By Scott Etkin and Lisa Kava
HEMA, a medical practice, has signage up at 209 West 96th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam). HEMA, which stands for Health East Medical Alliance, specializes in orthopedic services and pain management, treating injuries to the shoulder, hip, back, neck, foot, and spinal cord. The practice has more than 10 locations in New York and New Jersey. This would be the company’s first in Manhattan. The building that houses the space was recently reconstructed, but the retail space used to be New York Flowers and Plant Shed.
Raising Cane’s, the fried chicken chain, is planning to open a restaurant at 2067 Broadway (between West 71st and 72nd streets). It is a ways off from opening – slated for “Winter 2025 / Spring 2026,” a representative wrote to the Rag. The space has been vacant for the past few years, but it was most recently Freshly Bagel and, before that, Gigi Cafe. Raising Cane’s has locations across the country, and another one is expected to open on the north end of the UWS at 2850 Broadway between West 110th and 111th streets in fall 2025. (Thanks to Harriet for the tip.)
Daily Provisions, the bakery and cafe at 375 Amsterdam (between West 77th and 78th streets), is temporarily closed for renovation. It is planning to reopen on January 12th, according to a post by the company on Instagram. Daily Provisions, which is backed by restaurateur Danny Meyer, has six other locations in New York City, including on the Upper East Side and in Midtown. The UWS location originally opened in 2019. Daily Provisions is popular for its bakery breakfast items – especially the cruller – as well as soups, sandwiches, and salads.
Cajun Halal Platters has opened at 2707 Broadway (between West 103rd and 104th streets). The all-halal menu includes burgers, wings, quesadillas, gyros, salads, and sandwiches. The space used to be Yakitori Sun-Chan, the Japanese restaurant that closed last year. (Thanks to Gena for the tip.)
South of the Clouds, a Chinese restaurant, has signage up at 1187 Amsterdam Avenue (between West 118th and 119th streets). The menu is inspired by cuisine from the Yunnan province in southwestern China and features a variety of noodle dishes, noodle soups, and rice bowls. They have another location in Greenwich Village on West 8th Street. The new location has been vacant for the past few years but used to be the restaurant Friedman’s. We’ll give an update when we have more information about the opening date. (Thanks to Chris for the tip.)
Oriental Lampshade Company, the longtime decorative lighting store at 223 West 79th Street (between Amsterdam and Broadway), has permanently closed. Customers with outstanding orders can text 929-265-7464 to arrange a pick up on Wednesday, January 8th, starting at 11 a.m. The store had been in the space for 88 years and sold custom lamp shades and lighting, including table lamps, porcelain lamps, floor lamps, and wall and ceiling light fixtures. While the showroom is closed, they will continue to sell these items online.
Aangan, the longtime Indian restaurant at 2701 Broadway (at West 103rd Street) is temporarily closed for renovation, according to a post by the restaurant on December 10th. Aangan opened in 2001. The restaurant could not be reached for more information but we’ll post an update when we learn more. (Thanks to Steve and Lesley for the tips.)
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.
Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here. And you can Support the Rag here.
Love Raising Canes. Great addition to the neighborhood. I know there are some here who think they are too good for chain restaurants but it is decent, affordable food, particularly for those with kids. And it is much better than an empty storefront. Hopefully this will be further motivation to make that area more safe.
And on Broadway 72 to 96…….nothing
You can take that up to 116.
Oriental Shade will be greatly missed. It was a wonderful store and a aprt of the neighborhood.
Now I’m kicking myself for not getting there sooner with my old porcelain lamp that needs a shade!! Where to go?
Fingers crossed for Aangan; have eaten there frequently and have found their food to be uniformly outstanding, the hosts gracious and the prices exceedingly fair.
A substantial percentage of the economy is chicken nuggets and french fries. Raising Cane’s entire menu is chicken nuggets and french fries.
Give the people what they want. And other than McDonald’s (which is a step below Raising Cane’s), are there any other similar places in the area?
I am a strong supporter of a healthy diet and don’t think people should be frequently eating fast food, but there is a need in society for places where a family with young kids or students on a budget can get an affordable, quick meal occasionally (in addition to pizza, which meets this need). I think the new breed of restaurants like Naya which are quick, reasonably priced and fairly healthy are ideal, but more traditional fast food also has its place.
