A Reinvigorated Cake Shop Tries for a Return to Its Roots
This image has been archived or removed.
Cake Shop is boarded up. What appears catastrophic at first – yes, it looks closed – is little more than house cleaning. It’s not going anywhere. At least not yet.
After several years of well-documented struggles and the crowdfunding campaigns to assist, the eleven-year-old Cake Shop on Ludlow Street is turning the page on its next chapter. Time to pivot, and return to its roots. During the last such cash drive, an investor named Michael Thieme reportedly floated a majority of the support funds to keep the venue alive. He and his wife joined the business in June 2015, right around the time HUBB NYC purchased the frat residence for $29.1 million (aka Gotham Court). They, together with owner-brothers Nick and Andy Bodor, signed a ten-year lease, and remain committed to keeping music the sole focus.
Right now, HUBB is renovating the facade and remodeling the interior of the venue. (The original exterior was fairly antiseptic, so it’ll be interesting to see what they do.) Nighttime programing will continue unhindered, but Cake Shop will be closed dayside until completion. Grand reopening is tentatively scheduled for next Thursday, May 5. At that point, the main floor will again sell records like the early days, and the menu will get tweaked with “artisanal sandwiches.”
This image has been archived or removed.
The following letter is pasted to the plywood, which also carries the company branding.
Cake Shop is rebooting and looking forward to being here at least another 10 years! We will open this evening and have shows booked all week. We need the support, so come by at night.
We will be going back to our roots a bit and will have a grand reopening when it all comes together, so you can check it out when complete.
Recent Stories
Chinatown Asks, Where’s the Beef? [OP-ED]
In scenes reminiscent of life in the Soviet Union during the Cold War, where long lines were the norm for basic necessities and food, the past couple weeks of coronavirus quarantine have shown a crack here at home. Despite federal and state leaders’ calls to remain calm and reassurances that there are bountiful supplies of meat, vegetables and […]
The Crazy Line Outside Trader Joe’s on Grand Street
This is the queue outside Trader Joe’s on Grand Street. Distanced six feet apart, the line of shoppers snaked around onto Clinton Street and up to Broome. It’s a scene that plays out daily amidst the COVID-19 shutdown, as residents scramble for groceries. We were told that management allows a store occupancy of fifty to […]
DOB Unveils Real-Time Map Plotting Essential and Emergency Construction Sites
At the end of March, Governor Cuomo froze almost all construction projects statewide in response to the fast-moving COVID-19 pandemic and its infection of 19 workers around the city. Only essential projects are granted a pass – infrastructure and transportation projects, emergency repairs, hospital building, and work on affordable housing. It is these exception jobs […]
Pickle Guys to Close Next Week, Hope to Reopen in May
Some sour news indeed for Lower East Siders: The Pickle Guys are going on hiatus. Indefinitely. The brine stalwarts of Grand Street announced the closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which also coincides with the Jewish holiday of Passover. The pickle peeps hope to return at the beginning of May. The store will remain open […]
Straphanger at East Broadway Station Chases Down Mugger to Retrieve his Wallet
Criminals are still out there, in spite of the COVID-19 lockdown. Especially in the largely empty subway stations. East Broadway station again lives up to its dangerous reputation with a mugging there last week. According to police, a man entered the station at Rutgers Street and East Broadway at 8:45pm on March 24 to purchase […]
