Openings & Closings: Sweet Peanut Records; Caffè Aronne; Wu’s Dynasty; Central Park Deli & Juice Bar; “? Tea” (a Rebrand of the Tea Shop Formerly known as Molly’s)

By Lisa Kava and Natalie Demaree

Sweet Peanut Records, an independent record store, is opening on July 18th at noon at 463 Amsterdam Avenue (between West 82nd and West 83rd streets). It will carry new and used vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, and audio equipment, owner Hunter Brammer wrote to West Side Rag in an email. Brammer, an Upper West Sider, previously worked in finance but spent many years collecting and selling vinyl online as a hobby. “I finally made the jump into doing this full time and hope to build a community and partner with other businesses in the area,” he wrote. Sweet Peanut will buy old record collections and will do house calls for larger collections. Brammer plans to host various events at the store for new album releases and album focused conversations with guest speakers. Europtica, an eyewear boutique which consolidated with its Columbus Avenue location in March, was previously in the space.

Caffè Aronne, a kosher-certified coffee shop and mobile espresso bar, is opening a new location later this summer inside of the Marlene Meyerson Jewish Community Center (JCC) at 334 Amsterdam Avenue (at West 76th Street), Chief Operating Officer Aaron Dahan wrote to West Side Rag in an email. Caffè Aronne was founded as a catering brand in 2018, and opened its first brick-and-mortar location on the Upper East Side in 2022. This is the second location for the company. The coffee shop will serve specialty coffee drinks, pastries baked in-house, smoothies, teas, and toasts. There will be an expanded “grab-and-go” food menu, and a service window for quick pickups on West 76th Street, Dahan said. Caffè Aronne will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday through Friday and closed on Saturday. “We are very excited to join the Upper West Side community and look forward to serving everyone soon,” Dahan wrote. “Diners do not need to hold a JCC membership to join for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or even just a quick latte and croissant.” (Thanks to Scott for the tip.)

Wu’s Dynasty, a traditional Cantonese restaurant, is slated to open at 208 West 70th Street (between Amsterdam and West End avenues), in August, owner Derek Wu wrote to West Side Rag in an email. Wu is known in the culinary community for his work as a founder and manager of Wu’s Wonton King, on the Lower East Side which he left to start Wu’s Dynasty. Wu’s Dynasty will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day and will serve dim sum, Cantonese-style seafood, and more. “We hope to provide our neighbors a good place where they can enjoy Cantonese food, and where they can hang out with friends and family,” Wu wrote. The space was previously Tavola Della Nonna, an Italian American restaurant that opened in 2020.

Central Park Grill & Juice Bar, a 24-hour bodega and deli, located at 405 Central Park West (at West 100th Street), is closed for renovation as new management takes over, according to a sign posted to the door. The deli offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as drink and snack options, including Halal food. Park Pleasant Deli Convenience Corp was previously in the space. We will update when we have more information.

Molly Tea, a tea shop near Columbia University,  at 2857 Broadway (between West 110th Street and West 111th Street), has rebranded, and is now called “? Tea” after a legal dispute with its parent company MollyTea Global. The rebrand was first reported on June 23rd by Columbia News Service. In a June 11th  statement posted on RedNote, MollyTea Global said the Columbia University location was never authorized. ? Tea serves specialty teas and smoothies, including flavors such as lime cheese premium jasmine, lime cheese jasmine matcha, brown sugar boba matcha, pistachio jasmine tea, and gardenia milk tea,  West Side Rag was unable to reach a store owner or manager for comment.

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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