Blimpie, Dunkin' Donuts To Mar Lafayette
We hear that the boom in Fort Greene is attracting more than genteel brownstone residents. One concerned homeowner on South Elliott Place has tipped us off to a rumor that her historic block is about to get whacked by a nasty fast food one-two punch. Two shops on opposite corners of Lafayette and South Elliott…
We hear that the boom in Fort Greene is attracting more than genteel brownstone residents. One concerned homeowner on South Elliott Place has tipped us off to a rumor that her historic block is about to get whacked by a nasty fast food one-two punch. Two shops on opposite corners of Lafayette and South Elliott are in the process of changing hands. According to a workman on site, a Blimpie is going into the Triangular Floor space (top) and a 24-hour Dunkin’ Donuts is taking over the former bodega (bottom). We hope the workman was just having a little fun at a nosy neighbor’s expense. It won’t come as a surprise to anyone that we think that this stretch of Lafayette needs fast food restaurants like a hole in the head. We bet that the owners of the upscale restaurant Gia across the street agree.
The majority of you sound so full of yourselves! Get a grip!!
would much rather have a mom and pop than a national franchise. would be much better for the neighborhood.
Brooklyn Tech right down the block has what 7000 students? I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to have a place to grab a quick snack at a reasonable price.
Talk about taking something silly and running with it! We dont care if its a cute little panini shop or a family owned Hallmark store. Just dont want a tacky, 24 hour corporate nightmare next to my “precious” historic (smile…know you’re gonna love that one) brownstone, and I aint afraid to say it. Its just along the border of the historic block, we know. And no, the coffee cup won’t attack us (how cute), but its thats your logic let’s embrace any business that doesn’t shoot steak knives from their windows…
Lastly, Fort Greene isnt so “burgeoning” that we need a DD to give us 24 hour surveillance. I mean, Seriously……
Regarding my earlier statement and the “anonymous” response- Yes, a 2MM brownstone price tag would have been out of context
5 years ago. But thats the price tag, not the ACTUAL brownstone. The character has remained the same-albeit more expensive. We aren’t arguing about the cost of a donut or sandwich, we are talking about a physical retail location- a change in landscape and character. You can argue about Dunkin Donuts serving panini’s all you want, but the problem with the chosen location has NOTHING to do with the low cost of a coffee or muffin. Everyone, obviously, can take advantage of a real estate boom. But EVERY business does not fit EVERYWHERE. Period.
We all expect neighborhoods and businesses to evolve and change. But a slew of fast food crap on our block is not a welcomed evolution. And no matter how “self-serving” as it sounds, I’m gonna try to fight it. To assume we are supposed to buy in a neighborhood, raise our children, but then close our eyes to a violation in character and lifestyle is absolutely absurd. We chose Fort Greene for a reason.
I just call things the way I see them.
Its not ONLY about what type of food is offered (I don’t like it, I don’t eat it… I don’t eat it, I live another day!)
Its not ONLY about the aesthetic-obsolence of an Atlantic Yards Arena designed to have only 4 exits/entrances (you know, like a roach motel) or a tacky-ass purple and orange facade of a DD (never seen them in NY till about a year ago…must have super-low franchise fees)
Ladies and gents… IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO QUALITY OF LIFE!!! You cannot tell me that a DD (which I’ve heard sells fair-market-price muffins) would be the same as having, say, a “Connecticut Muffin” outlet. A neighborhood cafe is far-less-likely to attract a slew of sanitation trucks, and the like, that would be barreling through my nabe for a 4AM cup o’ joe! AND GOD FORBID THIS PLACE WOULD RUN 24hrs!!!
As for Blimpie, I just don’t see the need. There are plenty of clean, tasty sandwhich spots within 3 blocks (besides, I dare you to ask what’s in a “Blimpies Best” sub!)
Well, I wish it were a Quizno’s instead of a Blimpie’s, but as a Lafayette homeowner I can’t get too upset about either one. Truth is that block there could use some fast food besides the Kennedy Fried Chicken and that squalid Chinese takeout. Don’t get me wrong, I like the Pequena’s and Marquet’s and all, but it’s good to have variety on the more affordable end, too.
Incredible. Drenched… SOAKED, even, in irony. I’ll leave the grousing regarding the total lack of self-awareness here to others, but I will say that:
1) A well-lit, 24 hour establishment with large, open windows can actually increase security in a burgeoning neighborhood.
2) When I moved into W’burg as an early gentrifier 12 years ago, it used to drive me batshit insane that I could buy a two-thousand dollar coffee table made out of “distressed” subway doors, but I couldn’t find a bottle of Windex or a jar of spaghetti sauce, because there were no drug stores, no grocery stores, no hardware stores… nothin’.
I know Fort Greene has more infrastructure than that, but suffice to say that perhaps not everyone is pining for the perfect little panini shop.
This thread is great.
1. There is a Subway on Flatbush near Sterling Place. I don’t know if that’s above or below whatever is supposed to be so wretched about Blimpie…There is also a “Donut Connection” on Flatbush.
2. “A deli, panini shop, or muffin store would be one thing. But do YOU want a giant coffee cup emerging from an orange and purple awning on your block?” As long as this “giant coffee cup” doesn’t come and attack me or anything, yes I think I’ll live. But a muffin store or a panini shop would be so cute! So precious!