Bistro's and Cafes seem to be popping up left and right in Harlem but the reliable diner is really something that is hard to find. M&G Diner shuttered a few years back and the new businesses that have come along uptown have been a little more fancy.
Harlem Shake at 124th Street has this aesthetic and is helping bring back the feel of this old Harlem establishment but a true diner with loads of local character is still hard to find uptown.
M&G Diner's retail space has been gutted and all but one of the original signage still remains today in the restored building but the
asking rent for this corner of 125th Street is around $12,000 a month. Only a bank, Starbucks or someone like
Shake Shack's Danny Meyer could really afford this type of business we will have to see what will eventually happen to this space that has been vacant for some time now.
$12,000 seems pretty good for a corner of 125th street the foot traffic justifies the price. One can find mid block spaces on Broadway in Hamilton Heights for similar prices with a fraction of the foot traffic. This is why we're not seeing restaurants pop up in the frenzy that Central Harlem has seen.
ReplyDeleteI live on 141st and for years longed for a real diner to move into the space the Harlem Grange is now in. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they're there, but with the loud music and the prices, it's not going to be my go-to place. The thing I miss most from living downtown is my local cheap, good diner.
ReplyDeletei've always been curious when it comes to commercial spaces, if you have to do construction work or design work in the space do you have to pay rent those months before opening up for business?
ReplyDeleteCityDewller - it just depends on the negotiations. Most often, no, you don't pay rent then. Some free rent upfront is pretty common in retail leases. It's also not too uncommon for the landlord to pay for most of the cost to do the construction work.
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