Retail blooms in Hunters Point; Lots of new Long Island City biz
New custom framing/gift shop, Matted LIC, 46-36 Vernon Blvd, LIC
Newly Open
- Matted LIC, a custom framing & gift shop filled with handcrafted goods, home furnishings, and tons of cute accessories, is now open in the old Casa Vizcaya sales office. In soft opening mode, and currently offering a ‘Good Karma Sale’ of 20% discount on all items. 46-36 Vernon Blvd, LIC
Asian grill & sushi bar Ihawan 2 is now open, but apparently closed on Wednesdays. 10-07 50th Ave, LIC, 718.937.7373
Millie’s Deli is open on the corner of Jackson Ave and 47th Rd. The place has a nice seating area and, last we checked, the work of local artist Sharon Florin hanging on the wall. 13-01 Jackson Ave, LIC, 718.784.9198
Camp Bow Wow is currently open. They offer free van pick up/drop off service for Hunters Pointers’ pets, to their LIC/Sunnyside location. 47-16 Austell Place, LIC, 718.392.9663
Bridge View Cafe (formerly Ion’s Corner Cafe) is now open, at the base of the pink bridge that leads to Roosevelt Island. 36-01 Vernon Blvd, LIC
In The Works
Doggy Day Spa – not to be confused with Camp Bow Wow – is still coming to the retail space in the bottom of Avalon Riverview North. They’ve had some delays but construction is still in progress. 4-75 48th Ave, Queenswest, LIC, 866.211.8735
CBRE is rumored to be taking the retail spot of 4705 Center Blvd. East Coast #2, Queenswest
There’s a new pub still brewing in the old McReilly’s space. Burgers, fries, beer…a pub. 46-42 Vernon Blvd, LIC
The space next to Ethereal Boutique is manifesting an Latin/American bistro. Projected to open in the early fall. 47-38 Vernon Blvd, LIC
Old, old Next Level Floral space at 47-30 Vernon Blvd is still manifesting some kind of mystery restaurant, rumored to be an Italian bistro and pizzeria. Presumably brick-oven.
A wellness center called Art of Health (featuring Full Moon Acupuncture) is settling into the old Briggs & Costa storefront. A sign on the door says ‘coming soon.’ 47-12 Vernon Blvd, 718.707.3500
Also a rumor: a new, fancy Italian furniture store is supposedly arriving in the ground floor retail space at 10-50 Jackson Ave.
Grand Re-Opening pending at Waterfront Crabhouse, Borden Ave, LIC
To Reopen
- After a fire that closed the late 1800s/early 1900s LIC staple in February ‘09, Waterfront Crabhouse is set to reopen early this month. 2-03 Borden Ave, LIC, 718.729.4862
Wonder what will go in the art-o-mat space. I believe we could use an Italian restaurant around here.
Or a wine store.
I agree with comment #1.
I cannot believe that someone would open a brick oven pizza on the same block as Bella Via. What are they thinking. What kind of business people are involved in this place? This has to be a stupid rumor just to annoy Manetta’s and Bella Via.
The problem is the landlords in this neighborhood, especially the newer ones who spent 2 million on a building and now are trying to recoup it. They will rent to anyone. Didn’t this place just recently have a stop work order on the job because they are building illegally on the second floor? How do the tenants of this building and people next to them feel about that. I know of people that moved out because they couldn’t take the construction and the landlord could care less. Vernon Blvd is never going to thrive if this continues. There is no loyaly to this neighborhood.
I agree with #6. How are they going to get a liquor license? Blend still din’t get theirs. I don’t think they should be able to get it. Enough is Enough now. Let’s support the places that we have. It’s been hard enough in this economy for this restaurants to survive. Let’s show them our loyaly.
Blend is actually very close to getting their license. There are certain things they have to do before they get it. One of them is make it handicap accessible. If you check it out, they now have a ramp. they also have to do some work in the back…not exactly sure what it is, but it looks like they are developing it.
