Lots of Stores For Rent on Flatbush
While occupancy rates at the Fulton Mall looked very high when we rode through a month ago, the same cannot be said of the strip of Flatbush Avenue that forms the border of Prospect Heights and Park Slope. More specifically, we counted nine empty storefronts on the three blocks between Dean Street and Prospect Place….
While occupancy rates at the Fulton Mall looked very high when we rode through a month ago, the same cannot be said of the strip of Flatbush Avenue that forms the border of Prospect Heights and Park Slope. More specifically, we counted nine empty storefronts on the three blocks between Dean Street and Prospect Place. Nine.
Fulton Mall Appears To Be Bucking Retail Downturn [Brownstoner]
MM is totally right! there’s a gazillion nail salons at every strip mall and intersection all over lawn guyland!
*r*
> “Has anybody noticed how much retail has picked
> up on Bergen from Flatbush to 5th Ave.?”
Quite an impressive little enclave. I hope they maintain momentum. That reminds me, I should get back to Melt some day soon.
I know I’ll regret jumping in here, but part of the reason nail salons seem to pop up like mushrooms is that they are usually family businesses with a very low overhead. The rent really is the largest expense. I watched one go into the corner of Nostrand and Pacific, formerly occupied by a very nasty bodega, whose loss is not lamented. After they gutted the space, cheap panelling went in, followed by standard florescent lighting, vinyl tile and formica tables and some cheap chairs. Add the manicure stuff, low paid or family workers, and open the doors.
They are successful, as are hair salons, because they cater to lower income women, who rightly or wrongly, depending on your point of view, have a long tradition of spending a little money to look good, no matter what else. Black hair has always presented challenges that need professional help for most of us. Most hair stylists have been “doing hair” since they were teenagers, and a cosmetology degree is as viable a way to make a living as any. Most hair braiders, especially the African ladies, have been doing that since childhood. Again, in a world with few options, it can be a good living wage. The first black millionaire in the United States, Madame CJ Walker, at the turn of the century, made her fortune on hair salons and products for African-American hair. It can be quite lucrative, and there is no reason not to try to be the next Madame Walker.
I might also add that most lower and working class neighborhoods have a lot of hair and nail places, not just black neighborhoods. Most high end neighborhoods do too, their salons just look more posh, or are hidden behind better facades.
I think the stretch of Flatbush from GAP to the Atlantic Mall has had quite a few vacancies since at least 1989. Sure there’s foot traffic but no where near the level of, say, 7th Ave. As someone said above, it’s just not a great stroll on Flatbush. I can’t think of a single destination store I like to frequent, except maybe Mitchell’s or the laundrymat.
I wish someone would open a 99 cent store on that section of Flatbush. There’s an awesome 99 cent super store in my home town where you can get everything from fancy little wrapping boxes to the usual discount Bounty paper towel to my favorite, a 10 inch tall, clear plastic man that snaps open to allow one to remove his brightly colored stomach, heart, intestines, etc. Brooklyn needs a store like that
Has anybody noticed how much retail has picked up on Bergen from Flatbush to 5th Ave.? I took a stroll there this past weekend and was surprised by the change. That block used to have quite a few vacant storefronts but now it’s a nice little retail community.
This stretch has had multiple empty storefronts for years.
Many of the stores on this strip are perplexing. There is a juice bar and a vegetarian restaurant – I’ve lived a stone’s throw from this strip for nearly 7 years now and I’ve never been to either, nor to Harriet’s Alter Ego.
Fjorder, I agree with you 100%.
Rent and operating expenses vs. profits, yes. What is mind-boggling sometimes on this site however is how everyone has become convinced that Brooklyn can handle an infinite supply of Area Kids, Bird boutiques, wine shoppes, and generally adorable stores that sell only sustainable products (cough, Moon River Chattal), in every neighborhood — and any failure in that regard is completely the fault of the plebs who only support the nail salons, meat stores, pharmacies and the bodegas — who, by the way, are just as small and local… but no one cares about that.
Also, for the record, if one were to do a block-by-block count, I would suspect the number of nail salons, day spas, and hair places in Park Slope is equal to the number on Flatbush or Fulton.
fsrq- touche
oooh, rob & heather, you go!