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NEW YORK – March 12, 2007 – Alt.Coffee announced that it will be closing its doors on April 8, after nearly 12 years as an Alphabet City institution. After a complete renovation, the space will be re-opened as Hopscotch, a café tailored to the needs of children and families, a first in the East Village. Alt has been a destination for a cross section of the East Village: artists, musicians, revolutionaries, conspiracy theorists, students, young professionals and those in need of a computer. An internet café opening several years before the dot-com era with the most comfortable chairs of any café below 14th Street, the establishment has long occupied a unique spot on the cultural map of the city. The closing will be marked with a wake on April 7, taking place all day and featuring a graffiti wall, Alt memorabilia and a memorial service beginning at 9pm. All will be welcome to share their Alt memories at the wake. As the neighborhood has changed, Alt has become one of the last artifacts of the 90’s scene. Internet cafes have proliferated, while the number of people who need to rent a computer has dropped. Meanwhile, a need for a place where parents can feel comfortable with their children has developed and gone unaddressed. Now, as strollers have become more common on Avenue A than guitar cases, Nick and Judy Bodor, the owners of Alt.Coffee, will team with Marnie Ann Joyce and Alyson Palmer to open a new café that will again respond to and anticipate the direction the neighborhood is developing. When Hopscotch opens at the beginning of May, it will evoke the spirit of Alt, as a comfortable meeting place for all, while having a variety of features designed to meet the needs of parents and children. It will not only be a café for parents to go for coffee and sandwiches, but also a place for kids to go to watch a movie, learn to knit or take guitar lessons. The new business will also offer organic food, space rentals for children’s birthday parties and plenty of toys. In the evening, the toys will be put away and the focus will shift to adults. Regarding the change, Mrs. Bodor says, “it’s sort of like Alt has had a baby of its own.” About the owners: Marnie Ann Joyce has lived in the East Village for more than a decade. She is a knitwear designer and toymaker. Additionally, she rallies together other artisans who make handcrafted items for natural living. Ms. Joyce is also the mother of two children. Alyson Palmer is a member of the legendary cult band, BETTY and Associate Producer of Mamapalooza: The Festival for Moms Who Rock. She performs around the world with her family in tow. In 2006, BETTY received the BMI Excellence Award for creating and performing the theme song for Showtime’s “The L Word.” Alyson’s music has also been used in four other on-air programs: Comedy Central’s “Out on the Edge”, Discovery TV’s “Ms. Adventure”, Fox Family Channel’s “Encyclopedia” and TLC’s “Cover Shot”. |
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