Gay City News reports: "Chelsea Hotel manager David Elder let slip that a new bakery/coffee shop will be moving in to the landmark building’s ground-floor space...inhabited for years by Dan’s Chelsea Guitars.... Elder would not disclose the name of the tenant or the terms of the lease, but did say that the owners do operate other locations throughout the city."
Chelsea Guitars
My inside connection now believes the donut shop will be Mark Israel's Doughnut Plant, which began distributing artisanal donuts to New York City in 1994 via Dean & Deluca and Balducci's. In 2000, they opened shop on Grand Street. Very quickly, lines began to form for their rose petal, passionfruit, and other atypical flavors.
photo: Psychopooch's flickr
Only time will tell whether the rumor is true, and if it will be Tim Horton's, the Doughnut Plant, or another chain (maybe "Lard Lad Donuts"?). One thing I feel pretty comfortable guaranteeing is this--it won't be any of these old-school, spell-it-donut donut shops moving in:
P.S. For those who like to argue spelling, please refer to this Wikipedia on the etymology of "donut."
*Update: The rumor has been confirmed by Time Out.
8 comments:
Good scoop, Jeremiah.
Speaking of Doughnut Plants... I bought some for the home, but they clashed with my Piggyback Plants.
(Yeah, boooo)
Doughnut Plant is gross. don't know why anyone likes that stuff.
I tried DP's donuts for the first time recently...not sure what all the hype is about, especially at $2+. Maybe I went for the wrong ones, but are people really that into donuts? Coffee, maybe, but I just don't see another donut place surviving very long.
GREAT news! DP rocks, definitely top 3 donuts in the city. I used to live in the LES and went there all the time, now I have to settle for the 2-3 flavors available at Joe or D&D.
Some of the cake donuts are good, but the real gems are the yeast donuts, especially the filled ones. The glazes all have fresh ingredients chopped into them too.
As far as donuts are concerned, in general, I don't get the "are people really that into donuts?" .. yes, they are. Always have been. I'll get a $3 donut once per week when they taste this good.
I'm with BigB. I love to find excuses to head over to DP. I have no problem with well-made food costing a little more, either. If I'm going to give up that many calories, I'd rather have it fresh and tasty.
What a presumtuous ass is this Mark Isreal to think his fatty fried dough will add "atmosphere" to the legendary artistic mecca, the Chelsea Hotel. Maybe during a cold day in hell.
Dollars to donuts says he never opens.
Anyone who has done homework knows the Chelsea Hotel is plagued with STOP WORK ORDERS from the city of NY ever since they demolished Bob Dylan's former crash pad without applying for permits.
This Isreal character apparently thinks his rent check and some empty calories will just erase all that? He'll be throwing his money away, and have building inspectors right up his a-hole until he decides its just not worth it.
Anyway, donuts are completely unimaginative and not a good fit for the Hotel. Why he thinks he can stay in business on 23rd street when Krispy Creme could not is beyond anyone actually living here in Chelsea.
Moving back to NY semi-permanently in a month, and the first unlucky basterd to mention any old-school food item with the preface "artisanal" in my presence is in for a piledriver onto the curb, then a bulldog down a flight of stairs.
Often overlooked, but very worthwhile:
Donut House, 387 Jay Street in downtown BK. Excellent (glazed)whole-wheat, yeasty-jellys, puffy crullers. On the same page as Donut Pub & Peter Pan in my book.
As for the food, it's the personification of "greasy-spoon."
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