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.
I’m always amazed at how expensive the chain restaurants are. The 1 time I ate at the Fridays (at the old Gage/Tollner spot) I paid about $10 for a veggie burger. It was the only thing on their 8 page menu that didn’t seem like a disgusting grease plate. I can eat better and cheaper than that at my local “red sauce” place, falafel joint, corner Indian spot, Thai, Caribbean, pizza and more. Sure we may get ripped off on bistros and brunch, but for a regular everyday nice weekday meal, why would anyone eat at a manufactured, characterless, test-marketed chain restaurant? They aren’t a bargain! (Although I have the best childhood IHop blueberry syrup memories.)
The CostCo on 3rd is a MAD HOUSE!
Super busy
Walmart may be racist, but they’ll open their lily white arms to those Hasids.
Im just sayin….
Bushwick.
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.
IHop?
What is going on? The franchising of Brooklyn will inevitably lead the borough to evolve into a strip mall suburb that belongs in Jersey. We need more local merchants.
This is the same story CostCo proved years ago. The 3rd ave store is the smallest in the whole chain and top the sales list.
When the store was built it was considered a huge risk.
The fact remains that many of the larger minority areas of Brooklyn will attract these chains.
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.
It’s not good or bad, but these are places they like.
Just as though the white yupster set loves their Starbucks tall, vente, no skim latte whip on the side decaf mocha frap.
And the Gap.
Anyone know where they would put an IHOP in Bed-Stuy? Restoration Plaza? Broadway? Hate the idea of such a store, but BS has so few options anything would be an improvement.
walmart would never come to downtown brooklyn. it’s absurd to even say so.
with two targets saturating the market, walmart would do poorly.
in another area of brooklyn, maybe.
but the new york pr machine would do a lot to stop such a hated business from opening.
and btw, downtown brooklyn is not just fulton mall.
it is also many other areas, including the new improved shopping avenue that is atlantic.