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October 3, 2008

Another One Down on Bond

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Back in August, a shop on Bond Street between Atlantic and Pacific, closed its doors (though the store was called Ouvrez La Porte), but we thought maybe the neighboring businesses might survive. No such luck. A tipster wrote in to tell us that the shop next door, And Then Some, seems gone, as well. "It appears to have quietly closed or stopped operating — the inside has been completely cleared out leaving only a dustpan behind. I never saw a single soul in the place, so this is hardly surprising news. This makes three empty retail spaces in a row on Bond between Atlantic and Pacific."




Posted by lisa at 9:58 AM | Comments (9)
Categories: Boerum Hill, Streetlevel

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Comments

This seems strange. I bet it has more to do with LL's asking crazy rents than lack of stores that would like to be there.

Posted by: lowintheheights at October 3, 2008 10:04 AM

I used to have a store on a Manhattan side street, and later worked for a company that also had a store on a side street in a very popular neighborhood, and lack of foot traffic killed us both. Unless you have an established client base, or don't need off the street business to survive, it's really hard, no matter the economic climate.

Ridiculous rents certainly don't help, either.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at October 3, 2008 10:19 AM

And Then Some was a strange store. There was little signage and the window + door were opaque black. There was no chance for foot traffic because it was hard to tell that there was anything there.

On the flip side, the coffee shop/bar across the street seems to be thriving. It appears to have quickly built up a clientele.

Posted by: Boerum Hill at October 3, 2008 11:02 AM

And Then Some was a highly unattractive retail space -- dark, uninviting, and practically inventory-free. Did it ever intend to be a viable retail space? Maybe it was just a temporary showcase for a designer. It's hardly missed because it was so vacant anyway.

Posted by: Brooklyn Chicken at October 3, 2008 11:18 AM

There actually is a decent amount of foot traffic on this part of Bond. It's a very common route to and from the trains on Schermerhorn and Nevins. I think the problem with these two stores was slightly different - they weren't very welcoming, they were often closed, and I don't think what they were selling (or, at least, what they had in the windows) was particularly appealing.

Posted by: i disagree at October 3, 2008 11:36 AM

Ironically the arrival of the interesting Building on Bond came too late for those stores as it may well drive healthy traffic to whatever replaces them. I did think the selections were kind of niche though. Nothing wrong with niche of course unless its the wrong niche.

Posted by: nicksull at October 3, 2008 12:05 PM

The clothing store across the street from these will fold sooner or later soon, as well. You never see anyone in it.

Nicksull -- I had high hopes for BoB, which looked beautiful, but what's going on there? Still no kitchen? The coffee sucks, too. They still have time to turn it around, but I think they've lost a lot of momentum.

Posted by: aishling at October 3, 2008 12:40 PM

I've been inside the shop. Maybe if people weren't so fixated on how "dark" and "uninviting" it was, and actually talked to the shopkeeper, they would have seen some interesting merchandise and understood And Then Some's premise. I heard a retail hair products chain was bidding to rent the space. Maybe people would have preferred a store like that instead. More likely complaints would surface that there was too much traffic and oh lord what is happening to the neighborhood.

Posted by: youalwayscomplain at October 3, 2008 2:02 PM

This is kind of sad to read. I have not lived in Brooklyn for years. I still hope that one day I could relocate back. After living in so many cities in the U.S., I have yet to find anywhere else that I would rather call home. So, in the mean time I will continue to save my loose change and hope that one day I can afford to purchase a brownstone in Brooklyn and move my business there.

Sandra

Posted by: botanysdesire at October 5, 2008 6:37 AM

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