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Prime Burger Closes While New Eateries Offer Ethnic Smorgasbord

By Mary Johnson | June 15, 2012 9:20am

OPENINGS:

The NoMad Hotel, founded by the duo behind the super successful Eleven Madison Park, opened its rooftop restaurant on Monday, June 11. The space will feature a $125 seasonal five-course tasting menu and will be open nightly beginning at 6 p.m. 1170 Broadway

The Morton Williams supermarket on East 23rd Street and Second Avenue has opened an adjoining wine and liquor store at 313 E. 23rd St., the blog pcvstBee reported. Residents fought last year to keep the 3,000-square-foot liquor store at bay, claiming there were already too many places to buy alcohol in the surrounding area. But the State Liquor Authority ultimately approved the application. The store is now open Monday to Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and on Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. 313 E. 23rd St.

Restaurateur Richard Sandoval has added another establishment to his long list of New York City eateries. Raymi is a modern Peruvian restaurant on West 24th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues. According to the Raymi website, the restaurant aims to capture “the multicultural spirit of Peru, blending the Spanish, Japanese, Chinese and native influences that embody the country’s vibrant cuisine.” The restaurant features a ceviche bar, which infuses seafood with various spices and ingredients, and a Pisco bar, with 30 different varieties of the fiery liqueur. 43 W. 24th St.

A Lebanese restaurant has joined the bevy of food options in the Flatiron district. The blog Mad Park News reported that Byblos has opened on Madison Avenue near East 28th Street. The eatery was previously located on East 39th Street and Third Avenue until a fire forced the restaurant to move. The menu features Lebanese standards, and Byblos will host music and belly dancing every Friday and Saturday night. 80 Madison Ave.

Silk Rd Tavern has opened in the Flatiron district, with a Pan-Asian menu that includes dishes such as the Singapore chili crab pot pie and salted fish roe noodles, Zagat reported. The dishes are meant to share. 46 W. 22nd St.

Raw, vegan food company Organic Avenue has opened a pop-up shop in Midtown, on West 57th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues. The 2,000-square-foot location offers cold-pressed juices and raw, organic, vegan food along with snacks and private label supplements. The pop-up shop offers the company a test-run in a location that the company’s founder, Denise Mari, said she hopes to make more permanent. “The energy of Midtown is thriving with a variety of cultures thanks to countless tourists and working Manhattanites,” Mari said in a statement. “We are thrilled to be able to offer our healthy organic line of products to [a] diverse community.” The pop-up is open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. 3 W. 57th St.

The Midwestern sandwich chain Potbelly has opened two more locations as part of its massive entrance into the New York City sandwich scene. The chain opened a spot in Union Square on June 12 and one in Midtown East on June 5. The Potbelly chain opened its first New York City location in June of 2011, with a spot on Maiden Lane Downtown. 41 W. 14th St. and 150 E. 52nd St.

COMING SOON:

Mini-cupcakes are headed to the Flatiron district with the impending arrival of Baked by Melissa some time this summer. The blog Mad Park News reported that the shop will be taking over the space recently vacated by Fresh & Fast Burger on East 23rd Street between Park and Lexington. The bite-sized cupcakes come in 10 flavors, including chocolate chip pancake, cinnamon cookie dough, peanut butter and jelly and tie-dye. 111 E. 23rd St.

A new boutique hotel is coming to East 31st Street between Madison and Fifth, the blog Mad Park News reported. The hotel will be managed by Commune Hotels and will include 260 rooms and a 125-seat restaurant, as well as a rooftop bar. Construction is expected to begin early next year, with a projected opening expected for 2014. 11-13 E. 31st St.

Drybar, which provides wash and blow-dry services for $40, is preparing to open a third New York City location on East 34th Street between Second and Third avenues. The 1,900-square-foot space will also offer services such as up-dos and scalp massages. Drybar’s other Manhattan locations include a spot in the Flatiron district and one inside Le Parker Meridien Hotel. 222 E. 34th St.

CLOSINGS:

Storied Midtown diner Prime Burger shut its doors this month, bringing to an end 74 years in business, Eater NY reported. The burger joint, located across from St. Patrick’s Cathedral, was forced to close its doors after the building it occupies was sold, and a deal that would have allowed Prime Burger to maintain the space fell through, co-owner Michael DiMiceli told Eater. Although the closing marks the end of an era, DiMiceli has not ruled out the possibility of reopening Prime Burger in a new location.

Mikey’s Burger, known for its corned beef-topped hamburgers, has closed its location on Third Avenue near East 20th Street, according to Eater NY. The restaurateur behind the eatery, Michael Bao Huynh, told the website that he sold the space earlier this year. Fans of the burgers can still stop by the Mikey’s Burger location on the Lower East Side, at 134 Ludlow St.

Pipa, one of the restaurants located inside ABC Home, will close in August to make room for a new venture from the proprietor of the successful ABC Kitchen, Grub Street NY reported. Jean-Georges Vongerichten is planning to open ABC Cocina in October. “We will have paella, croquettas, a lot of small plates," Vongerichten told Grub Street. “I have worked so much with Asian food, and this is the same latitude, so you find cilantro and chilies. Chilies are my passion now.” 38 E. 19th St.

Gstaad, a lounge on West 26th Street in the Flatiron district, is closing after nine years in that location, the blog Mad Park News reportedThe bar will celebrate its closing with a night of $2 and $3 drinks on June 23. “We hope you will all come by and help drink the bar dry!!” the bar wrote on its Facebook page. “And also every great story usually has a sequel…” 43. W. 26th St.