Is there mayhem in your land of mercantile? Welcome back, I hope you enjoy this edition of Mercantile Mayhem, a newsletter about the survival of independent businesses in New York City. There is an extra long “Opportunities Galore” section at the end, listing grants, a summit, free workshops and events for independent business owners. I was lucky enough to visit Maine recently, so the chicken-centric Honey’s from Thomaston, Maine, is in the mix.
I heard rumors about a new independent bookstore set to open in the East Village and saw a post by Stacie Joy on EV Grieve (an excellent news outlet about the East Village) that stated The Rabbit Books and Bar was officially opening its doors Saturday, August 15, 2026.
I got on ye ol’ Citibike, pedaled over to Avenue A and found the most vibrant atmosphere of books, snacks, drinks and people in the sprawling space. Visitors were basking in the glory of fresh, crisp, new books on shelves and tables, of course the glasses of wine and fancy drinks didn’t hurt the jovial mood; people seemed delighted to support a new independent neighborhood book business.
The Rabbit is co-owned by a mother daughter duo, Marianna Vaidman Stone and daughter Emily Samara Stone. The daughter portion of ownership was recharging her batteries for the late night closure, so I’ll have to return to The Rabbit when she’s there for an update. The mom, Vaidman Stone, was milling about, a lawyer who previously worked in and around local urban planning policy. She was born in the Soviet Union and at 7-years-old came to the US as a Soviet refugee.
The Rabbit Books and Bar is a lovely corner space, a former 7-Eleven in fact, with floor to ceiling glass facades. Customers can read, sip or snack at tables or the bar, there are even two “snugs” on the premises. According to Vaidman Stone, when her daughter visited Ireland, she learned about these little nooks in pubs, where women went to drink back in the day when first allowed into pubs. She wanted The Rabbit have them.
Unbeknownst to The Rabbit co-owners prior to opening, a Barnes & Noble is slated to open on the diagonal corner. While some might see the corporate bookstore as competition, Vaidman Stone said she sees it more as making the neighborhood a “book destination.”
I remember when Big Book (Barnes & Noble, Borders) came to town, crushing scores of independent bookstores, with the help of Amazon. But currently there is an absolute explosion of independent bookstores in New York City, offering a human experience that Big Book typically can’t. And I think people are starved for human experiences. Book categories at The Rabbit include “Understanding America,” “Science, Society & Self,” “International Fiction” and “Romance” among others. The Rabbit will soon schedule readings and other in-person events.
They serve charcuterie boards, snacks like hummus, tzatziki and kids’ treats like Lunchables and Uncrustables. Drinks include coffees (iced and hot are the same price, which makes sense!) teas, sodas, fancy mocktails, wine, Prosecco, beer, cider, vermouth and special alcohol drinks like “The Reliable Narrator,” “Chapter Four” and “A Minor Character.” Vaidman Stone mentioned The Rabbit sells a slurpee-type drink as a nod to the former 7-Eleven tenant, which could be the “frosé” with hibiscus and lime.
Did anyone else feast on Mongolian momo from The Mongolian Momo King’s cart in the West Village? Specifically the corner of Bleecker Street and 6th Ave? I did, so I was delighted to hear that The Momo King, aka Khurelbaatar Ochir and the Momo Queen (not sure if that’s her official title) Franka, recently opened a brick and mortar on 12th Street in the East Village. For anyone who doesn’t know, momo are dumplings (I was told “momo” is plural of the singular “momo,” I hope I wasn’t being punked) typically stuffed with seasoned meats. These momo, or dumplings, are called buuz in Mongolia.
Ochir makes beef, lamb, chicken and veggie momo, with an array of herbs and spices mixed into the succulent momo interiors. Each momo dish is served with kimchi (not Mongolian, but it’s an excellent pairing) and customers can drizzle homemade sauces on top, hot sauce and/or an herb-y mayonnaise.
Besides momo, The Mongolian Momo King serves a Mongolian burger made with beef, pork or lamb, which includes some of the respective organs chopped up into the burger, a meat and noodle soup aka “shol,” khuusher, a beef pastry and various side dishes: potato salad, fried noodles aka tsuivan and cabbage. And yes, Ochir is from Mongolia; Franka grew up in Argentina.
I’ve had Tibetan/Nepalese/Himalayan momo many times, but the first time I tried Mongolian momo was from Ochir’s cart in April 2024, when I took the photo above. They were outstanding! And I love the sign in the window, which reads, “May your kindness multiply your happiness.”
I usually focus on New York City, but I did visit Maine, which was nothing short of heavenly. Maine is not all lobster rolls all the time (in fact, there is incredible food in Maine outside of seafood and high-end farm-to-table restaurants). I heard rave reviews about Honey’s Fried Chicken Palace, so I thought we should pay a visit. But, I mean, how good can a chicken sandwich really be? Phenomenal!
Malcolm Bedell opened Honey’s Fried Chicken Palace in Thomaston, Maine, in 2024. “It’s a fun sort of palette to work with because you can experiment with a lot of flavors that might be sort of scary for Mid-Coast Maine,” said Bedell, “but everyone knows what a chicken sandwich is. So, you can sort of run wild with flavor in a medium that’s really safe and approachable for people.”
