After receiving a note from Jelena Pasic, owner of the soon-to-open Harlem Shake restaurant in Harlem, she informed us that they will be having a “friends and family tasting” in a few weeks.” They plan to open officially soon after this. We will keep you posted here at Harlem Condo Life with the exact date as I know a lot of readers are anxious for them to open. We have been corresponding for the last couple of months through social media and commenting on the Harlem Shake craze. Recently Jelena asked graffiti artist Kindo Harper (shown above) to paint “The Real Harlem Shake” on the boards covering her under-construction restaurant. It already looks great.
She informed us their Facebook and Twitter sites are well into the thousands of “likes” and followers do to the recent Harlem Shake global phenomenon. Just to be clear she states “this is complete coincidence and partial luck.” The decision to name the restaurant Harlem Shake was made before the recent video/dance craze and purely on keeping in theme with authentic old school Harlem. Jelena states “We want to serve the best burgers and shakes in Harlem.” They want to be part of something that represents Harlem. As well as the burgers they would like their great shakes to be known. Hence the title Harlem “Shake.”
Regardless of all the media attention, including the global Harlem Shake and the latest Harlem reacts back videos (many of which we’ve posted here on our blog see previous posts), Harlem Shake restaurant will be a nice addition to Lenox Avenue in Harlem. It is a great location with all the shops on 125th Street close by. Not to mention Whole Foods along with many chain stores including American Eagle, Marshall’s and Burlington Coat Factory all under construction opening in the near future across the street. It will be nice to have Harlem Shake representing an old-school vibe on Lenox Avenue. More and more with these chain businesses coming in, I think Jelena has the right idea in keeping in theme with Harlem and representing something that is part of our history. A good model for many new businesses to follow.
Already mentioned in The Daily News and fellow blogger Harlem Bespoke, I’m sure we will be reading a lot more about this Harlem business in the upcoming months. Stay tuned for their opening date.
Harlem Shake
100 W 124th Street
New York, NY
There is a soft opening (family & friends & a few bloggers) next week, and then they hope to have their grand opening to the public on May 16th! I will write a post about the opening, so stay tuned 🙂
@Gladys I hope the job worked out… see you there.
When is the opening?
I can’t wait into opening day. I hope to be working there by then….
What a beautiful coincidence!!! I can’t wait to go there!
Thank you for your comments. We are excited too (Penelope)
You are welcome (Shelljo) and thank you for your nice words and reading Harlem Condo Life!
I am so happy to have found this web site recently. You keep me very informed on Harlem life from new residents, restaurants and events in Harlem. Thank you again
Funny- I just posted this same picture- minus the graffiti artist- today.
I live close by and I’m sooo excited to have somewhere fun to take out of town guests (and myself- ha!). I love that they are preserving the flavor of the neighborhood, even as they do something new and different.