I’m also told there is a 3 liquor licenses per 500 feet in the area. But I don’t know how true that is.
And I agree, Italian, brick over pizza, sushi are all things we DON’T need. How about a nice Pizza by the slice place…a true pizza joint. San Remo could do that if they wanted too.
Why is everyone always hating, if someone believes in this neighborhood so much that there investing money, time and there sweat on why cant we all support them. There is nothing over here!!!! nothing, i can count all the restaurants with my hand, the more restaurants we have the more people will come here and stay and hang out here, rather then the robots that live in the tower, they get off the train go to 48th avenue make the left and do the same thing in reverse. We need more reasons for people to stay in LIC, come to LIC, and then you will see more retail come here and the neighborhood will continue to flourish….
Huh? San Remo is pizza by the slice, and Zack’s is across the street.
Enough already with the ‘tower people’ reference. We get it, you wish you could live there, but can’t afford them, so you post on the Internet.
9, that’s funny. As I recall, there were plenty of people willing to stay in LIC several years ago, but they got driven out by high rents when nasty yahoos like you started moving in.
I live in the towers and I rarely leave LIC. The food is great in the area and so are the bars…plus you save a lot of money by staying here. I’ve probably gone out in Manhattan only a handful of times in the last year.
As for Pizza, every time I walk by San Remo and Zacks and the couple times I went there, it was empty. If they wanted to, they could fix those places up and make them a little more inviting. If they also tried making their pizza something special that doesn’t taste like your average slice, people would go there. Everyone I know in the area orders pizza from Casanova in Greenpoint.
We really don’t need another Italian restaurant. But a certain landlord would rather get an exorbitant amount from a restaurateur who hasn’t done their homework about the restaurant gaps in this neighborhood. Yes we need more restaurants, I just wish the new restaurateur would walk around, taste the food, look at price points, read the blogs and do some research before deiced to put any old place it. It just spells disaster for themselves.
We need a tapas bar. A good one.
How about a nice authentic churrascaria?
maybe this will clear up some of the questions about what this place will be:
http://www.outerb.com/?p=1444
it looks like it is goign to be a different addition to the neighborhood.
Really, #17? What is so different about brick oven pizza? It’s readily available at Bella Via and Manettas –and Bella Via is coal fired, one of the very few left in the 5 boroughs! As for Roman cuisine – that simply means that it is not Neapolitan or Sicilian. The menu at Bella Via ts far more Roman or Tuscan than it is Southern. I hope they have a great chef and wonderful food – but I don’t buy that it will be so “different”.
18, then don’t go. Jesus.
I agree about the tapas bar. Instead of three Italian brick-oven pizza places (four counting Manetta’s) within a few blocks, make this a Boqueria-type tapas/Spanish food place.
I also agree about a pizza-by-the-slice place. San Remo’s pizza is pretty bad and it would be nice to have a good place for slices, rolls, etc.
Hey #19 – 18 here. I didn’t say that I wouldn’t go there – I simply said that I don’t buy that it will be that “different”.
We also need a Vietnamese restaurant where they serve Pho & Bahn Minh…
This thread is getting tiresome. “We need this, we want that.” WAAAHHHH!!!!
Just some ideas/suggestions….if you’re so tired of it, don’t read it.
I agree with #14. The new restaurants are not offereing anything new. Why is that. Is it because they see the existing restaurants are doing well and they want to cut in on the action. Be original open something that isn’t here.
why does everyone hate San Remo so much? It’s decent pizza, and the owner has always been nice when I go in there. The inside could use some love, but I think it’s a good place to get a slice.
#23 What’s worse, neighborhood folks, discussing ideas for what is trully needed in the neighborhood and complaining about getting more of the same OR you complaing about us complaining?
YOU are worse.
I didn’t realize Bella Via had one of the last remaining coal fire ovens in NY. No wonder their pizza is exceptionally good. That bianceneve is hands down, the best pizza I’ve ever had!
