An article in DNAinfo reveals that some new expensive and affordable options have appeared on the 5 and Diamond menu in the past few weeks. Even though the FDB/8th Avenue newcomer was celebrated as one of first high end restaurants to arrive uptown, many thought that the prices did not quite fit for the neighborhood. Months after the eatery's opening, a five dollar menu of food and drinks started to show up during the early evening weekday happy hour which now includes a Maine Lobster Mac and Cheese small plate. On the higher end of the menu, a Sunday Supper Club four-course menu for $90 has just been introduced so an upper market clientele is still definitely in the picture:
LINK. Another notable fact from the article is that the restaurant just north of 112th Street has also applied for a sidewalk cafe license which will help transform this part of lower FDB into a more pedestrian friendly destination.
Unfortunately, 110th to about 113th/114th is pretty dead...good luck to them.
ReplyDeleteD, I completely disagree. Bier International is constantly packed. If your business delivers, then the crowds will come. I passed 5 & Diamond and Lido on Saturday and dead is not a word I would use to describe the atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteBier International, Lido, 5 & Diamond, Nectar, Harlem Tavern, all with outdoor seating...FDB up to 125th is shaping up to be a great stretch for outside dining. Hope Red Rooster get their permit sorted out soon.
Chris - it seems that the businesses you mentioned, aside from 5 & Diamond are all above 113th street. I mentioned 110th to 113th.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Chris. FDB is where its at! This is purely based on the facts. Look at all the places that have opened up.
ReplyDeleteLove 5 & Diamond! Can't wait till they get that sidewalk license!
ReplyDelete5 and Diamond has no problem keeping it packed, and outdoor seating will only add to their popularity! Their happy hour is amazing, and has made my friends and I stay on for their dinner options more than once. 67 Orange and Zoma are down there, and these are two other places that attract a multitude of people.
ReplyDeletefrom 110th to 113th isn't dead at all - it has a pharmacy/health food store/insurance office/deli/Vet etc etc but only 1 restaurant - 5 & Diamond - except for Amrita on 110th which is always busy.
ReplyDeleteFDB is turning into a great attraction, there are a lot of new buildings coming along nicely just in time for summer
ReplyDeleteIt's probably best if we steer the discussion away from semantics, though it doesn't help that D moved the goalposts a bit from "113th/114th" -- which is, as particular blocks on FDB go, anything but "dead." Bier's nexus of activity never ceases to amaze me, and there is no doubt more to come in that vicinity given the built environment.
ReplyDeleteAt any rate, if we're going to call out micro-zones and particular blocks on FDB as somehow lacking, we could easily take a look at points north as well (e.g., 115th-116th).
As for the stretch below 113th? Every commercial space is occupied, apart from the brand new building that has yet to open. As has been mentioned already, on the 112th-113th block there is Zoma, 67 Orange, and 5 & Diamond -- which are all quite solid.
The corner store at 112th is being gut renovated as we speak, and will no doubt be a good bit nicer when it reopens. It would be great if the drug store could stay open later, though.
Below that? HSBC, Organic Forever, Papa John's, Subway, Amrita. Not exactly terrible. And in terms of space, there's not much else to work with.
It's worth pointing out here that the first block or two would look a great deal different if the city exercised its soon-to-expire option to buy back the gas station property (for what would be essentially pocket change) and sold it to a developer. But I suppose it's not as though we're facing any budgetary pressures of the sort that would make a large municipal windfall (or the associated long-term expansion of the local tax base) attractive in any way...
Don't forget Society Coffee at 114th and FDB. Always a decent crowd in there...
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