Observer » Stores

Joggers and Shoppers Signal a Slow Return To Normal Life in New York

Kim Velsey — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 20:05:07 -0400

Gateway shopping center in Brooklyn was (relatively) packed.

Cars are still submerged on Wall Street, regular subway service may not resume for weeks and huge swaths of Lower Manhattan lie in darkness, but small signs suggest that New Yorkers are more than ready to return to normal—or at least feeling a little stir crazy.

As soon as the rains stopped Tuesday afternoon, the streets of Crown and Prospect Heights filled with joggers, apparently undeterred by the fact that all New York City parks remain closed and that the sidewalks are littered with tree branches. And not all of them looked like the fitness gurus who can be found running in any squall. We spotted at least one runner pausing gratefully at the stoplight (most of them were working, although a few flashed yellow).

Bodegas, restaurants and bakeries drew crowds of hungry Brooklynites, even in neighborhoods where no one had lost power. Scratch, on Bedford Avenue in Bed-Stuy, contended with a line stretching out the door and a dwindling supply of baked goods in the late morning. Apparently, even one day of home cooking was one day too many for some. Roman's in Fort Greene was also open for foodies with cabin fever, as was Marlowe & Sons in Williamsburg, which The Observer heard was also been packed with desperate gourmands before the storm struck on Sunday.

At Gateway Center in East New York, the Target and Home Depot were mobbed, although most of the other stores remained shuttered. Were shoppers worried about shortages in the East Coast supply chain or just looking to get out of the house? Even those who weren't busy stimulating the local economy were out surveying the damage, blinking into the overcast sky as they studied the uprooted trees and leaf-damp streets.

kvelsey@observer.com

Donut David Vanquishes Goliath [UPDATE: Again!]

Matt Chaban — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 16:29:56 -0400

Last year was another rough one for the little guy in New York, as the recession and competition shuttered many neighborhood shops. The threat of Walmart still looms large -- now on the Lower East Side, no less--and here comes word of a Boerum Hill institution, the Victory Cafe, closing.

Fortunately, one of The Observer's favorite establishments has weathered the storm.

Dunkin Donuts, the city's largest retailer, recently closed its store on 14th Street. When it opened three years ago, it was seen by many, including Vanishing New York blogger Jeremiah, as a bad omen for our beloved Donut Pub. Yet the little guy survived, thanks in part, we believe, to its incomparable crullers and black-and-whites.

Score one for the mom-and-pops.

UPDATE: A reader sent over an email pointing out that this is actually not the first time Dunkin Donuts has tried--and failed!--to vanquish the humble Pub:

Us local residents have watched with interest as competitors have attempted to come in and knock the Donut Pub off. You may be interested in knowing that this isn't the first time that Dunkin' Donuts has failed against the Donut Pub. About 12 years ago, Dunkin' Donuts opened up a shop on 7th Avenue, between 14th and 15th, just around the corner. It lasted about two years. When I moved into the nabe back in the late '80s, the Donut Pub was just this little grungy greasy spoon donut place. Since then, they've upgraded and are now much fancier looking. But the donuts, the coffee and the staff is the same -- they're great!!!

mchaban@observer.com

Barneys Opens in Brooklyn, Mars Once-Authentic Neighborhood

Nate Freeman — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 15:15:43 -0400

Barneys has taken its decidedly Manhattan disposition across the East River — Atlantic Avenue in Carroll Gardens may never be the same. The Barneys Co-op store's new location, which was confirmed last April, is open for business today. Mothers with money are ready to open their wallets, and residents who harbor nostalgia for a falsely remembered past are poised to complain. To them, an entire ethos is at stake.

"I can't even afford to look," Tony Consiglio, a law student at Brooklyn College, told the New York Post. "Back in the day, Barneys was not so totally corporate. It had more character. It changes the character of the neighborhood." (OK, yes, emphasis ours.)

But anyone who's taken a stroll through those comfortable Carroll Gardens thoroughfares, replete with strollers and classic automobiles, knows that the Barneys Co-op will not be too short of customers. The company's press release says the Brooklyn high fashion outpost will stock its shelves with all the lines one would expect — Alexander Wang, Phillip Lim, Rag & Bone, Vena Cava — and chances are they will make their way into neighborhood shopping bags.

And the kids are totally stoked!

"I think this is great," Linda Berminghman, real Carroll Gardens mother, told the Post. "My daughter is 20 and she's coming home from college this weekend because Barneys is opening."

Leaving campus just to shop at a cred-killing clothier? College must not be as fun as it used to be.

nfreeman@observer.com

Twitter: @NFreeman1234