New Restaurant, Stores and an Indie Theatre Coming Soon

A few of the empty storefronts in Scarsdale Village will soon be brought back to life. The space once occupied by shoe repair merchant Vaccaros, which closed almost a year ago after 82 years in the village, will be transformed into a Middle Eastern wine and tapas bar. The new restaurant will be run by the owners of Taiim Falafel Shack in Hastings on Hudson and they hope to open in the fall.

Also in the works for Scarsdale Village are a blow dry bar and a new audio and home theatre merchant. However, many spaces remain vacant, including the large Waterworks store that runs between East Parkway and Harwood Court, several stores on Harwood Court and the spaces formerly occupied by Good Life Gourmet and Verizon on Spencer Place.

Are high rents the cause of these vacancies? We noticed that the space formerly occupied by Mayfair Court on Harwood Place is renting for $62 a square foot, which translates to $4,667 per month, or $56,919 per year. The former Waterworks Store, which is 2.953 square feet of space is also listed for $14,765 per month. Comparable locations in Bronxville are listed at $40 a square foot, two-thirds of the prices in Scarsdale.

Farther afield, another new treat is in store. Now you will be able to eat dinner while watching independent films. The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is set to open in Yonkers this holiday season, one of several new movie theaters opening in Westchester. The new theater at 2500 Central Park Avenue will present indie and foreign films in addition to larger blockbuster hits. Alamo theaters are unique in that they allow moviegoers to enjoy a full meal during the film. The Alamo theater is just one of many new openings in Yonkers, including the opening of an Apple store, adding to Yonkers reputation of being a sixth borough or sorts.

Yonkers isn’t the only Westchester town receiving a new movie theater. Sundance Cinemas is planning on opening a new theater in Ardsley. Sundance is known for providing, in the words of Sundance Group President, Robert Redford, “a grown-up movie going experience,” playing only the finest movies from around the world. However, an environmental impact statement needs to be completed before construction can proceed for Rivertowns Square, a new complex along the Saw Mill River Parkway that will house the Sundance Theatres.