••• Nosy Neighbor: “What’s up with Bouley?” asks A. “That kitchen couldn’t possibly pass health inspection.” As you might suspect, Bouley is using the downtime of August to renovate its kitchen. The restaurant should reopen next week.

••• The coffee bar at Maslow 6 Wine Bar, powered by Box Kite Coffee, has opened. I’ll drop by later this week for a fuller report.

••• Evelyn sent in stages-of-grief email about the closing of Bell Bates:

I am beyond outraged and saddened, I am devastated by the news of Bell Bates’ closed doors! I learned of the horrible news when I was looking up their hours in hopes of replenishing my supplies of loose herbs. Its location is a trek for me but, one I’m willing to make for the most obvious reason—they’re simply the best! As a frequent customer, Mathew became a good acquaintance who cared enough about the store’s customers to know—I mean really know—about health, the market and products related to health. Always made the time to chat and acknowledge me as more than just a consumer but, as a friend and supporter of Bell Bates. Damn! It was the last of what is rapidly becoming the fewest places in New York City that cared—I mean really cared—about people and their health. Bell Bates was an integral part of my health insurance plan—as it was the only place that sold loose herbs, organic foods and products that actually, affordably help support health and wellness without breaking one’s bank account from over-processed foods, doctor visits, usurious medication costs and exorbitant health-insurance premiums! Damn, damn, damn! Corporate America is insidious! New York City has become one of the unfriendliest towns on the map to live in! It is merciless to small business! Thankfully, I still have a ‘ma & pa’ health-food store in my neighborhood that—although not as big, nor do they have as large a selection of products as Bell Bates—still cares about the health of humans who know enough to eat unprocessed foods in order to still have access to their common sense! Anyone who wants an alternative to Bell Bates, check out the “Food for Health” store on 3rd Avenue between 92nd and 93rd streets in Manhattan. The alternate equivalent to Mathew is a man named Raj who’s excellent with his information, just as friendly and accessible as Mathew was and has a background in bio-science to boot! Don’t get me wrong, there was no place on Earth like Bell Bates, and its demise is yet another argument for everything that’s gone terribly wrong with this city, nation and world. Hopefully, frequenting another small business with owners that still believe in supporting what’s most important in life—a healthy body and life itself—will be a stand (albeit humble) against the fat-cat corporate blob that’s eating New York City’s health and sanity!

••• CrossFit 212 tweeted that its 281 Broadway location has “soft-launched.”