Siblings spice up BLVD Bistro

By Sarah Kuras for Uptownflavor What happens when you mix southern-style cooking, two siblings, and an old café? BLVD in Harlem, of course. This renovated and remixed restaurant reintroduced itself to Harlem on March 15 as a joint project between siblings Joi and Carlos Swepson. By adding a few small touches, the pair turned a …

Harlem Haberdashery comes to Lenox Avenue

Uptownflavor had a chance to sit down with Shay Woods, one of the co-owners of 5001 Flavors and Harlem Haberdashery to discuss the new store, long-time clients of their  custom clothing company, and shifts in the entertainment business. We will post the interview in a separate post, but first we wanted to share exclusive first …

Harlem Haberdashery’s Mural on Lenox

Uptownflavor had a chance to get a sneak peek at the forthcoming Harlem Haberdashery coming to 245 Lenox Avenue between 122nd and 123rd.  Check back for our conversation with Shay Woods, one of the owners of the new store, and more photos of the construction taking place inside. Harlem Haberdashery is slated to open in …

Les Ambassades opens a Bar & Restaurant

Around this time last year, Les Ambassades (also known as Patisserie Des Ambassades) opened a second location called Ambassades Buffet above 125th Street on Lenox. Perhaps there was not enough business to sustain them, or perhaps they wanted to shift with the changing tide.  Perhaps it was the B letter grade they received at their …

Lenox Social open for business

Lenox Social quietly opened up last week with limited hours and great reviews on Yelp! Lenox Social 321 Lenox Ave (between 126th St & 127th St) New York, NY 10027 (212) 510-8552 http://www.lenoxsocialnyc.com

The Harlem Treasure Chest Flea Market

We missed the grand opening of Harlem’s new flea market last week, but fortunately happened to be in the area around The Harlem Treasure Chest on Sunday. The dirt and gravel lot was full of vendors, but had very few customers in the middle of the afternoon on a spring-like day. Perhaps people still don’t …

My Image Studios under construction

The journey Back in 2007, I met with the developers of the Kalahari. Carlton Brown and Walter Edwards, of Full Spectrum, were extremely excited about the opening of their first green residential development in Harlem.  The development was to include space for a custom-designed, state-of-the-art movie theater, dedicated to showing independent black and Latino films. …

Eat Harlem Delivery Service

If you have been following Uptownflavor for a while, then you know we have seen many different Harlem-specific delivery services come and go.  There is Harlem to Go, Harlem Delivers, and the most recent to land on the scene is Eat Harlem. Eat Harlem launched on Thanksgiving of this year. Deborah Umunnabuike and Vincent Choi …

Look out Starbucks, a new cafe comes to Harlem

A few months ago my coworker and I were walking back from Chill Berry discussing the closing of Le Perle Noire Cafe and the opening of Island Salad on Lenox. As we strolled down 129th Street off of Lenox, we spotted what appeared to be a cafe under construction. Fast forward to the middle of …

La Perle Noire is Now Island Salad II

We just received some exciting (yet sad) news.  First the bad news: My favorite cafe, La Perle Noire, is closed for good. The good news is that it is reopening as Island Salad II. Johnny, the owner of La Perle Noire, confirmed the closing saying that he has been so busy with his work in …

New bistro Cedric coming to St. Nicholas Avenue

We were sad to learn to that one of Harlem’s favorite eateries is down for the count. We held out hope that Mojo would be able to get their act together and come back on the scene stronger than ever, but last week we found out that Mojo was gone for good. The New York …

Bad Horse Pizza saddles up for its opening weekend

The tables, chairs, and bar are all set up and ready to greet the first customers that come through the door on Friday. The kitchen staff, many hired through New York Business Solutions on 125th Street, are prepping the ingredients for this weekend’s ‘soft’ opening of Bad Horse Pizza. As the opening date grows nearer …

What’s up with Soul Fixins’ in East Harlem?

