Is Great Lakes Going to Dry Up?

I really hope this place doesn't close.

It's such a great bar. Good place to grab a drink while waiting for a table at Blue Ribbon, also.

Would be very sorry to see it go.

Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 10:52 AM

Why?!

Why does it have to be GL ... why not one of those crappy corner delis or lame FedEx stores?!

Bummer, hope they get to renew the lease.

Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 11:38 AM

Maybe it'll be something nicer. I know we all love to love the older tenants, but sometimes you get a truly good addition. How about some Mongolian BBQ? Not one place shows up in NY if you google it. What the hell?!

Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 11:43 AM

Apple store, perchance? Do I hear a Trader Joe's?

Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 11:58 AM

We need more small, understocked and overpriced woman's clothing boutiques.

Or an OTB.

Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 1:14 PM

How about an overpriced boutique set in the middle of an OTB? Highest and best use!

Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 1:18 PM

I really could use a small, understocked, overpriced MENS boutique in the Slope, though.

Seriously.

Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 2:10 PM

There's RAZOR, that place on 5th Ave. between 3/4 st., 2:10. Never been in there myself (I'm a cheap slob) but it seems to fit the bill. Happy spending!

Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 2:19 PM

for the record their looking for close to 9 thousand rent for this complete dump of a store that will need total gut reno. and thats for 1000 sq feet . i have a place on 7th ave in a good spot that rents for less then this andis 200 sq feet bigger which is a brand new lease. the asking price is absurd.

Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 2:56 PM

I saw the listing on craigslist. It's $8,500/mo for 1,200 SF. I don't know the rental market in the area, but I gotta imagine corner location is worth more. One story buildings are also rare in the slope. It's also right next to Blue Ribbon. Yum!

Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 3:06 PM

I have a bar that I rent on 5th and 5/6. 1500 sq feet not including the back yard and basement. when the lease is up (very soon), I won't ask anywhere close to that. $108 per sq foot is way too much.

Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 3:08 PM

Lets see a show of hands. How many believe it will get $8500 per month?

Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 3:10 PM

I'm no math magician, but according to 3:06, it's about $85 PSF. Hmmm. You own a building 3:08? Must have a good accountant.

Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 3:11 PM

3:11 no fancy accounting needed.

Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 3:34 PM

3:08 And the bar I rent pays about $20 per sq foot.

Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 3:36 PM

All you landlords trolling brownstoner today...how about lowering your prices.

Because I see an awful lot of empty storefronts on both 7th and 5th and the economy certainly ain't gettin any better..

What the hell are you waiting for?

Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 3:57 PM

yes, I always wondered why they prefer to leave storefronts empty than to rent them out at prices people are willing/able to pay.

Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 4:07 PM

3:57 Its not as simple as lowering prices. The operating costs for the building has gone up a great deal. Just to heat the bar during the winter months costs me 2k per month, and that does not include insurance, real estate taxes, and a mortgage.

If the building was making so much money, I would not have a 9-5 job!

On another point, I would rather keep my present tenant and would accept lower rent then 8.5k/month simply because I get along with the tenant and the bar adds character to the area.

Trust me....I can easily rent out the space to a dunkin donuts and get top rent, but I would rather not (thats why we have park slope south).

Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 5:40 PM

To the purported landlord who just posted,

Isn't it the tenant's responsibility to pay the utilities? If your heating bill is the dealbreaker, why not make a modest rent and make them pay the heating bill?

That way, if they decide to keep it 65 degrees inside, in the winter, they can TRULY call it great lakes, and those who frequent can all wear sweaters.

Seems like you already have your mind made up (like all the rest of the landlords on 5th & 7th) to get top rent. That way, you ensure the neighborhood of vacant storefronts.

Everyone's moving to Gowanus anyway where it's $1 per sq. ft and easy to walk to.

Posted by: guest at January 21, 2008 1:23 AM

Very sad to hear this.

I met my wife at GL, proposed to here there a year later. Needless to say, it's an important place for us.

Plus it will be very awkward going back for anniversaries if it becomes a bed & bath boutique.

Posted by: guest at January 21, 2008 1:34 AM

1:23 The bar has apartments over it. You can't provide heat for the bar only. If the bar will pay for its heat, it will pay for the entire building's heat! The only option they will have is to get their own heating system.

The heat is not a dealbreaker. When the lease was signed gas was selling at $30 a barrel. I did not expect utility costs to increase so much, or for the area to improve as much as it has.

Secondly, because the area has improved...so did the foot traffic and the local buisnesses. If a buisness makes 15k per week (as opposed to 3k per week when they opened)...why should I charge them $2000 per month rent if the going rent for the area is $5000??? Sure, they can move to the Gowanus...but foot traffic will be very different and buisness income would deminish a great deal. Once and if the Gowanus improves as well as park slope did, they you will see rents skyrocket in that area!

There are very few vacant storefronts on 5th and 7th, so the demand is great. If all the rents on 5th and 7th were low, then the area would be filled with bodegas instead of the trandy resturants. Crime would be on the rise as well because merchants will have less interest in the buisness district(think BID).

Posted by: guest at January 21, 2008 9:30 AM

guest at 9:30AM posted: There are very few vacant storefronts on 5th and 7th, so the demand is great.

Man, you need to take a walk around the neighborhood. Talk about being out of touch with reality.

Posted by: guest at January 21, 2008 4:35 PM