When students returned to Morningside Heights to start the new semester, they found a spate of changes to the neighborhood’s streetscape, with old stores and restaurants closing down and new ones moving in.
Pinkberry, the Los Angeles-based frozen yogurt chain that could, is expanding uptown by opening a new location on Broadway between 111th and 112th streets. This seemingly cursed location has not proved profitable for either Tasti-D-Lite clone CremaLita or The Original Soupman of Broadway, yet this new store already has its sign up.
Nacho’s Kitchen, the Mexican restaurant-cum-bar that would let you in with a library card, is no more. This standby for students with bad IDs or a craving for burritos will be replaced by a juice bar. As you may have noticed, the site is still under construction, although the store originally said it would open in late summer. There is no word yet on when students will be able to go for a shot of wheatgrass juice rather than tequila.
Restoring the neighborhood’s Mexican food balance is the new Chipotle Mexican Grill, which opened in late June at the corner of 110th Street and Broadway and replaced the trouble-plagued Casbah Rouge. Ever popular with your friends from the affluent suburbs, this chain restaurant offers decent burritos, even if some people balk at the prices.
Across the street from Chipotle is the newly reopened and improved West Side Market. Closed since 2004, this old Morningside standby has returned in full force with competitive prices on a large selection of food.
Shifting our attention to Amsterdam Avenue, the new Artopolis Patisserie opened its doors over the summer between 113th and 114th streets, and offers pastries, cakes, and some top-notch gelato. Owned by one of the co-owners of Strokos, this new sweet tooth satisfier should prove as popular with Columbia students as the Hungarian Pastry Shop.
Further down Amsterdam, the trend toward more upscale establishments continues as Thai Market brings the flavor and atmosphere of Bangkok to the Upper West Side. Located between 107th and 108th streets, the restaurant tries to replicate the atmosphere of the southeast Asian capital with street signs and a cheerful feel.
Amsterdam bars Mona and Roadhouse are gone for good. When the bars were closed by city marshals last semester, it was unclear whether they would return. Now, in the spots sophomores once went for drinks, “For rent” signs haunt the windows, and it’s unclear what will replace the old watering holes.
Finally, moving north, China de Puebla, a new Chinese-Mexican fusion cuisine restaurant, now sits on the corner at Broadway and 123rd Street, offering a break from the same old-same old at John Jay.
Alex Peacocke can be reached at alex.peacocke@columbiaspectator.com.
