Blue Marble Flagship Store To Close
The rising rents of Atlantic Avenue have claimed another victim: Blue Marble Ice Cream, whose flagship store opened at 420 Atlantic Avenue back in 2007, will be moving out in the coming weeks, a result of the landlord’s efforts to raise the rent. “We’re very sad to leave the neighborhood, especially since this was shop…
The rising rents of Atlantic Avenue have claimed another victim: Blue Marble Ice Cream, whose flagship store opened at 420 Atlantic Avenue back in 2007, will be moving out in the coming weeks, a result of the landlord’s efforts to raise the rent. “We’re very sad to leave the neighborhood, especially since this was shop our ‘first-born,'” said founder Alexis Miesen in an email, “but we were left with no alternative.” Ice cream fanatics need not totally despair though: Blue Marble’s other stores on Court and Underhill are going strong—and you can always get a scoop at The Flea on Saturdays! You can see the $3,500-a-month listing for the new space here, though, from what we hear, 900 square feet might be overstating the case a bit.
I know Blue Marble is expensive, but their strawberry ice cream is the best I’ve ever tasted. I saw it as a treat and went every so often. It’s very sad to see all these small shops close on Atlantic Ave. I saw another antique shop close recently. I don’t understand why the landlord would want to raise the rent now when there are so many vacant shops. I know it’s unlikely, but I do hope that Blue Marble and the LL can come to a compromise.
The Brooklyn commercial real estate market is hugely unspohisticated on both sides (landlord – tenant), compared to Manhattan. First of all, most owners give their listings to residential brokers, who know nothing about commercial real estate, or how to price and present it, and tenants seeking space go to residential brokers who have no idea how to negotiate for their clients/customers, either (I remember trying to explain the concept of a triple net lease to a colleague one day – talk about frustration!)’ In Manhattan, all this is handled by commercial brokers, who don’t do residential, and the broker’s fee is paid by the landlord, and is much larger than a resdiential rental fee (because you’re looking at 10 – 15 year leases with renewal options). I won’t touch commercial here because it is so not worth the hassle, when you’re only getting, in most cases, the same fee as a residential rental.
$3500 * 12 / 900 sq ft = $46.66 sq/ft for a neighborhood space with only moderate foot traffic during the weekend. Ridiculous.
I realize that the landlord has the right to optimize his/her revenue, but this is bad judgment in my opinion.
How about 3 dollars a scoop and let the landlord stand next to the server and take an additional 7 dollars.
I figure that’s how it works out in the end anyway.
“STFU and let brooklyn be ghetto again”
There’s plenty of territory in Brooklyn–East New York, New Lots, Brownsville, for example–that would support your *lifestyle* and will be free of *trendiness* and *overpriced yuppy crap* for the foreseeable future.
When Blue Marble stopped opening in the morning I knew they were done. They had a great early business and then Building on Bond came along and everyone started going there for coffee and something to eat. Blue Marble tried to do other things (bagels, etc) but it was too late. Liveb y the ice cream die by the ice cream. They were ridiculously overpriced but they had to be. That stuff had to be picked up all the way upstate and they had a serious rent to begin with. True a 3 year lease is flat out stupid but that’s b/c the owners (sorry, girls) had no business acumen whatsoever. They still have Court Street location but that’s teen tiny and margins are miniscule. Kind of glad they’re leaving Atlantic Ave myself. Found the place totally full ‘o shit. Walked out twice b/c the staff couldn’t scoop ice cream fast enough. Good riddance.
I own one small commercial space and frequently shop the rental market for others around the City. One of the peculiarities of the market in the smaller or less travelled portions of – Ft. Greene, Clinton Hill, Park Slope, Prospect Heights is the tradition where the landlord doesn’t charge extra for the RE tax, not even for increases.
The taxes on my store, which is a little smaller than this, and not in as good a location have gone up from less than $400 per month to over $700 per month in the 4 years I’ve owned the place. And I’ve got a mortgage and I have to make exterior repairs and I carry insurance.
I think whomever said you’ve got to look on both the LL and tenant side as small businesses was correct. If I make 5% per year on investment in my store, that’s a good year.
MM- I am not sure I understand your post – who doesn’t want these businesses to succeed?
From my perspective I hope they could charge $10 a scoop and have a line out the door (it either means many many people are doig really well and/or their ice cream is that good) and I hope the proprietors have enough money to buy Rwanda (if thats what they want)
– the only issue I have is – why shouldnt the LL be similarly empowered – and if like the shop owner if his price overshoots the market and he ‘loses’ so be it – no crying in baseball.
In other words I agree with yor sentiment 100%, I just dont get why you and others (SEEM) to be drawing a distinction from selling ice cream and selling retail space.
landlords wouldnt keep raising rent prices on commercial spots if people who lived in brooklyn didnt constantly toot their horns about how trendy it is and yammer on and on and on and on and wanting more yuppie crappy overpriced establishments. of COURSE the landlords are going to raise then rent! YOU CAUSED IT WITH YOUR COMPLAINING! now STFU and let brooklyn be ghetto again!
*rob*