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— The bright orange "seized" sticker was recently removed from the door of century-old East Village Italian restaurant Lanza’s, and someone picked up the mail that was piling up in the entryway. EV Grieve notes that the "closed until further notice" sign is still hanging in the window. The restaurant shuttered without any warning one month ago. Paperwork in the window indicated that the restaurant was seized because of non-payment of taxes. If you hear anything about the fate of this classic NYC establishment — which had a memorable cameo in Manhattan Murder Mystery — please let us know.
— Supermarket tycoon John Catsimatidis is offering a $5,000 reward for any information about bandits who stole 80 cartons of ice cream from the Chelsea location of Gristedes on Tuesday. The NYPD has received over 250 complaints about ice cream robberies so far this year. The police believe that the bandits are re-selling the ice cream to bodegas.
— Shake Shack is gearing up to open its 100th location next week. That’s a remarkable feat considering that the second Shake Shack opened less than eight years ago. To commemorate this major moment in the Shack’s history, all locations of the chain (except for the ballpark outposts) will be giving away Shackburgers to the first 100 people in line on Tuesday, August 16. Shake Shack number 100 is located in the Boston Seaport.
— Essex Street Market has a new craft beer store called Top Hops Beer.
— This is the last weekend to visit endearingly quirky Greenpoint restaurant River Styx before its major overhaul. On the River Styx homepage, the management explains: "The owners and staff aren’t going anywhere, we will reopen bigger and better as we shift our gears and follow our passions into a new and exciting venture that we know you will love."
— A new Mexican restaurant called Guac is coming to the old Mercadito space at 179 Avenue A.
— Astoria staple EuroMarket was seized by the state this week because of non-payment of taxes.
— Ligaya Mishan tries Bohemian Spirit, the new Czech restaurant inside the old Hospoda space inside Bohemian Hall on the UES: "At Bohemian Spirit, every item on the first page of the menu — snacks, soups, appetizers — is $6, and on the second, no entree rises above $19. In lieu of Hospoda’s red cabbage 'essence,' there is simply red cabbage, shredded and ingloriously heaped, sour and sweet. It makes a bed for a knobby duck leg, slow-cooked with caraway seeds and more delicious than beautiful."
— Demolition permits were filed for the Flagship Diner space in Briarwood, Queens. A condo is planned for this plot of land, but the owner of the diner says that he hopes to keep the restaurant open through the end of its lease in 2019.
— And finally, here’s a look at the Ample Hills ice cream bike: