(Photo: Ryan Porush)
Over the weekend a juice bar opened in what was, for 87 years, the home of Ninth Street Bakery. The owner of beQu worked at, yup, Liquiteria for 10 years, but if you were outraged by Liquiteria replacing Gray’s Papaya, you might be less up in arms about this: after all, Taras Strachnyi is a 20-year resident of St. Marks Place who used to buy bread at Ninth Street Bakery and knew the owners.
Strachnyi is hoping beQu (“beyond quality”) caters to his neighbors. “People want to see a familiar face,” said the Ukraine native, who started working at Liquiteria at the age of 15. “That is why I wanted to create this spot for the neighborhood, in a small space with tight management.”
(Photo: Ryan Porush)
Strachnyi created the menu of juices, smoothies and drinks, as well as organic oatmeal and granola. A 14-ounce homemade apple cider will run you about $5 and a 20-ouncer costs about $5.50. BeQu will strictly use only microbatches for juicing, which allows for more flavor and freshness, as opposed to larger juice presses, according to Strachnyi. Check out the menu below.
beQu Premium Juice Brand, 350 East Ninth St., East Village; nr. First Ave.; (212) 777-6507
Correction: The original version of this post was revised to correct an error. BeQu stands for “beyond quality,” not “better quality.”