A brand new bar is currently getting ready to open up to the public on St Marks Place.
Lava Ground is a brand new concept from owners Alioune Sall and Bilal Muhammad. Alioune has had a successful career working as a security guard, and is best known as the owner of Mawu Lisa Tonics, a beverage company that bridges the gap between Africa and America through holistic remedies. Their most popular beverage is a Bitter Kola Nut tonic, which is proposed to help consumers feel brighter, lighter, and happier daily.
Bilal Muhammad meanwhile successfully managed a restaurant called ALS Mediterranean Food in Alabama for six years before embarking on this new venture with Sall. Locals may also recognize Bilal’s other company, Weed World Candies, which recently opened a flagship store in Times Square to compliment their impressive fleet of mobile vans.
Lava Ground is scheduled to open up at 4 St. Mark’s Place, replacing a video game store that formerly occupied the space. The space is relatively tight, featuring a maximum of 16 tables capable of seating 44 guests at one time. There are no plans to establish an outdoor or sidewalk cafe, nor will there be a seated bar area. Instead, there will be a central POS counter where guests can order their food and drinks and take them back to their tables. Additionally, there are plans in place to host occasional live music events and DJs, which will help bring in an exciting new atmosphere to the space.
For the menu, Lava Ground will offer light bites like wings, nems (beef eggrolls), and fatayas, which are beef patties in a spicy sauce. Sall and the team are naturally applying for a liquor license for the space, and are proposing operating hours of 4:00 PM – 12:00 AM on Monday through Thursday, and 4:00 – 2:00 AM on Friday through Sunday. According to Sall, he hopes to have the space open to the general public within the next month. He has not yet launched the proper social media channels for Lava Ground yet though, so you will just need to watch the space until further updates.
