An article in the Wall Street Journal discusses the retail possibilities on the strip of West 116th Street between FDB and 5th Avenue. New condominiums such as the Kalahari and 1400 Fifth Avenue have added store frontage to the commercial corridor which is mostly populated with ethnic shops. Now that Bleu Violin Lounge and My Image Studios have announced their openings, better existing businesses such as The Winery and BBraxton are hopeful that the trend will pick up. The article mentions the success of FDB's bustling lower corridor but notes that commercial rents are still quite high for West 116th Street which makes it difficult for new businesses to open up. Read more in the Journal:
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This area has great potential. However, I'm disappointed in the Bleu Violin. It attracts a lot of people that just loiter in front of it at night and if you look inside, it doesn't look nice. They should have opened a coffee shop or the rumored tapas restaurant instead. As a lounge, it's only generating business between the hours of 10 PM and 2 AM. And the last thing we need on that corner are more random people loitering on the street. We already have enough of that as it gives rise to crime. A coffee shop/restaurant would generate a better business community in the area.
ReplyDeletePersonally I have no issue with a lounge, but the Bleu Violin is not a great lounge; the interior is poor, they could have done so much more. I do hope they improve as it is good to have traffic on that corner.
ReplyDeleteBut what kind of traffic do you want HarlemBBC? I'd guess traffic for the sake of traffic is not what you're getting at. That area has a lot of young families nearby that live in the Kalahari, etc... The lounge is just misplaced as its services don't fit the makeup of the residents in the area. As you mentioned, the interior is poor. I walked by one morning and the interior was trashed from the night before; cups on the ground, tables disorderly, and window shades broken. I give it 6 months.
ReplyDeleteI don't see folks in the immediate neighborhood going to a Tapas place to be honest. That is probably why they opened a lounge in the first place.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, any business of that nature is going to have a hard time of it on that corner until My Image Studios opens. Folks tend to want entertainment near to their dining places.
Guest, I of course am not advocating traffic for the sake of, but I look at places like Bier and that brings great traffic. I have lived all over the city and lounges can be very valuable to neighbourhoods regardless of the young families with children, they simply have to be well done. The issue with Bleu Violin is that it is poorly done and they have done little to endear themselves to their neighbours.
ReplyDeleteI think that if they spruce up the place and do more to get a dialogue going with their neighbours they can do well.
Agreed HarlemBBC. I guess I'd be more open to it if they put more effort into the space. If they did something like a happy hour and try to open the space up for after work crowds during the summer, that would go a long way. Vic - I think a tapas place would do well, or any restaurant for that matter, if it's done right. The Kalahari can support these businesses alone, it has a ton of residence and a majority are of the young professional profile. Hopefully this corridor will see improvement!
ReplyDelete116th street seems to have been overlooked while Frederick Douglass Boulevard has seen Harlem’s biggest retail transformation, it is now well overdue for 116th street see some new business to serve the recently arrived Harlemites.
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