Oddball sandwich shop, Foxface, expands to shuttered Harry & Ida’s

Foxface–the tiny street-facing counter serving up sandwiches next door to the Museum of the American Gangster—is expanding to larger digs in the former site of recently-shuttered Harry & Ida’s Meat and Supply Co. (another beloved neighborhood sandwich spot that closed in November 2019). The new space, slated to open in Spring 2020, will be called Foxface Provisions—as first reported by E.V. Grieve—and you can track its progress via its new Instagram.

Since opening late 2018 in the East Village, Foxface quickly became known for its creative, offbeat sandwich combinations that change daily. The tiny kitchen is run by longtime neighborhood locals Sivan Lahat and her partner Ori Kushnir, who conveniently live above their St. Marks Place business; some of the ingredients are said to be grown in the building's backyard. Previously, the stand was home to Feltman's of Coney Island hot dogs. 

The duo mostly focuses on lesser-highlighted meats such as bison, hare and camel (pretty much unheard of in the city), but many of the sandwiches also highlight veggies. Recent renditions include “The Kyushu” (Berkshire pork, soy, mirin, kabocha squash, mustard), “Bespeckled” (smoked trout, hearts of palm, Castelfranco, apple, tarragon) and “The Golden” (goose breast, “orange sauce” and herbs). 

The New York Times’ Pete Wells gave the restaurant a positive review despite awarding the spot one star. Wells called the restaurant spell-binding and “hard to pin down, geographically.” 

Much like at Court Street Grocers, the sandwiches are filling but run around $15. When you're paying this much, hopefully, this expansion will give customers the ability to sit down and relax with their meal (although you can currently take your sandwiches to the adjoining William Barnacle Tavern at Theater80). 

“Sometimes things just fall into place,” shares the team on their Instagram. “Ever since we opened Foxface we've been daydreaming of a space nearby where we could smoke, ferment, dry, cure and otherwise transform ingredients in ways that do not fit in our tiny kitchen.” Initially, they thought they might expand to an industrial part of Brooklyn, until co-founder of Harry & Ida's stopped by their spot for a sandwich, and told them he was looking to close up his business. The rest is history. 

Foxface Provisions will be located at 189 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009.