New bar opening?

rosweed

This is the real issue. I don't think people are let down by the prospect of another West Indian restaurant

That is the issue for me. I want a decent sit down restaurant within a reasonable walking distance from my house. Tavern on Nostrand is almost there. The food is just okay for what you pay, and the service is slow. That is the type of place I would frequent if they could improve the menu just a little and pay some attention to the service.

won't ub my nabor

Totally agree. The question is how to make it happen if we are not going to do it ourselves. Perhaps a restaurant cooperative, along the lines of a food coop? People make relatively small one time investment (say $1000) to become a member. Get a board and a management team, and you are good to go. Rather than dividends, members get discounted prices on meals.

rosweed

I never thought of a cooperative restaurant. Are there any examples of this being a success? I just have suspicions that anything that's run by a committee could be successful.

won't ub my nabor

I've never heard of the idea before, but the concept is not completely foreign. McDonald's and similar public corporations are all examples - corporations that own and manage restaurants. Except for the scale and the ultimate disposition of the funds (which would be reinvested rather than dividended out), the basic concept is the same.

It would just need a really tight management team. I think the biggest hurdles would be setting up the legal structure and preparing the offering plan.

Another idea that might be easier is to get off the ground is to get restaurants to form their own cooperative, to purchase goods and supplies as a collective at a larger discount then they could get on their own. As part of the charter of the coop, (1) part of the savings could go back to the member restaurants as profit (2) part of the savings would to be invested into improving the business itself and (3) part of the funds could go into furthering the development of Nostrand.

drkman

The idea of Nostrand having a slew of sit down restaurants is great but if that was to happen, IMO, I would like to see a wider variety. If the focus is going to be on Caribbean food, then it would be nice to see a Jamaican restaurant, Haitian restaurant, Dominican restaurant, Trinidadian restaurant, Bajan restaurant, West Indian restaurant, Puerto Rican restaurant etc. Even though the foods are similar, there is enough of a variation to me that it would be interesting. How sustainable this would be is questionable but Nostrand is a major avenue that is heavily traveled, especially by Fulton Street.

Personally, I would like to see a decent soul food restaurant in the area but the only one that I know about is on Vanderbilt (except for 95 South which is a different story) and that is a little out of the way for me unless I am in that area. Anyhoo, as things change, I believe Nostrand between Atlantic and Empire will become one of the areas that people will look to develop. It is my hope that the development will be nice and still maintain businesses that are wanted by the community. Sorta like Broadway up by the 140's, where sit down restaurants are side by side with economical stores that are frequented by neighborhood residents.

capt. planet

I think Marty is the logical funding source for a grant to create an image campaign for Nosrand. This used to be his district when he was a State Senator and he grew in near Ebbet Field I believe. Once he buys in, we could get other electeds to cough up some dough as well. Once the local restauranteurs saw some money on the table, I'm betting their interest would pick up.
What this idea lacks is a local merchant to take the lead, and this has always been the problem on Nostrand.
Perhaps a coop restaurant could be the vehicle to fill the void. I once ate at a coop restaurant in Vancouver BC. It was staffed by members and had sliding scale pricing. Really out there. The Park Slope Food Coop is bulging at the seems now after a prolonged growth spurt and start-up coops are forming in Bed-Stuy, Fort Greene and Bay Ridge. If they can start a commie coop in conservative Bay Ridge, anything is possible here.