Mandala Tibetan Store Re-Opens After Renovation

Mandala Tibetan Store, which closed last month for renovations after five years on the corner of Seventh Avenue and Lincoln Place, reopened last week.

One of the few neighborhood businesses in recent memory to close for renovations and actualy re-open in a timely manner, the new and improved store doesn't actually look much different than it did before. I wasn't allowed to take photos inside the shop for some reason, but it appears as if the merchandise is what's changed the most; the emphasis now appears to be on jewelry as opposed to clothing and decorative items, as it was before. As you can see from the view into the front windows, colorful shawls and scarves are also featured. This shift actually makes a lot of sense; I'm sure that the authentic Tibetan clothing wasn't a big seller.

The space itself, while small to begin with, also appears to have been opened up a bit, but I can't place exactly what was changed. It's certainly far less cluttered than it had been in the past, however.

Mandala Tibetan Store Closed for Renovations

When I noticed that the windows of Mandala Tibetan Store, the shop that's held down the corner of Seventh Avenue and Lincoln Place since November 2007, had been covered over, I was admittedly afraid that it had closed for good. It's such an offbeat store that I assumed that the increasing rents had finally caught up with it. But fear not: owner Zumki Lama assured me that it will be opening back up within three weeks, as she's only knocking down a wall to allow for a little more floor space.

Lama runs the shop along with her brother Kunga, and the money brought in by this and the sister shop on St. Marks Place in the Village (which opened ten years prior) allowed her to bring her entire family over from Tibet.

Their assortment of authentic Tibetan merchandise, produced in India and Nepal due to trade restrictions, is quite intriguing, and makes for a unique shopping experience. Clothing, rugs, antiques, jewelry, decorative items and fabrics, and spiritual items are all unlike anything else in the area, and Kunga, who is usually the one behind the counter, can tell you the backstory and significance of any item in the shop.

Even tough the styles of clothing and jewelry sold there never had the mass appeal of some of the neighborhood's other boutiques, centered on Fifth, the merchandise has one quality that the others don't: uniqueness. And while there are countless examples of businesses being "closed for renovations" that are in fact closed for good, I think we can rest assured that this one will re-open, and when it does it'll look better than ever.

Facelift for Newsstand on Fifth and Ninth

The tiny, ramshackle news stand that's held down the corner of Fifth Avenue and Ninth Street since at least 1931 has gotten a glassy makeover.

I was always a fan of S&P's previous incarnation, which was brimming with newspapers, magazines, fading Spanish-language advertisements, cigarette ads, and even a couple old pay phones. The new version has been stripped of all character, the newspapers and magazines are gone save for a couple dailies and popular periodicals, and the interior is essentially wall to wall refrigerator cases full of soda bottles and chip bags.

While the old news stand was decidedly run down and "nothing special," at least it had a hint of that old-school New York character. And while its replacement is shiny and new, it's just a glass box. I sense a trend.

Update: Moutarde Now Closed for "Renovations"

It's been a few weeks since the windows were papered over at Moutarde, the French restaurant on the corner of Fifth and Carroll, which has only been open during the weekends for the past year. Finally we're getting some sort of an explanation, which was posted to the window a few days ago.

It appears as if the restaurant has in fact been under "renovation" (even though I haven't seen any construction going on), and it "should" be re-opening by the end of February. We've learned to take these signs with a grain of salt, though, as most of the time they're simply not true.

Odds on this place ever actually reopening?

Photo via Park Slope Stoop

Signage Up At Seventh Ave Gourmet (Formerly Ace)

The former Ace Supermarket on Seventh and Berkeley has been undergoing an extensive renovation since early this year, transforming it from a cramped, 60s-style market into a gleaming new full-service food store, rechristened 7th Ave Gourmet. The finishing touches are being made on the interior, which was completely gutted and remodeled (all that's really left to do is stock some shelves and get the deli counter up and running), and earlier this week some simple signage went up, along with a nice old-fashioned awning.

While it was a shame to see the old hand-painted sign go, I can't say I have much of an issue with its replacement.