After a see-sawing week of failed inspections, late-night cleanings, and repeated visits from the DOH, a-la-minute East Village photographer Bob Arihood reports that as of 3 p.m. this afternoon, beleaguered Avenue A institution Ray's Candy Store officially, legally, open for business.
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Results tagged “rayalvarez”
Ray's Candy Store Is Legally Open!
Is The Health Department Being Too Hard On Ray's Candy Store?
The Health Department isn't playing with poor old Ray Alvarez, whose eponymous Candy Store has been an Avenue A institution for generations. The indispensable East Village photographer Bob Arihood has the latest update on the beleaguered snack shop, which has been paid four visits from Health inspectors this week. The shop was initially shut down by the DOH on Monday after racking up 53 violation points and the discovery of an "extensive mice infestation." Arihood reports that the latest inspection produced even more violations than the first inspection, and he thinks the city is coming down too hard on the Candy Store.
Ray's Candy Store Shuttered For "Extensive Mice Infestation"
Seems like it's always something with Ray's Candy Store, the classic Avenue A snack shop that specializes in milkshakes, egg creams, french fries, and character. Having overcome a rent dispute with his landlord last year, owner Ray Alvarez now has a new set of problems: the city Health Department, which has ordered him to close down after racking up 53 violation points on an inspection this morning. A spokesperson for the Health Department tells us Ray's was ordered closed for unsanitary conditions, including extensive mice infestation. In order to re-open they must correct violations and pass a re-opening inspection. But it appears that Alvarez didn't follow the order to close!
Ray's Candy Store Owner Gets Striptease for 78th Birthday
Last night Ray Alvarez, who owns the essential Avenue A hole-in-the-wall Ray's Candy Store, celebrated his 78th birthday with the usual pomp and circumstance: a strip tease performed in his honor on the shop's counter. Any senior citizen with a weaker constitution might have had a stroke right there, but Alvarez is a survivor. On his 77th birthday last year, he was over two months behind on his $3,000-a-month rent and the building's managing agent was threatening to evict him.
Ray's Candy Store Back From the Brink, But Without Fries!
After falling behind on his $3,700 rent and almost getting evicted by his landlord, the owner of Avenue A hole-in-the-wall institution Ray's Candy Store says things are looking up. 77-year-old Ray Alvarez, who opened the little burger, shake and fries joint in 1974, tells the Villager the landlord is no longer trying to get rid of him, and he's received $36,000 in back-pay from Social Security (until now Alavarez, a Turkish immigrant, has been unable to receive Social Security). The money is enough to keep things afloat, but now there's a new problem.
Tough Times Down on the East Side: Kurve and Ray's Imperiled
Two distinct East Village establishments are on the verge of going under, and though the businesses are polar opposites, their troubles highlight the downward spiral of the neighborhood into a boarded-up ghost town dotted with high rise condos. Exhibit A, Kurve, is no surprise; the long-delayed Thai restaurant from acclaimed chef Andy Chang (Rhong-Tiam) finally opened last Autumn to disastrous reviews . But given Kurve's groovy design and its party zone location, it seemed possible the drunken masses would keep it afloat. In better times, maybe, but today Eater reports that the restaurant has been abruptly shut down, with an eviction notice on the door demanding $52,253.43 in back rent from last May.
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