All of Honey’s chicken is fresh, never frozen, whether it’s chicken thighs in sandwiches like The Pterodactyl, The Tikka Clucka or The Mustard Courage, or the white breast tenderloins found in Honey’s “tendies.”
“You can go to a gas station and see a lot of the same things that we serve here, but you’re getting a wildly different version,” said Bedell, noting that gas station chicken tenders are basically an “elongated McNugget.”
Honey’s has a warm, festive feel, decorated with chicken paintings, a mural and Bedell’s Today Show trophy for a chicken wing cooking contest among other chicken paraphernalia. Its 22 seats, some of which are refurbished booths from a McDonalds, tend to fill up and according to Bedell, winter numbers are on par with summer numbers—unusual for many Maine businesses as it’s a popular summer destination. “I’m incredibly fortunate to find myself in that position,” said Bedell.
While all the chicken is fresh, sauces homemade, Bedell concedes he takes a “very hard line” about frozen french fries. He think they are superior to hand-cut fries, which are labor intensive to prepare, take up refrigerator space and are only good about 50% of the time.
Bedell, who grew up in nearby Tenant’s Harbor, said that Honey’s is the result of a “chain of events” and “just one weird thing leading to another.” Bedell’s previous career(s) as a copywriter for marketing and PR firms, a social media manager, food blogger, food journalist, co-author of Eating in Maine, have all helped him to communicate facts about Honey’s food. “It’s astonishing to me how many chefs basically never learned to take a decent photo of their food,” remarked Bedell, noting how important marketing is to a food business.
What really started the chain of events that culminated in Honey’s, is when Bedell entered cooking competitions. He initially wanted publicity, ie sponsorship, for his food blog at the time, From Away, which Bedell says is now a “Chinese spam farm and there's nothing left of it,” but at one point had 150,000 visitors a month.
Bedell started winning these competitions, which led to transitioning from writing about food to making it. First, a mobile food business out of a concession trailer, followed by Ancho Honey, a sandwich shop in Tenants Harbor (now closed). The Sunday night chicken sandwiches had a cult following and would sellout, which eventually blossomed into Honey’s Fried Chicken Palace.
“Anyone that thinks they can truly make a go of this business is a little bit nuts,” said Bedell about being an independent operator, whether in Maine or New York City. “It’s a huge leap of faith that you’re going to dive into legendarily the hardest industry that there is, and somehow you’re going to make your mark. You basically go into that with this almost psychopathic optimism—because you have to.” While being an an entrepreneur is risky and stressful, Bedell added, “I found from the moment I bought that food truck and made that leap, as scary as it was, is that I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life doing this. And that counts for a lot.”
You might know Jaeki Cho from his deep, “Yoooo” at the beginning of each Righteous Eats video along with the communal self fist bump and a few “peace and blessings” thrown into the videos. I have been a huge fan of Jaeki Cho/Righteous Eats ever since I came across his videos years ago during the pandemic on Instagram, he also posts on TikTok and YouTube.
Cho, originally from South Korea, explores some of New York City’s most unique neighborhood restaurants, food trucks and carts, nearly all immigrant-owned, with a sprinkling of well known chefs/restaurants like Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin. Cho has expanded his repertoire and travels abroad and across the US. And yes, there are sometimes paid partnerships (clearly noted), live events and collabs. Cho partnered with NYCVotes, for example, to make a video explaining rank choice voting to New Yorkers, comparing it to the difficulty of having to choose one favorite NYC pizza slice, compared to ranking five favorite pizza slices.
So, imagine my surprise when the other day I hopped on the F train on my way to The Mongolian Momo King (see above) and sat right next to the one, the only Jaeki Cho! I was so stunned, all I could ask was, “Excuse me, are you the food guy?” Yes, he was. We chitchatted a bit and I asked if I could take his photo, he graciously said yes. While I was getting my camera and flash out, other Righteous Eats fans approached Cho, one woman took a selfie with him; we explained what Cho does to a woman sitting on his other side, visiting from Toronto.
If you are not familiar with Righteous Eats, look at some of the videos. Not only do the videos highlight gems in the city to seek out for delicious food, but they will also restore your faith in humanity.
One more post about activities outside New York City, this time San Francisco. Maybe you were going to take a trip to California anyway? The One Way Summit for immigrant startup founders takes place October 28 - 29, 2026. The summit is organized by One Way Ventures, a VC firm that invests in immigrant founded startups.
There will be speakers like Severin Hacker, the co-founder of Duolingo, Manan Mehta, co-founder of Unshackled Ventures, Juan Pablo Ortega, co-founder of Rappi and Yuno, pitch competitions, panels and workshops. The One Way Summit is open to proposed “Side Events,” meaning a relevant, organized side events October 26 - November 1, pitched by and open to fellow One Way Summit participants. Early tickets cost $99 to $499, more information here.
I’m still astonished by the extraordinary measures the federal government is taking to limit foreign students in the US. It is unwise on so many fronts. Please take a moment to read this article by entrepreneur David Gardner who highlights why these policies are backwards and will ultimately hurt US born students and wreak havoc on the US economy.
