Five Forest Hills Businesses That Should Expand

Red Pipe

1. Red Pipe Cafe
Forest Hills' only indie cafe is charming, delightful, delicious and cozy. And while the coziness is certainly part of its charm, a bigger space with more room to spread out wouldn't hurt one of the neighborhood's finest spots.

2. La Boulangerie
Our best bakery offers delectable eats, from sandwiches, to salads, to breads and soups. And the space, like Red Pipe, is authentic, cozy and inviting. But also usually crowded. It could easily double in size and maintain its French mystique.

3. Starbucks (71st Continental)
Why not? We're home to one of the tiniest Starbucks on Earth.

4. Mr Vino's Cucina
I recently had a sandwich from this tiny gourmet food shop on Austin St. and it was terrific—fresh and delicious. This shop has the potential to be so much more than just a gourmet food/craft beer emporium. I can see it as a sit-down lunch place with light casual top-notch sandwiches and salads, something our 'hood so desperately still needs.

5. Red Mango
See No. 3.

Queens Boulevard—The Next Foodie Zone?

It seems like the blocks along Queens Blvd. are starting now to mimic what's been happening down on Metropolitan Ave. with all the new restaurants opening. And it makes perfect sense—they're probably a lot less rent than along Austin St. so we're starting to see all kinds of new independent restaurants open up there. It's a very exciting trend. And with the planned beautification of Queens Blvd. which just started in Jackson Heights and is supposed to eventually make its way down here, too, could it be we are on the cusp of a rejuvenated and actually enticing Queens Blvd. corridor?

Matiz, a new Latin restaurant which sounds very interesting, recently opened at the corner of 73rd Road and Queens Blvd. If anyone has tried it yet, let us know how it is. I'll check it out asap, too.

And DNAInfo reports that Thai Boulevard will soon reopen at 110-70 Queens Blvd.

DNAInfo also says the Indian restaurant Baluchi's, closed by the health department for various unpleasantness, will reopen in the fall as some kind of lounge by the same owners. Um, ok....

Meanwhile, on Austin St., a reliable commenter on the Blog's Facebook Page says the former Bonfire Grill is being converted into a new restaurant by the owners of Jack & Nellies on Ascan. It will serve American fare and be open for lunch.

And Red Mango recently broke out of its claustrophobic space at the corner of Restaurant Row to begin outdoor seating, immediately making it immensely more enjoyable. The photo below is from this Sunday morning when they were putting out the tables...

Elevator Entrance Being Installed at 71st/Continental Station

They were installing the elevator entrance at the 71st/Continental Ave. subway station last evening.

Also, by the way, I noticed the construction has finally begun on the 7-Eleven right across from this, next to the Red Mango.

And speaking of convenience stores, I received yet another confirmation yesterday that it will in fact be a CVS going into the ground floor of the new Aston building, next to the Key Food.

Our Cups Runneth Over

Given that we find ourselves in a Yogurt Glut of perhaps Biblical proportions, what with the recent opening of Red Mango and Vanilla Sky, perhaps it comes as no surprise that all this yogurt activity is having ripple effects on the shops that originally staked a claim to the yogurt hungry of Forest Hills.

I noticed over the weekend that Oko has put up a sign advertising "New Management."

And Yogo Monster in the Austin Street Mall has also made some changes... 

Yogo Monster has switched to the ever-popular "self-serve" format a la 16 Handles and Red Mango, etc.

One thing 'The Monster' has going for it is outdoor seating.

Red Mango Opening

The Forest Hills Red Mango says it will be opening Wednesday at noon.

Inside Red Mango

Looks like this baby is getting ready to open...

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like...

.... Frozen yogurt, as in Red Mango. Wow! What happened to that OTB facade? It seems like it was there just last week.

Just a clarification: I don't know if this is what the Red Mango storefront is going to look like. This is what the adjacent space to it looks like, and we don't yet know what it will be.

My friend took the pic so I didn't realize this pic doesn't include the Red Mango space on the corner of this building.

Coming Soon: Red Mango

A sign has been put up. This is at the former OTB location.

What's Going on at the Ole OTB?

 What is going on I ask you? We know there is a Red Mango going into the space on the corner. Here's some pics of the inside under construction:

But what is going in to the other part? We heard possibly 7-Eleven a few months ago, and then found out that was not a done deal. And me and my news-hounds think that space is kinda small for a 7-Eleven:

So, we shall see... It's all about as suspenseful as why construction on the "Windsor 2" condo, next to the Key Food, seems to have come to a grinding halt as of several weeks ago, leaving us all to have to squeeeeze in between that dreadful wall of wood and the newstand (especially challenging when the Lotto starts getting up there and the lines start to form). As if that block wasn't pleasant enough before with those sad, old stores, now we have a wooden wall with no sign it will be coming down any time soon...

Facebook Page for Forest Hills' New Red Mango

As already mentioned on this blog, the frozen yogurt chain Red Mango will be coming in to the space where the OTB used to be.
Here's the link to a Facebook page for the Forest Hills location:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Mango-Forest-Hills-NY/459296004087655?ref=ts

Red Mango Coming to Forest Hills

This has been confirmed for the former OTB location:
http://www.redmangousa.com/store-locator/?s=11375
And the same commenter yesterday on this blog said a 7-Eleven was going into that space as well.