Gems Spa 2nd ave & St Marks pl east village everybody meet here, around the corner, fillmore east & eletric circus In 1966, The Village Voice called it the official oasis of the East Village; it was known as a hippie hangout. Abbie Hoffman gathered people for his 1967 protest at the New York Stock Exchange at Gem Spa, Allen Ginsberg called it a nerve center of the city, and the Art Workers Coalition had their offices above the store. In the late 60s it was midway between two other iconic venues, the Fillmore East and the Electric Circus. The owner in 1971 was Irving Stein. The store was closed for a time from February 1972 when it ran into financial trouble, and the counter-culture that had helped support it collapsed. The storefront caught fire that May, but it reopened that June with new management. The owner in 2005 was Ray Patel, who was born in the early 1940s in Gujarat, India. He bought the store in 1986. He learned making egg creams from the previous Italian owner, who in turn learned it from his Jewish predecessor. The store manager Salim said in 2010 that only four people know the recipe.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 07:16:07 +0000
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