Great piece we will link to as we are working on our version about the sitch in nearby NJ. Having a mini chain problem is a luxury… as we battle maxichains... and as development just over the Hudson starts to resemble an airport food court.
Blank Street, Wonder and Jersey Mike's are cancers funded by private equity. The big chains at least know when nobody wants them and close shop (Starbucks on Flatbush). Wonder and Blank Street are parasites that use billionaire money to stay open at operating losses longer than local spots can survive. If you patronize them please stop.
I think I’ve only been to Blank Street but I’d definitely be labeled a gentrifier (am I not allowed to leave behind Macon, Ga for a better life?) I wish chains didn’t travel in such packs. I’d take ONE fast casual salad chain on Franklin but we don’t need ten as soon as we get one.
Chains often do a better job of articulating their brand proposition to customers and consistently delivering it. In Crown Heights we feel awash with bodegas that proclaim to be organic and green but the aesthetic doesn’t give them much credibility. I guess longtime locals might have a better sense for what delivers on what … but coffee shops and restaurants that are able to scale are usually better at signaling what they are about and delivering on it consistently.
P.S. Is anyone else sad that Bagel Pub seems to have slashed their menu? Are they trying to cut down on mistakes or food that they need to stock? I felt like one of the main things going for it was the crazy sense of abundance. The online ordering feels less intuitive now as well.
Yeah the Infatuation does stress that all chains are not bad but like you said the arrival of one brings the fear of what’s to come. Concerns about chains crowding out independent businesses are fair! BUT the neighborhood may be better at regulating its own character than we give it credit for. Two Starbucks locations in Park Slope did not last (Blank Street does seem to have a stronger hold on the tweens though)
I found that quote odd, as well. I think it’s not giving enough credit to the multitude of people who move here BECAUSE of its character. Frankly, if all I wanted were suburban strip malls, I would have…stayed in the suburbs.
Great piece we will link to as we are working on our version about the sitch in nearby NJ. Having a mini chain problem is a luxury… as we battle maxichains... and as development just over the Hudson starts to resemble an airport food court.
Blank Street, Wonder and Jersey Mike's are cancers funded by private equity. The big chains at least know when nobody wants them and close shop (Starbucks on Flatbush). Wonder and Blank Street are parasites that use billionaire money to stay open at operating losses longer than local spots can survive. If you patronize them please stop.
I think I’ve only been to Blank Street but I’d definitely be labeled a gentrifier (am I not allowed to leave behind Macon, Ga for a better life?) I wish chains didn’t travel in such packs. I’d take ONE fast casual salad chain on Franklin but we don’t need ten as soon as we get one.
Chains often do a better job of articulating their brand proposition to customers and consistently delivering it. In Crown Heights we feel awash with bodegas that proclaim to be organic and green but the aesthetic doesn’t give them much credibility. I guess longtime locals might have a better sense for what delivers on what … but coffee shops and restaurants that are able to scale are usually better at signaling what they are about and delivering on it consistently.
P.S. Is anyone else sad that Bagel Pub seems to have slashed their menu? Are they trying to cut down on mistakes or food that they need to stock? I felt like one of the main things going for it was the crazy sense of abundance. The online ordering feels less intuitive now as well.
Yeah the Infatuation does stress that all chains are not bad but like you said the arrival of one brings the fear of what’s to come. Concerns about chains crowding out independent businesses are fair! BUT the neighborhood may be better at regulating its own character than we give it credit for. Two Starbucks locations in Park Slope did not last (Blank Street does seem to have a stronger hold on the tweens though)
Will check out the Bagel Pub situation!
What about Brooklyn suya?
I found that quote odd, as well. I think it’s not giving enough credit to the multitude of people who move here BECAUSE of its character. Frankly, if all I wanted were suburban strip malls, I would have…stayed in the suburbs.