San Remo’s pizza is just bad. I’m not sure where you are from 27, but for people who grew up with great pizza in Queens or Brooklyn, San Remo is not an option.
it’s edible, I’m not saying it’s the best pizza ever, but it’s not bad either. You guys are so dramatic when it comes to your pizza!
dramatic = whiny.
WAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!
EXACTLY!!!
Why is everyone such a whimp in this neighborhood?
Speak for yourself #33. I don’t like the non-brick oven pizza in the area, so I make my own.
What makes us wimps?
San remos is the wort pizza – ever.
#6,. why should we be loyal to dumpy places like Cassino and San remos? I wouldn’t go in there to use the bathroom. Let’s not get caught up in the whole old is better thing again… Either you sell a quality product and make investments in your business or you will be swept by the wayside.
Also since when is it the responsibility of an landlord to be an urban planner? It has nothing to do with price. There is nothing illegal about the construction.
I would never even think of putting Cassino in the same class as San Remo’s. Obviously you’ve never been to Cassino. The owners take great pride in their restaurant and the food is good too. And if you order out from there they have quick delivery, sometimes by the owner himself.
We need an Indian restaurant (in Hunter’s Point, I know other parts of LIC have them), that’s the most glaring omission.
#37 agree, delivery from the owner and a solid pizza at Cassino.
I happen to like San Remo’s pizza and I don’t have any problem with the inside of the place. It’s a traditional NY pizza joint. All you tower people can eat your fancy brick oven pizza with all those exotic toppings. Give me a slice of San Remo’s pepperoni za!
Indian and Middle Eastern! Personally I’ve always found Tapas kind of trite.
#36 if you are a landlord with any feeling for the neighborhood you live in…you don’t rent to the first person willing to pay your over priced hi rent. If your invested in the neighborhood you own a building in…you what your tenant to succeed. But then again if your tenant is connected or exceedingly wealthy you don’t have to worry about them offering the community what it wants, or succeeding. Testatico looks like it’s more of the same. This is not a new cuisine to the neighborhood. No one ever said it was a crime to build a restaurant.
How are San Remo’s garlic knots anybody?
41, you have obviously never been a landlord. That would account for your overly idealistic view of things. Trust me new or old there is no landlord pouring over the needs of the community before he makes a lease decision.
Anyone who says San Remo has good pizza has no idea what good pizza is. That pizza is about as bad as it gets.
How can anyone think that a landlord should be a city planner? As long as he rents to someone reputable, a landlord can’t be held responsible to judge what type of ethnic food should be in his space. Do you think he should take less rent for a Spanish or Middle Eastern restaurant than for an Italian restaurant.
And are you really trying to say that landlords shouldn’t do construction on their properties because people live next door? That is just silly.
I agree that having a Middle Eastern restaurant would be good. That and a Spanish food place would be good additions.
#42 I am a landlord.
And yes some of landlords us do take an interest in what comes to the neighborhood. It’s not always about money. It’s about good tenants that contribute to the neighborhood, take a stewardship of the place and are welcoming. I never said a landlord shouldn’t do construction. I only said that I would never rent to another Italian restaurant because I think we are over saturated and I never said that Indian or Middle Eastern would pay less rent. But I would want a tenant of mine to have a successful formula and good food and an understanding and respect for the neighborhood. And because Communitea is about the only reasonably priced restaurant….and it’s busy most of the time. I would rather have a tenant that served great inexpensive food because personally I feel that would be the component to their success. It’s not about being held resposible, I think it’s about being responsible. What is so idealistic about that?
So fine, Mr. landlord tell us what establishments have you brought to LIC that have contributed so greatly to the neighborhood in ways that this resturant never could. I would love to hear about it.
Manducati’s
Manducati’s Rustica
Bella Villa
Manetta’s
Cassino
Juinior’s
San Remo
Da Gianni’s
And Masso which has some Italian fare
Just saying do we really need another Italian restaurant?
