6th Ave Food Court

The block of 6th Avenue between 21st and 22nd looks like the food court in a suburban shopping mall. A new Chickpea (formerly restricted to the East Village/LES invasion) is moving in next to a new Red Mango, which is next to a McDonald's, which is next to a Starbucks. The chain of chains is broken only by the Greenkay furniture company--which is followed by a Chipotle, then a New York Burger Co.



But Greenkay now has a For Rent sign over it.

I don't know how long Greenkay has been in business, but it seems like a long time. They specialize in stripped metal office furniture, which looks pretty cool, and is even a favorite of home decor blog Apartment Therapy.



The Chipotle and New York Burger went into the former Wolf Paper & Twine buildings, one of which still has a painted sign high up on the bricks. According to Walter Grutchfield's 14to42, Wolf was founded by a Russian named Wolf Lubitz in 1916 and was located here from the 1940s until 2003. (Click here to read about Mr. Grutchfield.)


photo: Walter Grutchfield, 2002

There's not much left to see here. Although, around the corner on 21st, hidden out of sight, you'll still find Ace Pump Corp., family owned since 1936 and sporting a nifty sign.