Back in November, Eating in Translation snapped a photo of a new Soul Fixins’ that cropped up on Second Avenue. Does anyone know the status of it? Soul Fixins’ is a take out soul food restaurant that used to be on 34th Street before moving to 28th Street. Soul Fixins’

Now Open: Jahlookova Health Food

After many months of thinking another “gourmet” deli was coming to Madison Avenue, Jahlookova has finally been unveiled. We didn’t get a chance to go inside, but it appears to be another healthy eating option for East Harlemites. Advertising organic coffee and tea, natural herbs and veggie patties Jahlookova seems to fit in nicely with …

Aloft Harlem Grand Opening

Photos by: D. Bell This past Friday, Aloft Harlem opened their doors to the community with a grand opening celebration. The event was open invitation and many of Harlem’s key movers and shakers were in attendance. The event opened with a book signing of the Harlem Travel Guide by co-authors Valerie Bradley and Carolyn Johnson. There …

New pizza place coming to Frederick Douglass Blvd. (updated)

Bad Horse Pizza is slated to open at 2222 – 2224 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, across from the Triangle building. The space was formerly occupied by Corcoran, before they bailed out of Harlem. Anyone have any inside information about Bad Horse Pizza?  I hope they consider a new name before opening. Bad Horse is simply a bad …

Frizzante is now Lido

Photo by D. Bell After much wondering about the future of what was formerly Frizzante, a short-lived Italian restaurant on Frederick Douglass Boulevard, a fresh and vibrant blue awning reveals that it will be reincarnated as Lido. From the look of construction going on inside it might be open as early as next month.  Yesterday, …

East Harlem’s Vinyl Wine featured in Edible Manhattan

Ed. Note: Reposted with permission from Gloria Dawson of East Harlem NYC By Gloria Dawson East Harlem has been in desperate need of a good wine shop for some time, and this past summer we finally got one — Vinyl Wine. After checking out the store’s great selection and awesome vibe, I thought the shop, …

Doug E. Fresh’s Chicken

Word is floating around in the press that Doug E. Fresh has finally opened his long awaited restaurant in Harlem. We suspect that it was a soft opening, as it is always closed whenever we pass the colorful eatery. Read more about Doug E’s plans for the restaurant in the link: Hip-Hop Hooray: Food Comes To …

Bibi Salon brings downtown style to Frederick Douglass Blvd.

Frederick Douglass is heating up to be the hottest street in Harlem, soon to rival 125th Street in grandeur! With Polished Nail Salon and Bibi Hair salon, uptown girls will never have to head downtown again for their grooming needs again! In a week that has been jammed packed with launch parties Bibi Salon, an …

A week in pictures: Red Rooster Preview

Read the accompanying article: Black Atlas Preview of Red Rooster

Black Atlas preview of Red Rooster

Black Atlas and American Airlines teamed up to host a sneak preview and private dinner at Red Rooster last night.  Winners of the Black Atlas scavenger hunt, as well as invited guests were treated to dinner and cocktails at what is turning out to be the hottest new restaurant in Harlem. The upstairs interior is …

Red Rooster Update

More news about Harlem’s forthcoming Red Rooster restaurant. http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/archives/2010/09/the_red_rooster.php Posted on location via my mobile.

New ‘evolution’ store at East River Plaza

Verizon opened its newest “evolution” Communications Store in East Harlem. The new store, located within East River Plaza at 517 East 117th Street (second level, next to Target), incorporates a new interactive retail design inviting customers to experience wireless voice, data, music and video services in a sleek, full-service environment. Store hours are Monday through …

From gas to grill: New Harlem eatery in former gas station

Crain’s reports on a unique new hang out spot opening in Harlem http://mobile.newyorkbusiness.com/device/article.php?id=&CALL_URL=http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100903/SMALLBIZ/100909948 Posted on location via my mobile.

