Beloved St.Mark's Bookshop Taken Over By Coffee Chain

EAST VILLAGE, NY — The popular NYC-based coffee chain The Bean opened its fifth location in the city on Thursday, taking over the former space of the East Village landmark St. Mark's Bookshop.

The new coffee shop, located at 31 Third Ave., takes over from the beloved bookstore that went out of business after 38 years. The bookstore moved from its namesake street multiple times, and stayed open for years at the 31 Third Ave. address, near Cooper Square.

The bookstore moved from the Cooper Square space to a smaller storefront on 136 E Third St., where it finally closed in 2016 after years of money problems.

The Bean's first shop opened in February 2003.

Like many neighborhoods throughout Manhattan, many of the East Village's longstanding institutions like St. Mark's Bookshop have been forced to close their doors or move to cheaper rents. Many local business owners are pressing for the city to create a special business district in the neighborhood, which would create limits to how many chain stores could open on a given block and help support local business owners.

Just days before The Bean opened its Third Avenue shop, a Starbucks moved into the nearby St. Mark's Place, to the dismay and disappointment of village veterans who remembered the famous corridor as a home for counter-culture. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Image credit: Ciara McCarthy / Patch