Both M. and E. spotted the signage: a deli is coming to the north side of Beach between Greenwich and Hudson — this is the former Beach Street Eatery location. Called the Golden Beach Deli, it seems like a solid addition for locals and Citi workers alike.

This was most recently the Body Roll studio; they moved there in 2021 from Franklin Street and had left by 2023.

The space was once Beach Street Eatery, a cafe opened by Michael Collarone, aka Mikey Flowers of Floratech down the street at 51 Beach. It is worth reading his Spotlight feature from 2017, or just this excerpt on the cafe’s 9/11 origin story.

How did Beach Street Eatery come to be?
On 9/11, I saw both planes, both buildings, people jumping…. After the first tower fell, I was trapped in the Winter Garden, down on the floor, trying to breathe. A fireman stepped on my arm and I made it out. When the north tower fell, I was on West Street. I ran to the store to get supplies. After 1993, I had said to myself, next time something like this happens, I’m going to be prepared, so I got EMT training.

I stayed at the site doing medical recovery, pulling out a jaw, a foot…. One day, I’m in the overpass, and I see someone, so I tell him I’ll bring him out. I know I’m talking to a dead guy, but when I finally get to him, I realize he’s just skin. He had been blown out of his skin. This continued for 17, 18 days, I don’t remember.

I went home to take a shower, and I couldn’t close the shower door. I couldn’t do it. My clothes on the floor reminded of dead bodies. I went over to Ladder 8, where there was a therapist. I told her I was drinking a bottle of vodka every night to pass out. She said either you go back down there and work it out or you’re screwed for the rest of your life.

I was working with Port Authority handling memorials. One day, I went home and made five baked zitis and two roast beefs to bring down into the pit. Everyone loved it. Before you know it, I’m cooking down there. I wouldn’t take anyone’s money. People were leaving checks under the door here, but I’d give them to the FDNY or the NYPD or whoever needed it. Charlie from Il Mattone donated pies; Drew Nieporent helped out. And then I realized it wasn’t bothering me anymore. Seeing the guys dealing with it helped. And when the plane crashed in the Rockaways, I helped the FDNY move bodies. It didn’t bother me anymore.

I told the landlord here I’d like to do coffee, cake, ice cream for the guys at the World Trade Center. He gave me the space at no charge. I started cooking. Guys would come up here for a break. I didn’t charge a dime. When the recovery was over, the dirty boots stopped coming in. The World Trade Center had been the number one place to deliver flowers to. I asked Drew and a couple of other people about training my flower guys to cook. We opened as Sweet Treats, an ice cream shop. We were lucky if we made $30 per week. I was going broke, but I didn’t care. It felt like it was almost the end of the world. People uptown didn’t realize that.

We started making soup. Business picked up, from $30 per week to $30 per day, and then it started to hit. We don’t make a lot of money, but we’re creating jobs.