By Lisa Kava and Natalie Demaree
Air Cafe, a new French-American-inspired restaurant, is opening in fall 2026 in the Hotel des Artistes building at 1 West 67th Street (between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West), managing partner Max Katzenberg said during a Community Board 7 meeting on June 10th. The à la carte, fine-dining restaurant will take over the former space of The Leopard at des Artistes, a popular long time white-tablecloth Italian restaurant which closed in February. Katzenberg said he plans to keep The Leopard’s “famous glowing murals,” and that he will operate Air Cafe in “a similar manner” as its predecessor. The restaurant will serve lunch and dinner seven days a week, from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m., with a last seating at 10:30 p.m. Katzenberg and business partner Ariel Arce manage three other restaurants in Lower Manhattan: Tokyo Record Bar, Pearl Box and Roscioli. We will update when we have more information about Air Cafe and its menu, as well as an expected opening date. “We are so looking forward to being in the Upper West Side,” Katzenberg said during the meeting.
New York Loves Yoga, a yoga studio, reopened on June 1st at 140 West 83rd Street (between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues). The studio space has been closed since October 2025, due to damage from a fire. For a short time after the fire, the studio’s owners held classes out of Momentum Fitness at 246 Columbus Avenue (at West 72nd Street), as part of an arrangement with Momentum’s owner, Marco Guanilo, then moved on December 1st into a temporary space at 180 West 80th Street (between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues) where it operated until its reopening at West 83rd Street. NY Loves Yoga is celebrating its 15th anniversary, owners MJ Watkins and Lucas Hall wrote to West Side Rag in an email. “The 15 years creating a space for yoga … has been a beautiful journey,” Watkins wrote. “The outreach we received from Momentum Fitness, the fire department, a neighboring yoga business, and students and teachers to make it to our 15th birthday has been a testament to the Upper West Side, New Yorkers, and people giving each other a hand.”
Savor Coffee & More, a European coffee shop, opened at 621 Amsterdam Avenue (between West 90th and West 91st streets), on Tuesday June 16th, after a grand opening party the previous evening. This is the second location for the coffee shop, which also has a location in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. It serves breakfast, brunch, coffee, and cocktails. Menu items include eggs, avocado toast, salads, wraps, flatbreads, and sandwiches. The Secret Garden, a florist which closed in the summer of 2025 was previously in the space. (Thanks to Brian and Howard for the tip.)
Ghemo, the Georgian restaurant that opened on West 106th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue) last month, added a daytime bakery within the space on June 12th, owner Guram Kharshiladze, wrote to West Side Rag in an email. “We’ll be offering fresh baked goods, specialty coffee, and a daytime menu focused on high quality ingredients and a warm neighborhood atmosphere,” he wrote. Menu items include a variety of breads and pastries such as khachapuris (filled with cheese or spiced meat), and loblianis (filled with seasoned beans.) The menu also includes sweets (such as honey cake, Napoleons, and spiced bread with raisins), small bites, and soups, along with specialty coffee, matcha, and chai. The bakery is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Friday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
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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Looking forward to trying SAVOR, it’s just around the corner from me; perhaps today! I gotta say it- each time I see the GHEMO signage, I think it says CHEMO; bad name!!
The eye of the beholder. In reality “ghemo” (გემო) means “Flavor” in Georgian language. It’s one of the most beautiful sounding languages.
I’m sure I won’t be the only one who notes that the famous murals date back to the original Cafe des Artistes.
Pretty sad the way the new owner described it
There is no way they are calling it Air Cafe. As reported on another blog, the LLC has been registered as Air Cafe LLC. If that ends up being the actual name, they are in trouble before they even open.
Not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s interesting to note how many Georgian-themed restaurants are opening up here on the UWS. Both Saperavi and Chama Mama have some very good dishes (though unfortunately, “Mama” is painfully loud). I’ve eaten in both, but have also had good experiences with deliveries from both.
Interesting to see so many Georgian restaurants popping up across the entire city
Good restaurant pedigree behind Air Café. Their brand might be too hip for the UWS, but if they read the room properly, I think they can do something that’s spectacular AND accepted by the community. No easy feat. Upper West Siders often reject better restaurants in favor of familiar mediocrity. I wish Air Café success.