Vandam St Between Hudson St and Varick St

   

In the furthest reaches of SoHo Vandam Street exists as a short 3-block run which feels mostly vacant when compared to the surrounding neighborhoods. Frankly, I still don't understand why the area nestled between TriBeCa and the West Village can't have its own name. It sure doesn't feel the same as SoHo to me, which is a much tighter-knit collection of streets than this area.

A series of loading docks and driveways make this a rather unwelcoming block. The corner of Varick is home to The City Winery which is a really unique place. Combining wine-making (they ship the grapes in) with a restaurant and a performance space, the brainchild of the guy who brought us The Knitting Factory seems like it could be a big hit. It's only been open for a few years, and while I've never been inside, it seems like something I could be interested in. The biggest thing going against it is its out-of-the-way locale, but if one-note venues like Terminal 5 can thrive despite being inconvenient-as-hell (and a terrible space in the instance of T5), then I think The City Winery has a good shot.