StreetLevel: Atlantic Earns Some Bread
Looks like the corner of Atlantic and Court is getting some new retail that’s all about dough. The storefront next to the Subway will soon host a bakery (if the baseball caps the workers who were rehabbing the store were wearing are any indication, the biz is going to be named “Adam’s Fresh”), while the…
Looks like the corner of Atlantic and Court is getting some new retail that’s all about dough. The storefront next to the Subway will soon host a bakery (if the baseball caps the workers who were rehabbing the store were wearing are any indication, the biz is going to be named “Adam’s Fresh”), while the plywood-encased space underneath the Blue Car & Limo sign is going to be a Bank of America branch, according to a neighborhood source. What with Trader Joe’s coming just across the street and Urban Outfitters taking space only a block away, it seems this stretch of western Atlantic is turning into more of shopping destination (though decidedly less mom-and-pop). Rumors about other retail openings making the rounds? GMAP
4:49 – I really don’t buy that as there buisness model and I am assuming you have no proof other then your own observation or perception –
so using my perception – the vast majority of Starbucks that I see dont fall into that model at all – in Manhattan in the biz districts (which I see more then res areas) it seems that there strategy is/was to just be everywhere so that working people have no choice but to get their fix from them – Far from putting ‘cofee shops’ out of business it seems like they are hurting the coffee carts, old time office lobby purveors and the local deli biz – since most of these areas never had ‘coffee shops’ in the Starbucks vein anyway.
And in Brooklyn the locations that I see – Court(2x), Smith, 7th Ave and Montague are all in spots that had no or few long standing coffee shops. In fact the only store that I recall going out of buisness after Starbucks opened might have been the Montague St Ozzies (not even sure about the timing here) – which had lousy coffee and an upstairs location was was struggling after only a few years – before that there werent any coffee shops on Montague.
So not sure where you come up with Starbucks biz model that you cite.
exactly, 4:49.
they did that on the upper west side. they opened a bunch, then closed two of them.
not only that, but they pay above and beyond what the market rate rents are, just to make sure they can get a foothold into their particular neighborhood of choice.
it sucks.
it’s business and it’s capitalism, but this part of it sucks.
All said, good luck–Adam’s Fresh–We hope you’re a good addition to the neighborhood. Build a better cupcake, and the world will beat a path to your door. Actually, they will beat a path to the ATM at BOA and then to your door. Better cupcakes always cost mucho dinero!
3.43 – while I agree with the concept you are noting, Starbuck’s business model is actually a bit more insidious than that. They actively scout out areas with a few coffee shops then set up shop, often more than one, with the intention of flooding the area with their presence. Once the competition closes, they generally consolidate to just one Starbucks in that area.
I walk to Brooklyn heights, take out my money on Montague, then walk down Court Street to spend it. Once Fish Tales, the green grocer or beer distributor and all the other the quirky shops that make Court Street worth the trip become bank branches, then there will be no reason to make the extra effort. But the residents will be happy because they will have a choice of 10 bank branches from which to draw their money and a choice of four national chain drugstores in which to spend it–all without that pesky 4/10 of a mile schlep.
4:30- also the lot sizes have a lot to do with chain stores ability to compete- they need bigger floor plates than the typical brownstone floor plate which is the standard south of Atlantic. Econ of scale and all that.
FWIW, I think (hope) Montague and Court St. north of Atlantic has all the chains and the banks because of the foot traffic from the courts, dept of education, and all the subways etc; I dont think Court south of Atlantic for the most part is dense enough to really interest the chains (more than already, Starbucks here and there and few bank branches).
Actually its 4/10’s of a mile – about 7minutes at a good pace (with no lights)
But this is one of those arguments that for some reason people dont understand and instead love to complain that there are so many ______ here – when in reality (in a pedestrian enviroment – ‘here’ takes on a different meaning.
It isnt just the distance between two locations – its the number of people who live (and work) ‘past’ each location.
If you live in upper Brooklyn Heights and happen to bank at BoA then frankly a bank at Court and Atlantic is totally not convenient even if the distance between them is 4/10 of a mile) it would probably bee close to 1.5 mi round trip from many places in upper Brooklyn Heights. – Same argument applies if you work at Federal Court on Cadman Plaza for ex.
Conversely if you live a few blocks into Cobble Hill – BoA Branch on Montague St can be a hike.
Most people work 7-10hrs a day and really dont have time to walk 3mi doing errands in the evening, so for most people convenient is 5 blocks from their house or work or otherwise on the way home from the subway. Everything else is saved for the weekend.
Personally except for an ATM machine withdrawl (which you dont need the bank for) I have no idea why people go to brances at all – but I see that if you do – these two branches are serving different constituents.
3:36…you’re either kidding or 90 years old. It’s like 5 downtown Brooklyn blocks, maybe six. What’s that, 5 minutes, 6 at an amble? How inconvenient! Granted, I’ve seen perfectly healthy people in Downtown Brooklyn take the bus for distances that short…
Lower Montague is a veritable sea of banks and drugstores–I’m hoping that Court street (or Smith) doesn’t become like that.