East Village Institution Odessa Listed for Sale on Craigslist for $400K

Odessa Diner in the East Village is up for sale on Craigslist

After sitting vacant for nearly a year, former East Village late-night institution Odessa — which closed last July due to the pandemic — is now up for sale on Craigslist. The advertisement, first spotted by EVGrieve, is asking $400,000 for a buyer to take over the landmark 100-seat restaurant. Jason Pilku, the real estate broker involved with the sale, confirmed with Eater that the restaurant was put up for a sale a couple of weeks ago and has attracted interest from several potential buyers looking to revive the storied diner.

Pilku confirmed that Odessa’s former owners are retiring instead of pursuing a revival of the restaurant as previously planned. Last summer, after news broke that the diner was shutting down, co-owner Steve Helios told Gothamist that Odessa was actually only shutting down for renovations and planned to reopen in “early 2021.” Now, after sitting dark for months, Odessa is on the market. The decades-old Ukrainian diner, one of the few 24-hour restaurants left in the neighborhood, was a huge loss for the East Village when it shut down.

Update, 12:30 p.m.: This story has been updated with comments from real estate broker Jason Pilku.

In other news

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— Boerum Hill’s Grand Army Bar has a new chef leading the kitchen, Thom Chun, formerly of Coi in San Francisco, according to a restaurant representative. It also launched a new Nicolas Cage-themed cocktail menu for summer, and it is doling out free temporary Cage-themed tattoos at the bar courtesy of local tattoo artist Annie Lloyd.

— NYC ice cream shops — including Caffe Panna, Mikey Likes It, and Oddfellows — are debuting special flavors this weekend only with proceeds benefitting The Summer Camp Project, an initiative from NY Forever and the YMCA of New York that funds summer camp for kids in NYC, according to a representative for the project.

— A group of businesses in the East Village have banded together to offer month-long early bird specials through June, including half-priced pintxos and happy hour drinks at Spanish restaurant Huertas and a free kids-size ice cream cone with a $10 purchase at Ray’s Candy Store. Details and a full list of specials available here.

— Nathan’s Famous is adding vegan hot dogs to the menu at its 13 New York shops starting next week.

— Facts: