Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

The long-awaited Eastern Mountain Sports in the new Laureate condo at 2150 Broadway (at 76th) is finally set to open for business on Thursday, 9/1 (thanks to Eric for the tip).

If you missed it last month, @ReporterLeslie had a nice article on DNAinfo about EMS’s desire to be “excellent community partner” and some of their plans to get involved in the neighborhood.

The West 70s are quickly becoming a retail wonderland for athletes, as EMS joins the recently opened Athleta and JackRabbit Sports, and year-old Modell’s (to say nothing of the SoulCycle moving to West 76th).

In closing new, NYT Diner’s Journal reports that restaurant Compass (208 W. 70th) officially closed last week (first mentioned on MUW last month).

After going through five chefs in less than four years, Compass will get yet another makeover. It will reopen in September as a Greek restaurant named Loi (after the addition of new co-owner Maria Loi — the previous owners of Compass are still onboard). NYT DJ tracked Loi down for more information:

Her approach is to present small appetizer plates called orektika. (These will not include one item familiar to Americans, tzatziki, because, she explained, it’s just a sauce.) She says the restaurant will make its own phyllo, do little or no frying (meatballs will be baked and calamari grilled), and will not set up a fish display like at Estiatorio Milos and other restaurants, where customers pick out their fish.

“That’s what you do in a taverna,” she said. “This will not be a taverna. At top restaurants in Greece you trust the chef or the owner to give you the best.” Main dishes like whole fish, moussaka and stuffed lamb will be meant for sharing.

The restaurant itself will undergo a physical transformation at the hands of architect Glen Coben over the coming weeks.

Filed under: Fitness, Food & Drink, Going Out, Manhattan, New York City, NYC, Openings/Closings, Race, Restaurants, Running, Shopping, Upper West Side, Upper West Side Blog, UWS, Wellness, Yoga 6 Comments »
Tags: 2150 Broadway, athleta, Athlete, Athletics, Closing, Compass, Don Evans, Eastern Mountain Sports, EMS, Exercise, Fitness, Glen Coben, Greek restaurant, Jack Rabbit Sports, JackRabbit Sports, Laureate, Maria Loi, Modell's, Opening, Shopping, Soul Cycle, SoulCycle, Sports