Chris Eddy of Barmarché and industry (food) Goes After Forty Deuce SpaceWe’re hearing that Chris Eddy, partner in industry (food) and creator of Barmarché is seeking to open a sushi-fusion restaurant in the beleaguered Forty Deuce space. There was apparently no resolution about the liquor-license application at last week’s community-board meeting, but it seems neighborhood activists are wary. Since they’re already nervous about a 270-room Mondrian hotel with a “glamorous restaurant” going up at 150 Lafayette Street and perhaps leery of Eddy’s background “managing Manhattan’s well-known nightspots and high-profile restaurants such as Mercer Kitchen, Bond St., Lotus, and Bungalow 8” (per his bio), they weren’t all that happy about high-end sushi coming to the nabe. For our part, we think Eddy has proven himself to the neighborhood with Barmarché, a reliable, relatively low-key destination for great cocktails.
Neighborhood Watch
Mondrian Will Bring a ‘Glamorous Restaurant’ to ChinatownAstoria: Pita Pan at 37-15 30th Avenue has opened in its new space; plans for further expansion include rooftop dining. [Joey in Astoria]
Boerum Hill: Trader Joe’s poised to open its second New York store in the former Independence Savings Bank building at the juncture of Court Street and Atlantic Avenue. [Brooklyn Eagle]
Chinatown: A Mondrian hotel at 150 Lafayette Street planned for 2009 will feature a “glamorous restaurant” and a ballroom. [NYP]
Clinton Hill: Thursday, July 12, iCi hosts the Art of Taste, an evening of food education and dining with the ladies of Green Gourmet. [Clinton Hill Blog]
Lower East Side: Brick-oven pizzeria Chickie Pig’s is opening this weekend. [Eater]
Midtown East: Some first-class summer specials are to be had in the streets of midtown right now, including Milant Gourmet Deli’s gazpacho — only available through August. [Midtown Lunch]
Upper East Side: Best Cellars poured its chilled wine for customers for free during yesterday’s blackout, and Tasti D-Lite gave away ice cream. [Newsday]
Neighborhood Watch
Dialysis Center Space Will Get a Hot New Bar in ChinatownBedford-Stuyvesant: A Dunkin’ Donuts–Baskin Robbins double team coming to Nostrand Avenue is more than welcome. [Bed-Stuy Blog]
Chelsea: The new Telegraphe Espresso Bar on West 18th Street not only boasts flat screens playing independent films, but the baristas form flowers in your foam. [Blog Chelsea]
Chinatown: The Mondrian Hotel, in all its nightlife glory, will replace the Chinatown Dialysis Center on Lafayette, bringing damage to livers where there was once healing. [Down by the Hipster]
East Village: Zum Schneider celebrates averting eviction with help from petitions by thanking customers with a free buffet and free beer from 5 to 7 p.m. tonight and tomorrow. [Gothamist]
Flatiron: Shake Shack’s line-monitoring ShackCam is down. [Eater]
Lower East Side: Taco Taco expands southward with a similarly thematic name: Móle. [Gothamist]
West Village: Chumley’s landlord has a history of shoddy maintenance, making neighbors fear another collapse. [NYT]
