Chain Gang Thrives in Brooklyn
National retailers are increasingly sweet on Brooklyn, according to an article in today’s Post, and Brooklyn is apparently sold on chain stores. Since opening in December, the new IHOP on Livingston Street has ranked first in sales among the breakfast restaurant’s 1,300 locations, and the Downtown IHOP’s owner plans to open eateries in Bed-Stuy, East…
National retailers are increasingly sweet on Brooklyn, according to an article in today’s Post, and Brooklyn is apparently sold on chain stores. Since opening in December, the new IHOP on Livingston Street has ranked first in sales among the breakfast restaurant’s 1,300 locations, and the Downtown IHOP’s owner plans to open eateries in Bed-Stuy, East New York and Williamsburg. Other evidence of chain stores’ willingness to give Brooklyn a try includes the Target opening at Flatbush Junction and the one planned for the new building at Albee Square; Apple, JC Penney and Nordstrom are all said to be considering adding Brooklyn outposts. Marty Markowitz has been trying to woo Apple to a number of locations, including the new Albee Square building, the ground-floor space at One Hanson and the lower level of the Municipal Building on Joralemon Street. Although Downtown—with its existing foot traffic, reputation as a shopping district, and thousands of residential units in the pipeline—seems like a reasonable location for national chains, the influx of new stores is also detrimentally affecting independent retailers. “You can go anywhere to shop at a big chain store—people come to Downtown Brooklyn for Downtown Brooklyn and its uniqueness,” says Randy Leigh, a board member for Families United for Racial and Economic Equality, who notes that more than 100 small businesses have been pushed out of Downtown in the past year.
B’klyn is Making Chain-ge [NY Post]
Flatbush Junction Target Coming Soon [Brownstoner]
Downtown Brooklyn in Transition [Brownstoner]
Photo by milkshakepants.
To all chain store detractors: I am not fond of chains but find your excessive whining laughable. If you are a truly unique, independent individual, you don’t need to define yourself by where you eat and shop. Only “characterless” persons can be so concerned about “characterless” establishments.
It’s not a race war.
It’s just a fact.
More black people by percentage are overweight. Why are YOU, 1:15 turning that into a race war??
Oh great, this thread has already devolved into
a rutti-tutti-fresh-and-fruity race war.
You are comparing the customers at Ihop and Mcdonalds in Brooklyn to those in Wyoming, Timbucktoo? Ok fine.
And yes…they all have ONE thing in common.
They eat unhealthy food and are OBESE!
But we were talking about Brooklyn today and I see more overweight African Americans in Downtown Brooklyn than I do white people.
And notice they didn’t say they were looking to expand in Carroll Gardens, Park Slope and Windor Terrace.
They said Bed Stuy and East New York.
“to the idiot at 12:25 it’s not our eating habits it’s what shoved down our throats. If you go to applebees, ihop, Mcds in the mostly white neighborhoods the customers are white.”
so you are telling me the ONLY eating options in downtown brooklyn are ihop and mcd’s??
ever heard of walking down to sahadi’s and picking up some nuts and fruit? or over to montague street for some sushi (costs less than 2 big macs). or to the lovely thai place on montague or the 1000 other healthy choice alternatives???
don’t give me that…it’s all you have crap.
it’s just that. CRAP.
try to take responsibility for yourself instead of blaming others.
You’re new to the blog, 1:03?
11:56 that is perhaps the most moronic post I’ve ever seen on brownstoner.
“People of color are known not to have the most outstanding eating habits, and if you walk by most applebees, ihop, mcdonalds, the majority of consumers are african american.”
This is an incredibly ignorant statement, even for Brownstoner poster. What color are most of the folks who patronize the McDonald’s in Wyoming? or Colorado? Or Utah? Or Washington State? – three places where there are almost no black people and few people of color. The sheer stupidity of some of the people living in NYC is truly discouraging.
It must be cheaper for all these retailers to run the ghetto version of their real stores in Brooklyn. The shoddy quality of display, management, inventory, staffing and customer service would never be tolerated in a suburban setting, but the people of Brooklyn flock to it like flies on shit…