Former Moby Haunt TeaNY on Rivington Street Closes for Good After 13 Years
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It’s oh so fitting that, as one Moby vegan joint gets going (Little Pine in LA), an original has gone under. We’re talking, of course, about Rivington Street staple TeaNY.
The restaurant had just reopened following an abbreviated closure due to tax troubles three weeks earlier. Now the premises is in the hands of the landlord vis-a-vis Marshal seizure. A leasing sign in the window of 90 Rivington is all the confirmation needed. Its lime-green walls are bare, the furnishings stripped and removed.
Thus passes another Lower East Side institution. It dates back to May 2002 when Moby and then-girlfriend Kelly Tisdale pooled their blood, cash, and tears to open the vegan tea cafe at 90 Rivington Street. The sub-level spot became a destination long before Hell Square earned its notorious nickname as a depository for B&T refuse. Moby later divested (though, rumor has it he maintained a minor stake), and a subsequent ownership change resulted in a brief stint as Teany-ssimo.
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Times were rough the last several years, thanks to a debilitating fire in 2009 (reportedly causing “minimal damage”), subsequent Department of Health closure, and aforementioned branding change.
90 Rivington is now a vacancy for the first time in thirteen years.
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TeaNY, circa April 2010
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