On September 12, Adria served its last customers at 1556 Second Avenue, near East 81st Street. The coastal Italian restaurant had moved into the space in 2024 after Gray Hawk Grill. Within a week, East Side Feed reported that the next tenant would be Bluestone Lane, the Australian-inspired coffee chain known for flat whites and an all-day "brekkie" menu.
Across the avenue, signs for Myka, a frozen yogurt brand founded in Madrid, had already gone up at 1547 Second Avenue, in the space that most recently held Ania Rybka Salon. Two doors down, at 1543 Second Avenue, Chip City Cookies closed when the whole chain shut down at the start of October.
That makes three storefronts on one block changing hands in about a month, and two of the three new tenants sell coffee or frozen yogurt. The stretch of Second Avenue between East 80th and 81st Streets is becoming a place for coffee in the morning and something sweet after dinner. The Upper East Side's new sit-down dinners this fall opened on side streets and other avenues.
Three addresses, one block
| Address | Previous tenant | Incoming | Status in mid-October |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1543 Second Ave | Chip City Cookies | Not yet reported | Closed when the chain shut down |
| 1547 Second Ave | Ania Rybka Salon | Myka frozen yogurt | Signage up, no opening date announced |
| 1556 Second Ave | Adria, and Gray Hawk Grill before it | Bluestone Lane | Announced, no opening date |
Chip City's closing date depends on which outlet you read. East Side Feed said the stores would close at the end of business on Thursday, October 1. Patch described the shutdown as happening Friday. Either way, the closing was the end of a company, not a judgment on this block. Chip City came to the Upper East Side in October 2021 with this Second Avenue shop and added a Carnegie Hill location at 1371 Madison Avenue in 2023. That one closed too.
Adria's owners say they want to stay in the neighborhood. "We are currently exploring opportunities to relocate Adria within the neighborhood and hope to have more to share in the future," co-owner Endri Qalliu told East Side Feed, adding that there was no timeline yet. The same team runs La Dulce Vida on East 83rd Street and L'Osteria on Lexington Avenue, so they already have a presence nearby.
Bluestone Lane is also not new to the area. Its café at 1085 Fifth Avenue, between 89th and 90th Streets at the Church of the Heavenly Rest, serves Avocado Smash on multigrain and thick-cut toast with Vegemite. East Side Feed reported that it was not yet known whether the Second Avenue menu would match.
The dessert math on Second Avenue
Myka joins a dessert cluster that was already here. Pinkberry, 16 Handles and Anita Gelato all sit on Second Avenue between 81st and 82nd Streets, less than a block from 1547. Anita Gelato has been the anchor of that corner the longest. It opened at 1561 Second Avenue on September 3, 2020, and Patch reported lines after the opening.
Myka's version of frozen yogurt is tangier than the self-serve swirl of the 2000s. The base uses Greek yogurt and goat's milk kefir, each store makes its product on-site, and the shops add two seasonal flavors a month. Toppings follow a Mediterranean theme, with baklava, pistachio sauce, honey, olive oil, and fig and orange compotes. The brand opened its first store in Madrid in 2023 and, by the company's count, has grown to 51 locations. In Manhattan, it already has shops in the West Village, Union Square and Rockefeller Center.
Frozen yogurt has also been opening elsewhere on the Upper East Side this year:
- Mythos, 1269 First Avenue between 68th and 69th Streets, opened June 11, 2026, as the brand's first U.S. shop. It serves Greek-yogurt flavors with toppings like baklava, figs, grapes and pomegranate.
- Mimi's, 997 Lexington Avenue at East 72nd Street, was set to open at noon on September 10 with daily hours of noon to 10 p.m. The Australian brand is known for block-long lines at its SoHo and Greenwich Village shops. Its by-weight cups use Greek yogurt, milk and kefir with real-fruit purées.
- Yogurt Club, 1240 Lexington Avenue, already had a page on The Infatuation by November 2025, which describes its extra-strained Greek yogurt as a trend from South Korea.
Patch called the Upper East Side "a boomtown for Instagrammable frozen yogurt and the long lines that come with it." If Myka opens as planned, East 80th to 82nd Street would have four frozen dessert shops within about a block of each other. On Second Avenue, the dessert counter is becoming the main business.
Where this fall's dinners opened
The restaurants that opened for lunch and dinner this fall chose different locations. Several came from operators who already run places in the neighborhood. None opened on this block.
Kuriya opened September 6 at 219 East 85th Street, between Second and Third Avenues. It is a soba house from the team behind the Japanese rice bowl restaurant Suki Desu, and Eater NY describes noodles served on a tatami mat for dipping or topped with raw seafood.
La Sardine opened September 9 at 1614 Third Avenue at East 91st Street. It is a seafood-focused wine bar with seafood towers, fried-oyster brioche sliders and merguez meatballs, from the team behind Bar Vivant nearby and Alison in East Harlem and the East Village.
Bon Ga took over 408 East 64th Street, between First and York Avenues, after Bayon, the Michelin-recognized Cambodian restaurant that closed this summer after 45 years. Bon Ga serves Korean comfort food in a 10-table dining room, with a back area that seats 26 outdoors.
Ob Uan opened in the former Spice space at 1479 First Avenue at East 77th Street. The Thai menu features specific regions, from khao soy gai in the north to a crab curry from Surat Thani in the south.
Morning coffee is also spreading east of Second Avenue. Coffee Project New York, founded by Chi Sum Ngai and Kaleena Teoh, planned a September 20 grand opening at 1219 First Avenue at East 66th Street. By September 25, Upper East Site was reporting it open.
Three of these four restaurant openings are on First Avenue, Third Avenue or a side street, and the fourth is on East 64th Street. On the block between 80th and 81st, the only restaurant-sized space that changed hands is going to a coffee chain.
What is still only signage
As of mid-October, the Upper East Side has several openings announced that have not happened yet:
- Myka, 1547 Second Avenue. Signage is up, but no opening date has been announced.
- Bluestone Lane, 1556 Second Avenue. The takeover has been announced, but there is no opening date.
- Pepe & Vera, 1712 First Avenue. Caterina Pepe and Wilson Vera are tentatively aiming for Thanksgiving week. Pepe will run the kitchen and Vera the dining room. Vera previously co-owned Vespa on Second Avenue.
- Tulipán Kitchen, 1065 Madison Avenue between 80th and 81st Streets. It is part of the Tulipán Foundation's Hungarian cultural center, and Patch described it as coming soon in early October.
- Ship of Fools, First Avenue at East 63rd Street, with a target opening of January 2027.
The last one connects directly to this stretch of Second Avenue. Ship of Fools stood at the corner of Second Avenue and East 82nd Street from 1996 to 2012. Owner Glenn Treacher told Patch it was never meant to be a sports bar. That changed when it opened during the Yankees' 1996 playoff run, and it became the neighborhood's place to watch. Treacher and his wife, Owen, are bringing it back 19 blocks south and one avenue east, on First Avenue at East 63rd Street. Today, the part of Second Avenue it once anchored is lined with gelato and frozen yogurt counters.
Changes at street level, like a dessert cluster forming or a dinner spot becoming a café, affect how a block feels at 9 a.m. and at 9 p.m. Buyers notice those changes too. If you own on or near Second Avenue in the low 80s and want to know how your block's changing storefronts figure into your home's value, Steven Cohen Team would be glad to prepare a complimentary market valuation or arrange a private consultation.
