Openings and closings: Yatenga French Bistro and Bar opens, Aamchi Pao closes … and more

From left: Yatenga French Bistro and Bar at 2269 Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard and Aamchi Pao at 194 Bleecker Street

In Harlem, the Yatenga French Bistro and Bar has opened at 2269 Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard Near 134th Street.

In Midtown, the Tequila Library is opening at 622 Third Avenue between 40th and 41st streets. Frankie & Johnnie’s Steakhouse on West 45th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue has plans to expand its space, as was confirmed to The Real Deal in a phone call.
A new roving street food vendor, the Munch Truck, was spotted at 56th Street and Park Avenue. The Urban Lobster Shack has opened a Midtown location at 805 Third Avenue Near 49th Street.

In the Fashion District, Bon Chon Chicken has opened at 207 West 38th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues.

Danny Meyer and Ian Schrager are reportedly in talks to open a new rooftop restaurant in Schrager’s Gramercy Park Hotel at 2 Lexington Avenue between 21st and 22nd streets, although the timing of the planned open is being kept very hush-hush.

A new gourmet coffee shop is opening in Tribeca at 21 Worth Street near the corner of West Broadway.

In the East Village, Superdive bar at 200 Avenue A between East 13th and East 12th Street has transitioned to limited “winter hours.” The Cooper Square Hotel Bar on the Bowery near the corner of East 6th Street is being transformed into a café. After an extended hiatus, Café 81 on the corner of 7th Street and First Avenue has reportedly reopened. A new Cuban restaurant opened today at 443 East 6th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue. The folks behind the ultra-popular Artichoke Basille’s Pizzeria are opening a new bakery and ice cream shop called Led Zeppole on the same block at 328 East 14th Street between First and Second avenues.

The new Maximo Pino Café is sent to open this week at 504 Sixth Avenue at the corner of 13th Street.

The former home of the Strand Annex at 95 Fulton Street in the Financial District is now a Lot Less discount store.

In Brooklyn, the owner of Rice and Rockaway Taco is opening a new location at 81 Washington Street in Dumbo. A new banh mi shop will be serving up Vietnamese delights on Fifth Avenue between 5th and 6th streets in Park Slope. In Downtown Brooklyn, a new Arby’s has officially opened at 372 Fulton Street. Bread and Butter comfort foodery has opened at 46 Henry Street on the corner of Cranberry Street in Brooklyn Heights. In Greenpoint, the owners of Vinnie’s pizzeria have opened a new location on the corner of Nassau and Kingsland avenues. In Gowanus, Brooklyn Homebrew has opened in a new location at the corner of 8th Street and Third Avenue. The owners of the Hooters chain of restaurants are reportedly eyeing Brooklyn for their next location with plans to move onto the Bronx in the future.

Amid these openings there were a few closings. The Lexington Avenue branch of eatery Rice on the corner of 28th Street has closed. In Greenwich Village, Indian street food shop Aamchi Pao, located at 194 Bleecker Street between MacDougal Street and Sixth Avenue, has closed. In the West Village, the Elixir juice bar at 523 Hudson Street between West 10th and Charles streets has shuttered in favor of finding a new location.