More news for 301 West 125th Street and FDB/8th Avenue has been published in Crain's today. The empty lot currently under construction already secured DSW in the past but now Joe's Crab Shack and Blink Fitness have signed on leases. Blink Fitness is the more affordable branch of Equinox for those who are not familiar with the chain and based on this current information, it seems this new commercial building will be fully booked so do not expect any supermarkets opening here soon:
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Nice! We need some new food joints to populate the area around the Apollo! Seems like seafood is go-to cuisine this summer..lol. Red lobster and now Joe's Crab Shack?! That's funny. If only Pier 2110 could have stuck it out and charged 50% less it would have been the ultimate seafood trifecta!
ReplyDeletePossibly more excited about Joe's than Whole Foods! Fantastic spot.
ReplyDeleteWhat is Joe's Crabshack? Is it a franchise?
ReplyDeleteYeah, they do really good buckets of crab, shrimp etc. Sanou's Mum. They will do really well in Harlem, but yeah, maybe a little bit odd having it right next door to Red Lobster.
ReplyDeleteNot sure how I feel about yet another franchise coming up here. Granted, Joe's is a bit more upscale and fun than Applebees and IHOP, but what is it about this neighborhood that attracts this stuff?!? We're in a major culinary capital of the world, for pete's sake!
ReplyDeleteMax, restaurant chains have been pushing into manhattan aggressively - look at 23rd street with its olive garden and dallas bbq and the like. Union square has a tgi fridays. And times square has everything. With a few exceptions, the major cross streets in nyc - 14th street, 23rd street, 34th street - have few independent restaurants and a lot of big box retailers and chain restaurants and fast food. I'm not sure its unique to harlem. The reality is you pay a premium to be on a big cross street, not to mention the spaces tend to be large, and its easier for franchises to afford that. Harlem is seeing plenty of independent restaurants as well just fewer on 125th street. I like Joes crab shack - and think its a slam dunk pick for the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteAgree with GG, chains like to populate the main thoroughfares because of the extremely high levels of foot traffic. Also smaller restaurants cannot in most cases afford the rents that such prime spots command. Nothing wrong with the chains as they are needed as well.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the day, the independent merchants in the neighborhood will benefit from the traffic that the big stores bring in. Mom and Pop's won't be able to afford 125th Street. Fine. 125th Street will draw a diverse group of people for shopping/eating/etc. Those people coming for the chain stores on 125th will become an opportunity for businesses in the smaller businesses in surrounding neighborhood. This is great for the neighborhood. It could be a big boon for the FDB and Lennox corridors.
ReplyDeleteGenius, Red Lobster plus Joe’s Crabshack, followed up with a session at Blink Fitness to work off all that high calorie low nutrition food.
ReplyDeleteThanks, GG. You make a great point. It would be hard for the smaller, more boutique stores to cover the rent on a large commercial strip. Nevertheless, downtown the chains are tempered by local stores and restaurants so here's hoping we can eventually get more of those.
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