East Village Rock Bar HiFi to Close This Month

Big changes in the East Village

The East Village is going through two major shakeups. First up, HiFi will close at the end of October. The longtime rock bar has succumbed to changing tastes, co-owner Mike Stuto wrote on Facebook. “The generation of people who inhabit this neighborhood on weekends remain mostly indifferent to the place,” he said. HiFi has been in the neighborhood for 15 years as a haven for rock music.

Plus, it looks like beloved former Polish G.I. Delicatessen is turning into a third location of Shawarma House. The space at 109 First Avenue is currently under construction, and the halal Turkish restaurant with locations in Midtown East and Staten Island is on tap to take over.

Is Bobby Flay dating Scarlett Johansson?

If actress Scarlett Johansson’s rep is to be believed, then no, she is not dating notorious playboy chef Bobby Flay. But the two did dine together this past weekend in the Hamptons, though that’s because “they are friends as well as neighbors [in the Hamptons],” Johansson’s rep told the Post.

Ruby’s Cafe rebrands

As of October 30, Ruby’s Cafe in Nolita and Murray Hill will henceforth be known as Little Ruby. Owners Nick Mathers, Tim Sykes, and Thomas Lim are adding a Santa Monica location and decided to modernize the brand a bit in the process. Nothing else will change about the restaurants, and to mark the change, the restaurants will give away “little bites” on October 30 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Latinx chefs chat Latin food today

Eater.com senior editor Daniela Galarza will host a chef-filled panel at the New Latin Wave festival this upcoming Sunday, October 22. “Innovation vs. Tradition” will explore those two contrasting topics in the world of food, with La Newyorkina’s Fany Gerson, La Vara’s Alex Raij, Del Posto’s Melissa Rodriguez, Hot Bread Kitchen’s Jessamyn Rodriguez, and Colonia Verde’s Carolina Santos-Neves. Tickets and more information here.

Philly’s famed Federal Donuts returns to NYC

Philadelphia’s most popular doughnuts once again return to New York City for a pop-up this Friday, October 20 from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Chelsea Market’s hummus counter Dizengoff. Dizengoff owners Mike Solomonov and Steve Cook also own Federal Donuts — which is pimping out its new cookbook — so the cross-promotion makes sense. There will be three types of sugar-coated cake doughnuts for $2 each, plus free coffee from Ninth Street Espresso. Watch how Federal’s doughnuts are made below.