Apropos of nothing, I discovered the best use for AI: vacation recap photos! I don’t use AI for any type of writing, editing, formatting, structuring, research, etc, I think it’s easier to just write and organize thoughts without AI. So, I assumed I’d never use it (I am aware AI is already woven into aspects of our daily lives, such as predictive typing, Merlin Bird ID, transcription apps and many more).
But… curious what AI could do with photos, I uploaded a few from Maine and gave simple prompts. These images took about 30 seconds each, which is kind of scary. Even though they brought me immense joy and laughter—I could actually do this activity all day—I refrain. I don’t want to support hideous data centers or the creepy methods AI companies use to gather copyrighted information.
Thank you to Mercantile Mayhem’s sponsor Accompany Capital in New York City. Accompany Capital is a CDFI and helps micro and small businesses with loans and free financial services. Please read about Accompany Capital here.
Thank you to Small Business Majority, one of Mercantile Mayhem’s sponsors. Small Business Majority supports and empowers small businesses across the US with a focus on public policy. Please read about the organization here and visit their finance resource platform Venturize.
Thank you to Welcome to Chinatown, one of Mercantile Mayhem’s sponsors located in the heart of Manhattan’s Chinatown. Welcome to Chinatown bolsters independent AAPI businesses in the neighborhood and beyond through free programs and events, advocacy and its co-working/gathering space, The Hub.
If you would like to know Mercantile Mayhem sponsorship rates and newsletter stats, please email me: ninarobertsnyc@gmail.com and I’ll send you the details. Please forward this newsletter to others.
No time like the present! Tomorrow on August 18 or August 19, Alli Ball, aka Food Biz Wiz, will give one free 75 minute online webinar on each day, focusing on sales for founders of emerging packaged product businesses. For more information and to sign up, click here.
Naturally New York and Fairway will have their Next Fairway Find Pitch Competition on September 22, 2026. It’s geared for founders of emerging consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands. Founders could win $2,000, Fairway store placement, among other prizes that are beneficial for CPG founders. There are some requirements, like being a member of Naturally New York, to apply click here. Deadline is August 28, 2026.
C10 Labs and NYC Economic Development Corporation are looking for early stage AI startups in NYC for their accelerator that starts October 2026. The AI startups need to be working in healthcare, biotech, climate, energy, robotics and advanced manufacturing. For more information and to apply, click here. Deadline is August 31, 2026.
The first ever Made on Mott Storefront Incubator. Welcome to Chinatown (yes, one of my spectacular sponsors!) is launching a three month residency program in 2027 for potential brick-and-mortar businesses of the non-food and non-beverage variety. Selected businesses get subsidized rent on a Mott Street space. Deadline is August 31, 2026, click here for more information.
Lifting Up Small Businesses in The Bronx will give 25 grants of $5,000 and one grant of $20,000 to brick and mortar businesses in the Bronx. Click here for more information and to apply. Deadline is September 1, 2026.
Small Business Services will have a webinar for NYC business owners to learn about Accompany Capital’s (yes, one of my wonderful sponsors!) lending on August 19 at 2pm. Accompany Capital will talk about eligibility criteria for their loans, the application processes and resources, sign up here.
NYC Business Solutions Bronx Center and Accompany Capital will have a webinar on August 25, 2026, from 2pm to 4pm, to discuss Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBE) certification. Click here for more information.
Calling all Bronx small business owners! The Bronx Small Business Resource Fair will take place on August 26, 10am - 12pm at La Central YMCA. Click here for more information and to sign up (even though it’s a “Zoom” signup, this is an in-person event).
NYPACE, a nonprofit that pairs pro bono professionals with emerging entrepreneurs, is offering an 8-week cohort starting October 2026. Anyone interested must first attend a Zoom info session on August 17, 2026. Register here.
Small Business Services (SBS) with Accompany Capital is giving an online workshop on how small businesses can use ChatGPT and Claude on August 31. For information and to signup, click here.
Hello Brooklyn-based businesses! The Brooklyn Pitch Competition aims to help established businesses in Brooklyn that are strengthening the economy grow further with grants and support. Read the requirements here. Deadline is September 4, 2026.
Grants for Chinatown business interested in upgrading buildings and property improvements. Grants range from $10K to $100K and can be used for various improvements, from signage to ADA compliance. Click here for details and requirements, deadline is September 7, 2026.
December 10, 2026, Startup CPG will hold its second Founders & Funders event in New York City. It’s geared for founders of emerging packaged food businesses and investors to mingle and meet. There will be tastings, panel discussions, pitching and a room for one on one founder and funder chats, a la speed dating style. There are only 200 spaces for CPG brands, the deadline to apply is October 1, 2026. Details here.
WomensNet offers a number of grants to women-owned businesses on a rolling basis, peruse grant information here.
Start Small Think Big is an organization that pairs experts with small business owners for free to share their expertise. I usually list specific workshops, like the oversimplification of business advice on social media, you can peruse workshops here.
Welcome to Chinatown still has an open call for their Test Thursday program. The program allows emerging food and beverage brands to test out their serving operations and products, click here for more information.
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