in to sit down with a friend because everybody’s writing a book or doing their work for hours on their laptop.
Dr Nightingale is wonderful. I have been seeing them for 25 years, first to Dr N Sr. and when he retired and his son Andrew took over the practise a number of years ago to Andrew.
Waiting for an update on BroadwaY Farms.
Hoping against the odds they found a well-heeled buyer.