I agree let people eat what they want. Wingstop is almost exactly the same wiht nuggets and fries except they also have real wings if you ask for them.
Chirping Chicken has best chicken tenders!
Re: chicken places – Charles Pan-Fried Chicken is on 72nd between Columbus and Broadway.
Charles opened the first place in Harlem.
Hope Charles can survive the Raising Cane’s chain competition…
https://www.charlespanfriedchicken.com/ourstory
Also saw a closing sale sign in the window of Jeannie’s Dream 🙁
Remember when Empellon was coming to 72nd St. in the old Dallas BBQ space? They went to Waterline Square instead. Lucky them.
Amsterdam Ale House is also renovating this week
Oriental lampshade hasn’t been in that location for 88 years. It was previously Voila chocolates, a DIY chocolate truffle place.
That was next door. Oriental Lampshade has always been in the same space.
As the very nice man sitting at a table in Zurna said, “Everybody has a right to open a restaurant but did it have to be so close to this one?”
[Cajun Halal]
Please go try Zurna if you have not already, such nice friendly people, and such terrible luck with this new place opening barely a half block away from them.
I like Zurna a lot, they have superior food to this new halal place. The “make your own salad uses some fresh ingredients but many canned: the corn, mushrooms, etc. Their halal mixed platter is enough for two meals but not as high quality as even most halal trucks. But whenever anyone gets an answer from them about what makes them CAJUN, please post it!
Or you can go to the original Zaad on Amsterdam. Zurna’s good but Zaad’s better.
Will try it, thanks! Was only expressing that Zurna would no doubt lose at least some business from the new place practically on top of it.
I’m so hyped for a Yunnan region Chinese restaurant coming to UWS!!! The cuisine is truly unique and having traveled there years back it has always stayed with me. There used to be a Yunnan restaurant that I would venture to in the St. Mark’s Place area but it closed some time ago.
Simply Noodles on Amsterdam and 72/73 has Yunnan crossing bridge noodles. They are excellent
It’s going to take 18 months to build out a Raising Canes franchise? Wut?
What on earth is Cajun about burgers, quesadillas and gyros?? Throwing on some hot sauce does not make them Cajun. A true Cajun restaurant with gumbo, etouffee, jambalaya and a crawfish boil would rock the UWS with glee!
Anyone know about the former PC Richard space? And what about the old Banana Republic across the street?
We need a bowling alley!
Banana Republic was on the same side of the street as the PC Richard space. The Gap was across the street, and when it closed, the Banana Republic moved into its old space.
I wonder what will go into that space, though I suspect it won’t be anything for awhile, as the Gristedes space has been empty since around 2018.
I actually realized i don’t even recall what has been in the PC Richards space before then. I think RadioShack had been up the street on 88th street, but I can’t recall where it was exactly. And I’m 99 percent sure that Blockbusters was on Amsterdam and 87th street, so I wonder if htere had even been a store before PC Richards had been there.
Why does it take over a year to build out each of the Raisin Canes?
I am sad that oriental shade is closed. It’s been there for many years, and it is a wonderful store with wonderful items, as well as helpful and knowledgeable staff. I’m also surprised as the owners of the store own the building. I wish them well.
Wow, aangan’s been around forever. Hope they make it.
That deli on the corner of 88th and Broadway, I think it was supposed to open fall 2023. Is anything going to happen there?
I also wonder what’s going to happen with all the spaces that had been very briefly occupied by the weed stores.
Westside Rag — any plans to cover the grand opening of six60one? I think a review of a new specialty grocery store would be helpful to your readership.
Can’t someone just go there and check it out for themselves if they’re considering shopping there?
Any updates on the Metro Theater?
Sorry to hear about Oriental Lampshade closing, wow. It will be missed.
Raising Canes, don’t know the, but don’t they know that Charles’ Fried Chicken is literally around the corner, filling the fried chicken desires of UWSers already? At excellent prices? And that’s besides the also delicious fried Chicken sold by H-Mart.
Hope that Charles Pan Fried Chicken will not be impacted by Raising Cane’s.
The people who work at Charles are really sweet.
Also Charles is a small business i- not a big corporation
Strokos Deli and Nickos Cafe both most likely permanently closed on Amsterdam and 113th.