46, your argument has nothing to do with the dialogue. It’s like saying one can’t have a view about healthcare unless you are a doctor. I am a landlord though not a commercial one. I definitely prefer a solid tenant at a rate they can afford. This view is shared by many landlords I know both residential and commercial.
I’m very curious as to why you would have a different view of this concept. Please explain?
Ok so you lied or misrepresented yourself at best. Residential leasing is totally different than commercial. To put it in terms that you understand, if you had two tenants that were identical in every way except one was willing to pay double, who would you rent to?
Wait a minute #49 I’m #45 and I did not say I’m a residential landlord. So please refrain from who you call a lair.
One thing that the landlords should be commended for is the lack of a Starbucks, Subway, McDonalds, etc. (I’m aware there is a Domino’s and a Quiznos, but that’s it). There’s nothing wrong with these establishments, but without them we have the chance for great locally owned restaurants.
Okay 45, and 50, but not 48. This is 49, what are the fine establishments have you brought to LIC that have contributed so greatly to the neighborhood in ways that this resturant never could?
We are forgetting that our beloved LIC is traditionally an Italian neighborhood, hence the abundance of Italian restaurants. We should respect that.
Having said that, there are so many empty spaces for new restaurants that it would be nice if landlords encouraged new restaurants to add to the diversity of the growing neighborhood. Lebanese, Vietnamese, Spanish tapas, Indian….all great choices.
And yes, hats off to anyone and everyone who has ever helped to keep out the starbucks, mcdonalds and all that junk food out of the neighborhood!
As an Italian girl, I am thrilled to have so many Italian choices in the nabe. It’s great to try different places. And yes, San Remo is pretty good if you want your standard pizza. Don’t compare it to brick oven, it’s not the same.
I am a “tower person” but I love this neighborhood. I want to thank all of the landlords who have done their best to resist the lure of Starbucks, McDs and all of that crap. It’s so nice that we can walk around this neighborhood and get good, REAL food.
Before you pat yourselves on the backs too much for your high standards of taste, don’t think for a second that Starbuck’s (or McDonald’s) wouldn’t be packed to the rafters if it moved into LIC. Give it time.
Italian food is awesome, therefore Italian places do well.
Italians know food, they just don’t know how to pick the right side in World Wars.
56, Agreed. Actually, Italians were smart enough to not have their cities destroyed and always knew just the right time to switch sides. (If you were Italian, you’d know we never really dug Germans. Their taste in wine and food is terrible.)
Of course, that new Italian restaurant has the potential to be a huge hit, as long as the food and service are good. There are few things more pleasurable in life than a dynamite Italian meal, as most of us know.
Hey, I love Starbucks. Just NIMBY when I live in NYC. There are four Starbucks within three blocks of my office. I don’t need in on the weekends. Give me some Sweetleaf anytime!!!
Did anyone notice that the FoodCellar has gelato and Crumbs cupcakes?
Crumbs cupcakes are great!
When is this cupcake fad going to disappear? Cupcakes used to be for kids under 10 and old farts over 60. Nostalgia foods are generally crap: PB and J, grilled Velveeta, meatloaf — YUCK.
I agree about the cupcake fad and anything with velveeta(ugh). The cupcake thing can be blamed on SATC and their fixation with Magnolia Bakery. But – please don’t put meatloaf in that category – a well made meatloaf will always find its way to my table – not those overly gravied loose ones from diners – but a good homemade one that holds together like a country pate when you slice it. As for PB&J – not my cup of tea, but it’s been around for generations. I like my PB sandwich with raisins, bacon or bananas – also chunky variety of PB mixed into vanilla ice cream.
Who doesn’t like cupcakes? They’re delicious! Jeez…
Why is it that these threads always turned into childish, personal attacks on each other? I don’t think that’s what this blog is meant for.
#63, this is not as bad as it can get, though I have never seen cupcake bashing before. That’s new.
when will more landlords realize business begets business… rent out the empty eyesores!
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Is CBRE the broker or are they really opening an office in that space. It seems odd that they would open a retail space and in a residential area.