Thursday, October 11th, 2012

It’s been 14 months since the bizarre saga/debacle that led to the closing of The Blue Donkey Bar.

487 Amsterdam (between 83rd & 84th) has been vacant since then, but a new restaurant is getting ready to open in the space.

MUW reader Michael P. (who has been Johnny On The Spot with tips this month) wrote in to report that Hey Mambo, an Italian-French fusion restaurant, plans to open by the end of the month.

He managed to sneak a peek inside and noted “it looked pretty far along, but I’m sure it will take longer as always.”

I’m not sure of the details, but one of the principals at Hey Mambo apparently used to work in some capacity at nearby Artie’s Delicatessen (2290 Broadway, between 82nd & 83rd).

More to come…

Mentioned on Tuesday that the long awaited Birdbath Bakery slated for 518 Columbus (at 85th) is supposed to open this week (also courtesy of a tip from Michael P.).

The latest update is from regular contributor Kevin A., who earlier today asked someone at the space when they’d be opening and was told “possibly tomorrow.” (i.e. Friday)

If you missed the earlier post, the big opening related news from today is that the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema that’s opening in the old Metro Theater space at 2626 Broadway (99th/100th) had it’s liquor license application approved.

The bad news is they’re not going to be open until 2014.

Alamo Drafthouse receieved their liquor license approval at last night’s Community Board 7 Business & Consumer Issues Committee meeting.

There were several other liquor license applications discussed at the meeting that relate to UWS openings:

• 936 Amsterdam Avenue (West 106th Street) Andrew Breslin, d/b/a To be Determined –This space used to be home to The Neighborhood, a restaurant that closed back in June. Andrew Breslin is the same name as one of the owners of Banc Cafe in Murray Hill. I can’t say for sure if it’s the same guy, but it seems plausible.
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  UPDATE 4/8/13: Jazz-themed restaurant The Ellington has opened at 936 Amsterdam
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• 103 West 70th Street (Columbus Avenue) Peter Candari, d/b/a To be Determined — This is Park West, the new American Bistro from the owner of Pomodoro that I mentioned Tuesday/
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• 2642 Broadway (West 100th Street) New A & J Restaurant Inc. d/b/a To be Determined — No idea what this is, but 2642 Broadway used to be occupied by Uneeda Check Cashing, which closed back in January. Nice to see it’s going to become a restaurant and not another check cashing place.

I don’t have official confirmation that all three of these applications were approved, but I’d be very surprised if they weren’t.

Filed under: Community Board 7, Food & Drink, Going Out, Manhattan, New York City, News, NYC, Openings/Closings, Restaurants, Upper West Side, Upper West Side Blog, UWS No Comments »
Tags: 103 W 70, 103 West 70, 2626 Broadway, 2642 Broadway, 487 Amsterdam, 518 Columbus, 936 Amsterdam, A & J Restaurant, Alamo Drafthouse, Andrew Breslin Restaurant, Birdbath Bakery, Hey Mambo, New York City, NYC, Opening, Park West, Pomodoro, The Neighborhood, Upper West Side, UWS