From the latest issue of our print magazine, a roundup of new businesses that have opened recently in the neighborhood.
Stanley’s Pharmacy (31 Ludlow St.) is a brand-new but old-fashioned independent pharmacy and “wellness bar” at the corner of Ludlow and Hester streets. Pharmacist and native New Yorker Stanley George has created a bright orange-and-white space where he not only fills prescriptions, but also serves a menu of beverages such as espresso, housemade artisanal sodas, kombucha and herbal teas. He can mix them with tinctures and elixirs to cure that most common of Lower East Side ailments, the hangover, as well as headaches and other ills.
Central Booking (21 Ludlow St.) is a new kind of gallery on the Lower East Side. Specializing in books and prints, the business was created by Maddy Rosenberg in 2009, originally in DUMBO. Rosenberg’s goal is to “exhibit the breadth of the various approaches to the form, since the artist’s book can be anything from a pamphlet done inexpensively on a copy machine to a letterpress codex bound book integrating words and images to a sculptural piece that is an object itself.” The book gallery is open Thursday through Sunday noon to 6 p.m. for the summer as of June 13; an official grand opening is planned for Sept. 12. This fall, the gallery’s full programming will launch, including exhibitions on art and science as well as weekly events.
New York Sushi Ko (91 Clinton St.), a new 11-seat sushi bar, joined Clinton Street’s lively and growing restaurant row last month. There is no menu; Chef John Daley serves a “classically rooted but inventive take on Japanese cuisine” in omakase, or “chef’s selection,” style. Meals are offered in three, five or seven courses. The restaurant is open for dinner Monday through Saturday and closed on Sunday. Reservations are accepted by phone.
Sel Rrose (1 Delancey St.) is a new cocktail bar from the folks behind Fig. 19 and Home Sweet Home. The double-r in its name is not a typo; there’s a long explanation on the bar’s website that involves the female alter-ego of French artist Marcel Duchamp. The decor pays homage to 20th-century Paris. For now, the menu is limited to Duchamp-inspired cocktails ($13 each), but the proprietors say food is on the way. “The forthcoming kitchen menu will feature oysters, a full raw bar and French leaning seafood as well as a late night bar menu,” according to the website. The bar is open Tuesday through Sunday.
Schapiro’s (120 Rivington St.) has soft-opened with a limited dinner menu and an inventive selection of cocktails that both pay tribute to Lower East Side history. Housed in the completely renovated former home of Festival Mexicano, the new restaurant from the team behind Suffolk Street’s Antibes Bistro offers an American menu (four-cheese macaroni, burgers) paired with Jewish accents such as gefilte fish and Streit’s matzo ball soup.
El Aripo (172 Delancey St.) debuted in June after receiving some fast-tracking help from a city agency that aims to cut red tape for start-up restaurants. Owner Dennis Sanchez is a real Lower East Side native; he was born and raised in an apartment above the restaurant, near the corner of Delancey and Attorney streets. The menu offers traditional South American cuisine such as arepas, empanadas and patacon (sandwiches made with tostones and several choices of fillings). The cafe is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and noon to 10 p.m. Saturday; it is closed on Sunday. (The website is under construction; details and full menu are on Facebook.)
