Within a few days of each other, two doughnut imports have landed in Lower Manhattan: Randy’s Donuts, the 70-year-old Los Angeles brand, officially opens its first East Coast shop on 185 Bleecker Street, at MacDougal Street, in Greenwich Village, bringing more than 30 flavors divided by classic (sugar, sprinkled), deluxe (blueberry cake, chocolate long john), and fancy (coconut, bear claw).
Meanwhile, a few days earlier, Homie’s Donuts opened — related to Montreal’s Homers Donuts — from Queens-raised childhood friends Steve Stilianudakis, Dean Marangoudakis, and Chris Marangoudakis. The new shop is in Nolita at 23 Cleveland Place, between Kenmare and Spring Streets, with around 25 flavors, including creme brulee, chocolate crunch, and birthday cake, skewing more small-batch and eclectic than the West Coast icon. These shops build on the momentum of bakeries opening around New York, whether they’re broadly French or Italian or focused on a niche, such as other imported doughnut shops like the Japanese I’m donut?.
A new bookstore cafe is headed for the East Village
According to the community board application, a new bookstore and cafe is moving along at 170 Avenue A, at 11th Street, in what had been the 7-Eleven, EV Grieve reports. The 34-seat cafe, split between a bar and a handful of tables, intends to open from 8 a.m. to midnight, with a menu of pastries, sandwiches, cheese boards, and desserts. Marianna Vaidman Stone is behind the project, formerly working in city government and nonprofit work, according to the blog.
Celebrate the season at James Beard’s Platform
Platform by the James Beard Foundation at Pier 57 is rolling out a holiday dinner series through Thursday, December 18, with multi-course menus from big-name chefs, including chef David Standridge, the 2024 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef: Northeast, doing a Feast of the Seven Fishes tonight, Wednesday, December 10 ($185 to $210). The Celebration of the Festival of Lights is on Thursday, December 11, with Eden Grinshpan, the author of Tahini Baby, Host of Top Chef Canada, and founder of Eden Eats. Then on Wednesday, December 17, three-time James Beard Award nominee chef Nasim Alikhani of Brooklyn’s Sofreh joins host Nilou Motamed for Yalda, Persia’s ancient winter solstice celebration. These events and more can be found on the James Beard events listings.