By Lisa Kava and Natalie Demaree
Toro 7 Sushi has signage up at 103 West 70th Street (just west of Columbus Avenue). An Instagram post by the Columbus Avenue BID welcomes the restaurant to the neighborhood. Amber, a Japanese restaurant, was previously in the space. Amber merged with Flame, another Upper West Side sushi and hibachi restaurant located at 100 West 82nd Street, in July 2025. Toro 7 Sushi is not related to Amber and Flame, a representative from Amber told West Side Rag. (Thanks to Claire for the tip.)
Vuori, an athleisure clothing store at 201 Columbus Avenue (at West 69th Street), reopened on April 18th. The store had been temporarily closed for a few weeks due to a pipe that had burst and caused flooding. “Everything has been resolved and all is good here now,” a clerk told West Side Rag during a visit to the store.
Grassroots Fitness Project, a fitness studio specializing in women’s strength, is opening a second Upper West Side location at 250 West 106th Street (at Broadway), on April 27th. Grassroots has an existing location at 371 Amsterdam Avenue (at West 78th Street). It offers small group classes and individual private training. “We’re currently onboarding new clients for one to one personal training,” co-owner Heather Gunn Rivera wrote to West Side Rag in an email. “As part of our opening phase we are offering complimentary movement assessments for those getting started so they can begin with an individualized plan.” Grassroots is also offering a two-month introductory rate at a 50% discount, along with a complimentary InBody scan for women who join the women’s strength program ahead of opening. Youth programming is planned for the fall, Gunn Rivera said.
Wells Fargo, a bank and financial services company, is opening a location at 2829 Broadway (at the northwest corner of West 109th Street), this summer, a spokesperson for the company told West Side Rag. The branch will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, and will be closed on Sundays. “Branches continue to play a vital role in how we serve customers in New York. The upcoming opening of our branch at Broadway and 109th Street is another step in creating a more modern, open, and community-centric branch network for our customers,” the spokesperson said in an email. A Spectrum store which closed in November 2024 was previously in the space. (Thanks to Jillian for the tip.)
A Cantonese Dim Sum restaurant has signage up at 208 West 70th Street (between Amsterdam and West End avenues). According to the signage the restaurant will host “family dinners, friends hangouts, birthday parties, and party events.” We will update when we have more information and an expected opening date. The space was previously Tavola Della Nonna, an Italian American restaurant that opened in 2020. (Thanks to Karen and Chris for the tip.)
ICYMI:
Pastrami Queen, a kosher deli at 138 West 72nd Street (between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues), which has been temporarily closed for renovations, has signage in the window saying Deli Chin is coming soon. Read West Side Rag’s coverage of this news here.
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’ve been hearing about a Taco Bell / Carvel / Auntie Anne’s behemoth combo coming up on 19th and Broadway…any updates there?
The number of people to comment on the obvious typo is wild. I know I’m spending a quick moment to type this but cmon people, take it easy.
19th Street? Is that a typo?
109th street! I saw the same info
I didn’t know that Carvel still existed. Interesting combo. 19th?
I think there is one around 97 and Broadway on the east side of the street? And there is one near Times Square around 48th or 49th Street. Likely more as well – google it…
Fudgie the Whale lives!!!
Sounds great but that is far from the UWS unless you transposed it and mean 91?
I have seen a few Carvel’s popping up and I am very excited. Though I went to one to buy a cake and the price was ridiculous.
Please – did you mean something rumored on the Upper West Side but hit a typo??
I believe a previous West Side Rag article mentioned this will be opening on the corner of Broadway and 109th.
Anyone know what the closed Wells Fargo location at the corner of 70th and Amsterdam will become?
Wondering if Carrot Express on Broadway will ever open. Signage went up ages ago and it says UWS location is coming on its web site, but there’s been no sign of anyone working there for months now.
Now that’s a fun name! I hope they open!
Wells Fargo: perhaps the world’s most consumer-unfriendly bank. E.g. (1) https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/consumer-financial-protection-bureau-fines-wells-fargo-100-million-widespread-illegal-practice-secretly-opening-unauthorized-accounts/ (2) https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/wells-fargo-agrees-pay-3-billion-resolve-criminal-and-civil-investigations-sales-practices
and while we are at it..what the heck is up with miznon uws? i have been waiting and waiting and waiting…
Once again I am begging for news on the Staples/possible West Side Market on 81st and Bway!
I was there today. The two upstairs floors are now closed. I overheard an employee telling a customer that they would now be selling only from the first floor and basement.
There is a sign in the Staples entryway that Party City will be coming soon. Perhaps one or both of the upstairs floors?
The basement floor feels woefully shopped out. It really feels like a fire sale, but that was just my feeling.
I was just at that Staples yesterday. The entire 2nd & 3rd floors are closed while they renovate. They’re reconfiguring the lower level. All the computer/printer/audio items are now downstairs. They have replaced the tall (8ft?) shelving with lower shelves — maybe 5 feet high? — and were in the process of moving all the office supply type items to the back part of the lower level. It seemed like they still had regular amounts of inventory — not like when places close and the shelves get bare.
All the signage made it seem like they are renovating the north part of the main floor (where the computers you could use were) and the upstairs to make it more user friendly, but still a Staples.
It seems weird that they would go to the trouble of moving all the stock to the lower level and put up new shelving if they were just going to close the entire store.
69th and 70th Streets are definitely not the upper West Side. Maybe Lincoln Squate, possibly, but not the UWS.
Of all the hot takes on this website, this one is by far the wildest. Since when were the West 60’s and 70’s not the UWS?
Lincoln Square is considered part of the UWS in my mind. This seems overly nit-picky.
I lived on W. 69th St. from 1968 to 1990. The street was always referred to as being part of the UWS. Later on it was referred to being part of the UWS AND the Lincoln Center area. I assume the real estate people felt they could increase the value by making it part of the LC area. But to me it will always be part of the.UWS.
so is it your opiniion uws does not start until after 72nd…I disagree everything past 59th is uws…in my opinion….
In my view, anything above 59th is the UWS, Lincoln Square is a neighborhood within the UWS
Thank you! I’ve always felt that way, glad I’m not alone in this.
The UWS starts at 59th
The Cantonese Dim Sum restaurant is located at 208 West 70th Street between Amsterdam Avenue and West End Avenue, not Broadway and West End Avenue.
There is some construction going on at W95th and Columbus. Not sure what is going on but there is a big dumpster outside the locaiton. This is where Columbus Natural Food used to be.
It looks like asbestos abatement . They have the whole former Chinese restaurant wrapped up airtight. A couple of weeks ago they were removing mechanical equipment from the roof. Probably about to demolish the building.