All stories about "American Grill"
The Week in Eater: Mob Stabbings, Ko Debacles, and Shutter City
It's time for the Week in Eater, where we review some of the week's most newsworthy stories.
The Top Stories this Week: Who Goes There?: Pergola Des Artistes, When Good People Do Bad Things to Get Into Ko, The Shutter: American Grill/Go! Go! Curry, Adventures in Marketing: Swich, Mei Lai Wah Shuttered for Good, Eater Inside: Elizabeth, and The Gatekeeper George Atterbury and his Mob-Related Stabbing.
ENCORE: American Grill/Go-Go Curry Shutters Again, Reinvents Itself Anew Again
Because one post on the magically horrendous East Village mash-up American Grill/Go! Go! Curry isn't enough, here's another. From a camera-toting East Village, more color on the latest of what is sure to be many many more shutterings of the restaurant space at 117 Second Avenue, formerly Kiev. The new plan is to transform the place into Song 7-2:
The struggling, schizophrenic "American Grill Diner" on 7th St and 2nd Ave (we serve burgers! and Japanese curry! and we have a juice bar! and beer!) mercifully shuttered its doors this weekend. I just walked past, and all signage has been stripped. Tucked into the foyer was this sign (above). Given the awkward phrasing of the sign ("Asian Cuisine Restaurant"?),and the speed at which the transformation seems to be taking place, I suspect it's under the same management. Maybe they'll serve pirogis and frites!· The Shutter: American Grill/Go! Go! Curry [~E~]
The Shutter: American Grill/Go! Go! Curry
And we had such high hopes for the generic 24-hour diner turned incredible restaurant mash-up American Grill/Go! Go! Curry. Guess people with real vision can't make it in this city anymore. Before we get to the shutter details, some background. The saga of American Grill, and the space itself is chronicled well: After a year of construction in the old Kiev space, the "24 Hour diner" officially opened last June, closed a few days later, and then opened for realz in late August. A full two months later, the space was back on the market and then in January invited Go! Go! Curry to join as a co-habitant.
Somehow, we weren't so surprised when we got the following email this morning:
What's next for the doomed space, ahead.>>Mashups Gone Wrong: American Grill/Go! Go! Curry
The curse of Kiev? Since the East Village old-timer vacated the restaurant space on Second Avenue and 7th Street back in fall 2005, it's been nothing but downhill for the venue. Quick recap: American Grill opened in the space last summer, then closed under strange circumstances (above left), opened again, then, in November, went up for sale. Alrighty.
Except? Ready for the surprise twist? In late December, a sign indicating midtown curry joint Go! Go! Curry would take over the space appeared out front (above right). Okay, you might have thought—grill out, curry in. And yet—no. See, turns out Go! Go! didn't replace American Grill. No, no. Rather, it's cohabitating alongside it in what has to be the weirdest restaurant mashup since the Nathan's/Pizza Hut/Arthur Treacher's emporium on East 14th Street. A call to the venue today was met with the answer, "American Grill!" and then a man on the phone declaring, "Now we have curry too!" Can this get any weirder? (Spoiler: yes.)
A special correspondent files a report from Go! Go! Curry's debut last Saturday. And, a special photo reveal of the mashup. Please come forward inside! >>Botched Projects File: American Grill Back on the Market
The tragic story of the American Grill begins with an opening announcement that came a full two months early and ends here today with the property back on the market. American Grill, on the corner of Second Avenue and 7th Street, was to be a 24/7 diner and canteen for the neighborhood, but, then, yeah: no. There were epic delays, at which time an Eater reader noted, "If this establishment were within sight of McSorley's at the other end of the block, these guys might stand a chance -- Bounce Douche isn't going to bring enough drunk frat boys jonesin' for mediocre pancakes to save these folks. Paging David Chang's real estate broker." Then the actual opening. More reader color: "American Grill is open this morning. The one outstanding issue is that the entire staff seems to be gathered around a plasma watching soap operas."
And with today comes word that the diner has been put back on the market... >>Plywood Report: Special Lower Second Avenue Edition
What is it about the stretch of Second Avenue above Houston that so transfixes restaurateurs? The unspectacular architecture? The vague hope some of the crowd waiting at Mermaid Inn or Frank will give up the one-hour holding time and slum it at some other place nearby? Today, in a very special edition of the Plywood Report, we update the status of newcomers to what's sure to be a dining Mecca—er, any day now.
1) Second Ave. and 7th Street: It's been nearly a year at this point since a sign went up at the old Kiev space declaring that a spot called American Grill would be taking its place. As seen above, the interior looks ready; a sign on the window says there was a hearing for a beer and wine license earlier this week. Anyone know what went down? Or how they didn't manage to hang on to Kiev's license? Anyway, for the punchlist, per the photo below: remove the old Kiev signage. [POST-PLYWOOD]
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