Stingy Lulu’s, East Village, NYC

Stingy Lulu’s, the East Village retro-style luncheonette, was opened in 1992 by Karacona Cinar and featured drag queens as waitresses. The storefront later was home to the Hop Devil Grill and was empty for quite some time with for rent signs visible before becoming part of a large Starbucks a few years ago that wraps around the corner of St. Mark's Place and Avenue A. We wonder what happened to those vintage Coca-Cola signs. If anyone knows where these ended up, we would love to know (hopefully they are on display somewhere and were not thrown in a dumpster).

#storefront #jamesandkarla #diner #luncheonette #cocacola #neon #dinersdriveinsanddives #coffeshop #disappearingfaceofnewyork #diners #coffeeshops #retro #retrostyle

Remedy Diner, Manhattan

This family-owned diner, which has been in business since 2007, not only has beautiful neon signs along its facade that cast a nice red glow on the surrounding street but also has multiple lights along its storefront that also give it warmth and character. Prior to the pandemic, Remedy Diner was open 24 hours a day but now operates more limited hours.

•

To watch our livestream walk highlighting this diner and many other small businesses along Houston Street please check out our JamesandKarla YouTube channel

•

https://youtu.be/ciCQoanhC5w

Pride March and Festival, NYC

Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village is a historic NYC landmark because of its cultural significance in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history. On June 28, 1969 the patrons of Stonewall Inn fought back against a police raid on the premises and the protests that followed for several days are credited with galvanizing gay activism in NY and around the world. In honor of the Stonewall Riots in 1969, New York City annually holds a Pride March and Festival, which we attended today. (Swipe left for 2nd photo).

•

To watch our livestream of the annual #pride March & festival today in NYC, please check out our Jamesandkarla YouTube channel (direct link below and in bio & IG story).

•

https://youtu.be/KX9864vxB88

Parkside Lounge

Parkside Lounge in the Lower East Side has been in business since 1956. Before it was a bar it operated as an icehouse & there even was a tunnel downstairs that used to run all the way to the river so that ice from the river could easily be transported into the house. Today, we were lucky enough to speak with the co-owner Christopher Lee who has lovingly maintained the bar’s vintage neon signage which you can see all the way down Houston Street. Our photo of @the_parkside_lounge_nyc from 2010 appears in our book "New York Nights".

•

To see our “tour” of this dive bar which has also live music performances, please check out our JamesandKarla YouTube channel, see direct link below & in bio and IG story.

•

https://youtu.be/ciCQoanhC5w

Union Square Roe vs. Wade Decision Protests livestream video

Sunset. Union Square Roe vs. Wade Decision Protests livestream video:

https://youtu.be/vnBckzdP0Ao

B&H Kosher Dairy Restaurant

B&H Kosher Dairy Restaurant on 2nd Avenue near St Mark’s Place was founded in 1938 by Abie Bergson and Jack Heller, when Second Avenue from 14th Street to Houston Street was considered “The Jewish Rialto” due to the large numbers of Yiddish theaters along the Avenue. The current owners of B&H are husband-and-wife team Aleksandra (Ola) and Fawzy Abdelwahed. Fawzy purchased the restaurant in 2003, and Ola joined him two years later. Both of them are immigrants (Ola a Catholic from Poland and Fawzy a Muslim from Egypt), who not only embrace the neighborhood’s diversity but still offer the same classic Jewish kosher comfort food (no meat served) including latkes, knishes, borscht, blintzes, pierogi, tuna sandwiches and their famous homemade challah bread.

•

Today, we visited @bandhdairy and Ola not only had just baked homemade challah bread (swipe left for 2nd photo) but she also was at the stove making fresh blintzes (swipe left for 3rd photo of our order of 2 blintzes filled with farmers cheese and blueberries as well as an order of challah French toast and the Wednesday special for only $9 consisting of a grilled cheese sandwich on challah bread and cup of soup (we chose mushroom barley but they also had borscht, vegetarian noodle and matzoh ball soup available). Everything we ate was absolutely delicious and made with love . We can’t overstate that this diner not only has incredible food which is very reasonably priced but the atmosphere is perfect as Ola and the staff take care of everyone as if you are a member of their family. (Swipe left for 4th & 5th photos of interior and Ola & staff with Karla)

•

To watch our livestream visit to help support this Jewish comfort food diner please visit our JamesandKarla YouTube channel, see direct link below & in bio and IG story.

•

https://youtu.be/MWkUDJBx7K8

Nick’s Blue Diner

Nick’s Blue Diner on East 138th Street in the South Bronx was located in a 1948 Kullman model dining car. We photographed this #diner and spoke with its owner, Nick Tzivas in 2017 and he told us that it had been in business for over 40 years and was best known for its hamburgers and served only breakfast and lunch, not dinner. We are not sure of the exact reason why this diner sadly closed in 2019 but there has been a great deal of new development in its area of the South Bronx so it may have been due to a rent increase.

#storefront #jamesandkarla #disappearingfaceofnewyork #diner #dinersdriveinsanddives #diners #nycdining #momandpopshops #momandpopshop #storefronts #gentrification #hamburgers #hamburger #dinerfood

Jimmy's Stationery & Toys

Jimmy's Stationery & Toys in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn‬ was in business for over 80 years before it was forced to close in 2015 after a new landlord purchased the building and evicted the retail tenant for having an expired lease. James "Jimmy" Leary purchased the store in 1968 leaving the storefront with its original tin ceiling, long counter, glass ‪candy‬ case and two private wooden telephone booths. Although i”the telephones were removed by the phone company in the 2000s, the booths remained and became a popular hangout for Jimmy's pet cat Sheshe. Tragically when Jimmy was evicted in 2015, his cat was still locked inside the store, and Jimmy had to fight his new landlord in court to have his cat returned to him.
•
Photo from 2006 appears in our book "STORE FRONT: The Disappearing Face of New York" along with a full interview with Jimmy Leary who told us that the very first Teddy Bear was created right next door to his store.
•
•
•
•
•
•
#storefront #jamesandkarla #toys #disappearingfaceofnewyork #bedfordstuyvesant #stationery #stationerylove #stationerylover #stationeryaddict #momandpopshop #momandpopshops #brooklyn #bedstuybrooklyn

D. D'Auria and Sons Pork Store

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads in the world including adopted dads and pet pawrent dads! In honor of father’s day, we are highlighting D. D'Auria and Sons Pork Store in the Little Italy of the Bronx. This amazing pork store was in business from 1938 until 2006. Sadly, this mom-and-pop shop was forced to close after its 2nd-generation owner Mike could no longer run the #shop (as told to us by Mike) and no younger family member was interested in taking over the business.

The main reason, however, that so many small businesses in NYC close after decades of business is due to a huge rent increase as most owners do NOT own the building their shop is located in. 35mm film photo from 2004 and full interview appear in our book, “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York”.

#fathersday #jamesandkarla #porksausage #disappearingfaceofnewyork #storefront #italianfood #italiansausage #porkstore #sausages #sausage #italianamerican #italianamericans #italianamericanfood #italianeats #pork #italy