Openings and closings: Sunglass Hut opens, Graceland closes … and more

From left: the Sunglass Hut on the corner of 49th Street and Fifth Avenue, and Graceland at the corner of Avenue A and 2nd Street

An eatery specializing in lobster rolls is opening in mid-May at 242 East 81st Street near the corner of Second Avenue.

On the Upper West Side, the Westside Independent brings word of several new openings, including a children’s store called Giggle at 350 Amsterdam Avenue between 76th and 77th streets; a Mexican restaurant and bar called Jalapeno at 77 West 68th Street on the corner of Columbus Avenue; a new Time Warner Cable store on the corner of 96th and Broadway; a new street-level studio for public television company WNET on the corner of 66th Street and Broadway; and a Mexican eatery called Cafe Frida at 768 Amsterdam Avenue on the corner of 98th Street.

An eatery specializing in homestyle Chinese food called Walle is opening at 251 East 53rd Street near the corner of Second Avenue. A Sunglass Hut location is opening on the corner of 49th Street and Fifth Avenue. Bill’s Bar & Burger is expanding beyond its Meatpacking District environs and opening a Midtown location at 16 West 51st Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues this summer. An on-the-go food shop called Market has opened in the Grand Hyatt hotel at 109 East 42nd Street between Park and Lexington avenues. A Lego store is opening in Rockefeller Center in a former Brookstone location at 620 Fifth Avenue near the corner of 50th Street.

Grimaldi’s pizzeria is opening in the Limelight Marketplace in Chelsea at 47 West 20th Street near Sixth Avenue in early May.

A Mediterranean-themed restaurant called Zerza is opening up at 308 East 6th Street between First and Second avenues. Tallgrass Burger is opening soon at 214 First Avenue on the corner of 3rd Street. A new Spanish tapas restaurant is opening at 174 First Avenue near the corner of 11th Street, according to the EV Grieve blog.

In Greenwich Village, a five-year-old bar called the Pinch was transformed into Triona’s after new ownership took over at 237 Sullivan Street near the corer of East 3rd Street.

A new grilled cheese eatery called Melted is opening on the Lower East Side at 101 Stanton Street on the corner of Ludlow Street.

The opening of the Sheraton Tribeca at 370 Canal Street near the corner of Wooster Street has been postponed to September 16.

In the Financial District, Crepes Du Nord is opening at 17 South William Street on the corner of Broad Street, offering both French and Scandinavian crepes. Five Guys burger chain is reportedly opening up a location on Fulton Street between Nassau and William streets. 

In Brooklyn, Bombay Garden restaurant is opening in Greenpoint at 651 Manhattan Avenue. In Bedford-Stuyvesant, a gourmet Italian eatery is reportedly opening on the corner of Stuyvesant Avenue and Macon Street. A club called the Rock Shop is opening in Park Slope at 249 4th Avenue. Lincoln Park Tavern has opened at 49 Lincoln Road in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. Bedford-Stuyvesant is getting was is reportedly its first sushi restaurant, when Sushi Tatsu opens soon on the corner of Bedford and Jefferson avenues. In Williamsburg, a new Banh Mi restaurant is opening on the corner of Grand and Lorimer streets.

Famed restaurateur Donatella Arpaia is opening a new restaurant in New York City soon, although it’s not immediately clear where. 

Amid these openings, there were some closings.

On the Upper West Side, Sal and Carmine Pizza at 2671 Broadway between 101st and 102nd streets has been shuttered by the Department of Health. A restaurant called the Elephant has been temporarily shuttered by court order at 58 East 1st Street between First and Second avenues. Bouley Bakery & market has shuttered at 130 West Broadway on the corner of Duane Street. Grocery store Graceland, a 19-year East Village mainstay on the corner of Avenue A and 2nd Street, is closing. A massive staff walk-out has forced the indefinite closure of Gorilla Coffee in Park Slope at 97 Fifth Avenue.