Friday, January 21st, 2011

It’s a packed news week for openings and closings on the Upper West Side.  The City Grill, located on Columbus between 72nd and 73rd for the past 15 years, closed on Monday.  The space is remembered by longtime Upper West Siders when it used to be Ruppert’s and one of the O’Neal brothers’ restaurants.  Grub Street reports that the eatery, owned by Doug Griebel, will be replaced with the Columbus Tavern, opening in mid-February and featuring a partnership with Jeremy Wladis (of Nonna, Firehouse, Campo, and Brad’s) and food from chef Phil Conlon.  Entrees will include lamb-shank shepherd’s pie, cider-braised pork ribs, and whole roasted trout with fennel, baby carrots, and salsa verde, and a new cocktail-lounge area will specialize in curried deviled eggs, merguez wellingtons, and spicy duck-fat cashews.  A big thanks to tipsters John, Nate, and Darren for the info.

Also in closing news is Turkish restaurant Zeytin.  My Upper West tipster Johnny S. reports that the spot, located on Columbus between 85th and 86th, has shut down.

In opening news, the Zen Palate on Broadway and 105th opened on Wednesday afternoon after being in the works since last June, according to tipster Matthew.  The restaurant, with locations in the Theater District and Union Square (along with a former location at 77th and Broadway until summer 2007), serves up vegetarian fare with an Asian twist.

Moving on from food to shopping, a new shaving store is opening soon.  The Art of Shaving, the high-end shaving product store with 5 other Manhattan locations, signed a 10-year lease for a 730-square-foot space on Broadway between 75th and 76th, according to Crain’s.  The company is also looking for more expansions in Wall Street, SoHo, and Union Square areas, implying there is actually a solid market for expensive razors.  Who knew?

Did you spot an opening or closing in the neighborhood?  Tell us… send as much information as possible to “alerts [at] myupperwest.com,” and we might post it!

Filed under: Food & Drink, News, Upper West Side, Upper West Side Blog 9 Comments »
Tags: Brad's, Campo, City Grill, Columbus Tavern, Doug Griebel, Firehouse, Jeramy Wladis, O'Neal, Openings/Closings, Phil Conlon, Shave, Shaving, The Art of Shaving, The City Grill, Zen Palate, Zeytin