OPENINGS
Two Columbus Avenue stores are playing musical chairs. Longtime Swedish boutique Askling at 228 Columbus Ave. has closed temporarily for three months while its owner goes on sabbatical, said Barbara Adler, executive director of the Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District.
While Askling is gone, the owner of the nearby Kangol store at 196 Columbus Ave. is using the space to open a pop-up version of his Chelsea shop, Efor, which stocks "sporty and fashionable" mens' clothing, Adler said.
Askling owner Vivianne Tvilling will visit Sweden during her time away and work on developing her own clothing line and launching an online presence, she told DNAinfo. Tvilling said she wouldn't have been able to take the time off — her first vacation in 18 years — without the help of Kangol store owner Chuck Sternfeld.
16 Handles opened in early March at 2600 Broadway and West 98th Street. It's the frozen yogurt purveyor's second location on the Upper West Side. The first, at 325 Amsterdam Ave., opened in spring 2011.
Say Cheese, which serves takeout grilled cheese sandwiches, opened in February at 142 W. 83rd St., West Side Rag reported.
Redeemer Presbyterian Church, opened recently at 150 W. 83rd St. and is now holding services. The church's construction had once created a headache for neighbors.
Chocolate Works, a candy store, opened in February at 641 Amsterdam Ave. and West 91st Street. It celebrated its opening by giving away free bon-bons, West Side Rag reported.
Preppy stand-by Brooks Brothers opened at 2381 Broadway and West 87th Street in early March, Racked reported.
COMING SOON
Good news for Gourmet Garage shoppers mourning the store's closure on West 96th and Broadway. Another grocer, Westside Market, is set to open a block away in about two weeks, a worker at the site told DNAinfo. Like Westside Market's West 110th Street location, the new store at 2589 Broadway and West 97th Street will be open 24 hours.
Lululemon, the fancy yoga store that sells $98 yoga pants, is moving into 2139 Broadway and West 75th Street, the New York Post reported.
ON THE HORIZON
The space once occupied by the legendary H&H Bagels at 2239 Broadway and West 80th Street has been rented, but a representative for landlord Friedland Properties said he couldn't disclose who the new tenant is. Neighborhood blog My Upper West reported that employees at a nearby Verizon store have said Verizon is moving into the spot, but a spokesman for the company could not confirm the move. Iconic H&H closed in June 2011.
Discount footwear retailer DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse will open a massive store in the old Filene's Basement space at 2222 Broadway and West 79th Street this summer, Racked reported.
A new retailer is taking over part of the space once occupied by Borders at the Time Warner Center, which closed last fall. Preppy clothing store C. Wonder plans to open in the fall. Elsewhere at the Time Warner Center, London fashion house L.K. Bennett is expected to open in April.
Cafe Tallulah, the upscale wine bar that sparked a neighborhood row over whether to preserve murals outside its front door, is slated to open this fall at 240 Columbus Ave. Owner Greg Hunt recently decided to restore the murals.
New owners have taken over the bar and restaurant space at 380 Columbus Ave., where the P&G Bar served its last cold one in August 2011. The new bar will serve food and have live music, the owners told Community Board 7 in February.
An upscale restaurant complete with a French chef serving Southern European cuisine will replace the former Time Out sports bar at 349 Amsterdam Ave., owners told Community Board 7 in February. The space, which was once NFL great Boomer Esiason's bar (Boomer's), has been vacant for several years.
A new eatery is moving into the space formerly occupied by restaurant La Meridiana at 2756 Broadway and West 106th Street. The new owners plan to keep the vintage bar, which has apparently been there since 1924, and revamp the rest of the space into an "American gastropub" with an emphasis on tapas dining, wines by the glass and microbrews, they told Community Board 7 in February.
Maria Bonita, a Mexican restaurant, will replace the former Mama Mexico, which closed abruptedly earlier this year at 2672 Broadway and West 102nd Street.
CLOSINGS
The pop-up Patagonia store at 2625 Broadway and West 99th Street will end its several-month run on the Upper West Side on March 26, My Upper West reported.
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer Andrea Swalec contributed reporting.