Sneak Peek: Petsmart opens in East River Plaza

This morning Uptownflavor took a sneak peek at the newest addition to the East River Plaza.  Keeping with the trend of breaking new ground, PetSmart has opened its first store in Manhattan on the lower level of the East Harlem shopping center. Prior to opening the new store customers had to travel to Yonkers or …

Pet Smart is coming to Harlem

Great news for Harlem pet owners. A new Pet Smart is opening in the East River Plaza. Like most other locations the 30,000 square foot Harlem location will include trained groomers, customize adoptions, a training ring, the Banfield Clinic, and a Pets Hotel that includes the Doggie Day Camp day care center where pets get …

Harlem Target Sneak Peek

The official grand opening of the first Target to open on the island of Manhattan isn’t until Sunday, but big name stars and local celebrities couldn’t wait to come see what the mega-chain had to offer on a balmy Tuesday night. Target hosted a red carpet affair unlike any Harlem has seen since its former …

East Harlem Target’s Red Carpet

Target rolled out the red carpet to invited guests for an exclusive “sneak peek” at the new East Harlem store set to open on July 25th.  Local celebrities from some of our favorite Harlem institutions, as well as models, actors, and singers made East Harlem their destination last night.  On the red carpet, it was …

Harlem’s Meat: Your neighborhood butcher

Fourth of July weekend usually means lots of grilling and chilling in Harlem. If you want a great selection of quality meats to throw on the grill without breaking the bank then you will want to swing by Harlem’s Meat. The modern version of a butcher shop, Harlem’s Meat opened a couple of months ago …

Star studded grand opening for Harlem Target

The Wall Street Journal reports that Target has been busy buttering up Harlem’s trendsetters in preparation for the grand opening celebration later this month in East Harlem. According to the WSJ: The 10-car No. 6 train that will deposit riders on a platform linking to the store by a pedestrian bridge will be wrapped through …

Chocolat is hiring

Construction on Chocolat is moving right along. The bar is in place and there appeared to be some activity going on inside the space on Sunday. If you remember, it was a little over a year ago when we first caught wind that Chocolat was making a long anticipated comeback to the Harlem lounge scene. …

Now Open: Jacob Restaurant

Photo by NARMER. Jacob’s 2695 Frederick Douglass Boulevard on the corner of 143rd Street.

Jacob Restaurant opens a second location

ByUptownflavor Photos. Jacob Restaurant and Soul Food Salad Bar is opening a second location, after only a year in business. The original location, on Lenox Avenue, was opened by former Manna employee Rachid Niang. Niang is a Senegalese immigrant with more than 15 years experience in the food service industry. The new location is expected …

New: Sub Conscious opens a second location

Sub Conscious Subs, which already has a location near Columbia, has recently opened up a second location near City College at 1625 Amsterdam Avenue at 140th Street. Check out their offerings by visiting their website: http://www.subsconscious.com

Today: Apply to work at the Aloft Harlem

New: Atrium Cafe at The Studio Museum in Harlem

The Studio Museum in Harlem added a new addition last weekend. The Atrium Café will be open for business on Saturdays (11am-5pm) and Sundays (12-5pm). Located in the museum’s atrium, alongside Glenn Ligon’s iconic neon sculpture Give Us A Poem (2007), the café is a partnership with Great Performances, a catering company known for creating …

Fine Fare opens new store on 145th Street

Fine Fare, originally uploaded by Uptownflavor Photos. A long awaited opening of the new Fine Fare took place last week on the corner of 145th Street and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard. The new store replaces a Pioneer Market that closed up several years ago. Read about the history of this market below. http://uptownflavor.com/2010/04/05/the-roosevelt-theater-now-a-fine-fair-market

Doug E’s opening soon

Photo by Uptownflavor Photos. After much adieu, Doug E’s Fresh Chicken and Waffles plans to be open by the summer! The projected date set by the rap pioneer is some time in May of this year. Yes, that is next month! The colorful restaurant looks like everything is in place and just waiting for its …

?????

A small storefront in the vicintity of 120th and Frederick Douglass has its windows covered with blue question marks. Anyone know what’s coming?