Gone are the days of the humble coffee shop a la Central Perk in Friends— in our current era of Instagram, many cafes moonlight as bars or performance venues during off-hours, featuring trendy, eye-catching drinks and a strong social media presence as well.
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Openings
OddFellows Opens a Nolita Ice Cream Shop For People Who Take Their Lattes With Smoked Raisin Milk
It’s not yet ice cream weather (grrr), but that isn’t stopping OddFellows Ice Cream Co. from expanding to Nolita. The quirky parlor with locations in Williamsburg and the East Village just added another outpost at 55 East Houston Street, and there is a lot happening here.
Turn to the Left, Right: David Bowie Is Everywhere Right Now

Suit used for the Ziggy Stardust tour. Courtesy of the David Bowie Archive (c) Victoria and Albert Museum.
David Bowie made no secret of his love for New York; he was known for frequenting the Strand and sneaking into movies at the Angelika, spending his final years enjoying all that the city has to offer. Several upcoming events around town will pay tribute to the late, great Starman, who died after a battle with cancer in January 2016. Whether it’s through a gallery exhibition of behind-the-scenes photos from Bowie’s prime, or a themed dance party in Brooklyn, there’s no shortage of ways to show your love and appreciation for Bowie this month. Hang on to yourself.
Hungry Ghost Coffee Expands to Williamsburg

(Photo via @hungryghostcoffee
on Instagram)
Local coffee bar and cafe Hungry Ghost has opened a new location in Williamsburg at 721 Metropolitan Avenue, according to their Instagram. The local chain, which has other locations in Fort Greene, Prospect Heights and NYU Tisch, held a soft opening for their new Williamsburg outpost, at 721 Metropolitan Avenue, earlier this week.
First Look: McNally Jackson Books Opens in Williamsburg
It’s been nearly four years since news broke that beloved Soho bookstore McNally Jackson was opening a Williamsburg outpost. After a litany of delays, the store quietly opened on North 4th Street this past Sunday, and Brooklynites now have a new place to pick up Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House (speaking of things that aren’t expected to last four years). Yep, that’s it right in the window.
Village Openings: Fine-Dining Vets Open Cocktail Bar, French-Korean Spot

Soogil (Photo: Michael Tulipan)
New year, new eats.
Some fine-dining vets have opened a West Village cocktail bar in the former Diablo Royale space and a restaurant bringing French-Korean delicacies to the East Village.
Inside Nitehawk’s Revamp Of the Park Slope Pavilion Theater

All Photos by Diego Lynch.
Fourteen months before the 1929 stock market crash, a 1,516-seat theater struck someone as a good investment. Most of a century later, Park Slope is a good investment once more. Nitehawk Prospect Park Cinema will open a refurbished version of the theater in March.
Yesterday, Matthew Viragh, founder of Nitehawk, gave Bedford + Bowery a tour of the construction site.
Michelle Obama Cupcakes or Cardi B Carrot Cakes? You Can Get ‘Em Both at I.M. Pastry Studio

Tiffany Washington and Tamika Young, owners of I.M. Pastry Studio. (Photo courtesy of I.M. Pastry Studio)
A new boozy bakery just moved into the Lower East Side. The shop, I.M. Pastry Studio, relocated from its large space in Prospect Lefferts Gardens to a smaller stall in the lengthy Essex Street Market.
The in-store menu is loaded with treats named after boss ladies like Michelle Obama, Rihanna, and Oprah, which owner Tiffany Washington says is her favorite cupcake– it’s banana pudding flavored. When deciding between “lit” Bailey’s-infused cupcakes named after Mariah or Cardi B carrot cakes, customers often embrace Cardi B’s “I can get ’em both, I don’t wanna choose” sentiments, buying several at a time.
35,000 Drawings Turn a Vampire Classic Into a Story of Immigrant New York
For three years, Italian artist Andrea Mastrovito and a dozen assistants have slaved away on NYsferatu: a Symphonie of a Century, a remake of the 1922 vampire classic Nosferatu, but made out of 35,000 hand-drawn pictures. “This movie is my second wife right now,” Mastrovito told us. “We are always together, me and NYsferatu. And even if I love it, I love and hate it. NYsferatu has sucked my blood.”
At last, this Monday, the film will premiere at Pier 63.
Grand Banks Opens a Floating Seafood Bar In Brooklyn Bridge Park

Pilot’s main deck (© Kasper van Laarhoven)
East Village Community Gardens to Host Screenings of National Security Docs
Does government surveillance really get your goat? (To be honest I have never really understood that expression but I am just going to run with it.) Is your ideal evening spent watching documentaries on the deep state? If so, then you’re in luck.
In a new film fest running today through Aug. 5 — ominously titled “Spy vs. Us” — the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) in the East Village takes on national security and the surveillance state. Even better, like last year’s MoRUS-sponsored film and theater festivals, this year’s festival screenings will occur in the lovely environs of several community gardens. Tonight’s opening screening takes place in the roof garden of Alphabet City’s fabled Umbrella House.
Inside the East Village’s Plucky New Record Shop, Limited to One

Limited to One’s storefront at 221 E. 10th St.
Last month we wrote about Limited to One, the soon-to-be-unveiled 10th St. vinyl collectors’ haven that hopes to shake up the stereotype of the dusty East Village record shop. Created by the people behind the podcast and cult Instagram RecordNerdz, Limited to One says it plans to focus on contemporary limited-edition and rare vinyl runs — and in the process perhaps become “the Flight Club of record stores.”