Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Lost on Carmine

Back to my collection of 1990s non-digital photos, I found two scenes lost from Carmine Street. One was the Village Flute and Sax repair shop. Run by Rick Rajca since 1977 and closed in 2001, the shop now exists online only.



In its place today stands a Thai restaurant. One of thousands of other Thai restaurants in the city.



I also found this photo of Joe's Pizza, on the corner of Carmine and Bleecker.

One of my favorite things about these two old photos are the people in them--the brass repairman in his apron, the old Villager in his trench coat and red necktie, possibly wearing a wig.



Joe's Pizza initially gave way--along with its Vegetable Garden neighbor--to Abatino's pizza and pasta. Today, Joe's lives on further along the block, but the Vegetable Garden wasn't so lucky.


photo: West Village Bob

Where Joe's and Vegetable Garden once were, there is now Grom--one in a chain of many from an Italian gelato company.

19 comments:

EV Grieve said...

That Grom storefront is just hideous.

Love the photo of the man in his trench coat. Wonder who or what he was waiting for....

More photos please!

Bowery Boogie said...

yeah, seriously. break open the vault!

T-Bone said...

actually, that Thai resturant is a mom and pop, home style cooking Thai food and is pretty good. you should go and try it someday for lunch. because its cheap and good, the line is usually out the door, so come early!

esquared™ said...

Stuff white people like -- Thai food

Alex in NYC said...

Nice shots, JM. I've long been thinking about doing a "Then & Now" montage of some of my old photos. Could be wildly depressing, though.

Jeremiah Moss said...

unfortunately, my vault of photos is not that deep, so i have to ladle them out bit by bit.

a "then and now" montage would be great. do it!

and no harm to the Thai place. i like Thai food (maybe because i'm white). it's one in a million, and i lament the loss of these rare instrument repair shops.

Ken Mac said...

one of many Thai restaurants in the hood, for sure, but that little joint offers excellent food, cheap and plentiful. Thanks for not including House of Oldies...

DBCHongkong said...

Stuff Thai people like.... thai food.

wtf???

Captain Bringdown said...

1) Saxophones and woodwinds aren't brass instruments; they're woodwinds.

2) There's an excellent, owner-operated guitar repair shop across the street. There are still several woodwind repair shops in Manhattan. Instrument repair shops aren't rare.

3) That particular Thai restaurant is the type of business this site should cherish, not bemoan. Totally unfair to put it in the same boat as the gelato hellhole.

esquared™ said...

that thai restaurant may serve exceptional food, but like JM says, it's one in a million in the city.

Also, my comment was referring to this. With the city becoming more suburban white, of course, a thai place, or something white people like, would replace that joint. Village flute and sax repair shop, on the other hand, catered to all types of people.

HERMOSA VINTAGE said...

Those Gino's Italian Ice signs are still all over the place. If it ain't broke.

Ken Mac said...

the Thai restaurant is not one a million in our neighborhood however. In fact, it's the only good takeout Thai between Houston and 14th. Oh, food white people like. Geesh, what a comment.

esquared™ said...

sure, ken mac. the comment was satirical. lighten up. i think you're taking things too personally.

Grade "A" Fancy said...

Ah, I loved that vegetable stand. There were press-on letters in the window that advertised "OLD DRINKS" -- probably had a "C" fronting it at one time....

Terry said...

That's me(Terry Deane) in that photo of the sax shop. It was a special place and it's sad to see that it's a Thai restaurant now. I used to eat lunch at Joe's nearly every day and I frequented the vegetable stand quite often as well. It's sad that they're all gone. Joe's is a couple of doors down now but it's not the same.

Jeremiah Moss said...

terry, thanks for writing in. you make for a great pic. i hope the repair business is still going well.

esquared™ said...

what i was trying to convey with my initial comment, but was unable to articulate it

Thai eateries are generally among the 'second wave' of retailers to set up shop in an up-and-coming part of town.

Understanding gentrification by new restaurants

via the awl

Jeremiah Moss said...

esquared, you're following up on a post from 2009? that's a memory. i like the link. "first comes mexican, then comes thai." and then what?

esquared™ said...

yes, 2009 -- seems like yesterday, but everything in new york is so hyper that 2 years could seem just like weeks, much like these new trendy restaurants and places...then comes what, indeed