Monday, December 12th, 2011

Posted back in August there was a rumor that The Smith might be opening in the former Josephina space at 1900 Broadway (at 63rd). Thanks to a tip from a reader, that rumor got a little stronger in October.

It appears to be a rumor no more — NYT’s Diner’s Journal confirmed the popular eatery will be opening on the Upper West Side next summer.

There aren’t many details, but you can see the blurb here (h/t to MUW reader Lauren). Per DJ:

It will be about the same size as the midtown location, with a 30-seat zinc bar, and will also have generous outdoor seating. It will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Of particular note is that not only is the The Smith taking over the Josephina space, it’s also going to take over the former Sushi A-Go-Go space, which was seized by New York State in September due to non-payment of taxes.

I haven’t been to either of the other locations, but I’ve heard pretty much only positive things. The guys over at Immaculate Infatuation happened to have reviewed the East 50s location last week and give it strong marks. They featured the East Village location back in May of ’09 and dubbed it their “go to” restaurant at the time. I think this section of their review matches up best with what I’ve heard from others:

[The Smith's] versatility is invaluable. It’s the kind of place you can go with your girlfriend, first date, parents, buddies, or boss and have an enjoyable meal. The food is consistent. There’s always a scene. It’s priced relatively well (I wish everything was five dollars cheaper, but that happens a lot). There’s a spacious and lively bar to hang at while you wait for your table and they don’t try and get too cute with the music.

You can see menus from the existing locations here.

Given that it’s taking over two empty spaces, the UWS incarnation figures to be fairly large. Since 63rd & Broadway is a far cry from the East Village, I suspect the UWS Smith will more closely resemble the East 50′s location.

I expect this place to packed the day it opens.

Elsewhere…

If you missed it earlier today, the soon-to-close Syms/Filene’s Basement raised their liquidation discounts to 30% – 50% off.

Finally, your new caffeine-fix is almost here. MUW Julie got an update yesterday on the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf slated for 532 Amsterdam (corner of 86th):

The people at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf popup on Broadway told me they expect to open the doors on the 86th and Amsterdam store this week. They were shooting for today (Sunday) but now hope to be up and running this Thursday.

MUW reader Josh e-mailed to say he heard they could be open as early as tomorrow. Either way, it looks like this is the week, which jibes with what I heard back on November 30th. I reached out to someone at CBTL earlier today but haven’t heard back as I type this.

Timing on the 392 Columbus outpost (at 79th) remains a mystery. Assuming all goes well at Wednesday’s Community Board 7 meeting, I would think they’d be open sometime in Q1 2012.

MUW reader Kevin sent in the photo below on Friday showing the 86th Street exterior is pretty much done.

Filed under: Discounts, Food & Drink, Going Out, Manhattan, New York City, News, NYC, Openings/Closings, Restaurants, Shopping, Upper West Side, Upper West Side Blog, UWS 4 Comments »
Tags: 1900 Broadway, 392 Columbus, 532 Amsterdam, CB & TL, CBTL, Coffee, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Filene's Basement, java, Josephina, New York City, NYC, Opening, restaurant opening, Sushi A-Go-Go, SYMS Tailored Tux & Men's Store, The Smith, Upper West Side, UWS