store closings/openings

prezst

pearle vision just opened at the corner of union & 7th, where (what i assume was a privately-owned) glasses place used to be.

and as i was walking today past the former rug shop on 1st and 7th, across from 321, i poked-in my head & asked one of the workmen what was going-in there. he said.............a burger shop.

booklaw

Just what we need... it's so hard (not!) to find a burger on 7th Ave...

ludwigvanbrooklyn

Might as well chime in. Blockbuster on 15th and 5th ave finally has "going out of business" signs up, and are selling off their inventory. Also, the old Taco Nuevo building is finally renovating.

danielj

That new burger spot is gonna be a Bare Burger, which is all organic and has things like elk and bison. Yelp reviews sound pretty good.

http://heresparkslope.blogspot.com/2011/03/more-burgers-headed-our-way.html

veets

Any Burger place in the hood that might "flip" out Flipsters (corner of 7th ave and 9th street) automatically gets my approval.

v

new2hood

I just took a peek at the Bare Burger website. It looks AWESOME...almost like a Bark for burgers, maybe?

emilee

Vespa Salon on 7th between 15th and 16th lost their lease after 10 years. Good thing is Nancy and Sergio are renting space at La Belle Salon on 7th between 13th and 14th temporarily until they find a new space. These rent increases are ridiculous!

prezst

the thai restaurant 'lemongrass,' on 7th near lincoln, is gone

opossumqueen

prezst said:

the thai restaurant 'lemongrass,' on 7th near lincoln, is gone

Nooooooo. They had the best soup and curry I've had in Park Slope. I can't figure out why people like the other places I've tried (included the every-popular and bland Song). Now I'm going to have to cook my own Thai food unless the new place on 5th Ave turns out to be good.

shekb

Some of us don't think Song is so bland, I guess.

snarkslope

I, for one, think Song is awesome.

opossumqueen

Song is obviously popular--I don't think it's ever empty but I personally haven't really enjoyed what I had there. Nothing was terrible, it just wasn't memorable or delicious to me. Same with most of the thai places in the nabe. I occasionally had a great meal at Mango but other times it was awful. The few things I ordered from Lemongrass were pretty much always really flavorful (I grew up on lots of garlic and hot peppers and other strong flavors I don't find much in the north, fwiw), though I know plenty of folks didn't like it. I will now be forced to cook my own Thai food, which wouldn't be so bad if I could get all the ingredients around home. I'm sad b/c they were my go-to for really quick delivery.

Speaking of this, does anyone know of a Thai restaurant in Park Slope or BoCoCa that actually serves bananas in coconut milk? I think it's too dangerous to make at home (ie, I can't stop myself from making an ungodly amount).

purple rain

Lemongrass was the first restaurant the BF and I visited 14 years ago when scouting the neighborhood before we moved there. (We moved, he left, I'm still here

Sad to see all these places I remember from long ago closing.

piano

I like Song, and the prices are very reasonable. I just wish they didn't have a DJ or make it so damn loud in there. I had a couple of rather unpleasant experiences with Lemongrass about 10 years ago and hadn't been back.

Not trying to be morbid here, but any guesses on what might be next to go? I can't imagine that the Park Slope Eatery is doing to well. I almost never see anyone in there and it's a big space, which is too bad because it's pretty good and I like having a comfort food option around. Or salads.

puckbrooklyn

Wasn't there just a posting on one of those snarky PS blogs about that place going bankrupt?

puckbrooklyn

Yep... here it is...

http://parkslope.patch.com/articles/park-slope-eatery-files-for-bankruptcy

MOD

Real sad to see Lemongrass go.

pmonk

Just get it over with and bring in the Dunkin Donuts or a Rite Aid already

piano

PuckBrooklyn said:

Yep... here it is...

http://parkslope.patch.com/articles/park-slope-eatery-files-for-bankruptcy

Oh that's sad. I really didn't want to be right about that. I'll have to eat there tonight. I'm surprised it's bailing so quickly. I'd wondered for years how D'Agostino stayed in business so long before it finally went under.

But I don't know if this should worry other Park Slope businesses. It's really a case by case scenario. I think it's more of a reflection on their business model/strategy than the economy. I see other places on this stretch that are always crowded.

... On second thought I might not eat there. Just noticed this at the end of that article:

"Park Slope Eatery also received particularly bad marks on a recent restaurant inspection: on February 22, the spot received a whopping score of 107, with 19 violations."

brooke lynn knight

Neither a closing nor an opening, more of a shimmying -- Fez Salon has, for some reason, moved from their previous spot near Willy's Dawgs (RIP) to a new spot a couple doors down, where Under the Pig (RIP) used to be. Fez itself seems to be doing well, knock wood.

peanuts

Fez moved to where the antique place was because the rent was being raised - the antique place is a smaller space so the rent was less.

opossumqueen

Via Here's Park Slope, another Spice Thai restaurant from Manahattan is taking the Lemongrass space.

http://heresparkslope.blogspot.com/2011/03/spice-expands-to-brooklyn-moving-into.html

opossumqueen

On 7th Ave between 3/4th, next to the going out of business ladie's clothing store (still with me?) there's a sign that a nail salon is coming soon.

danielj

@OpossumQueen Actually, it's a nails saloon.

http://heresparkslope.blogspot.com/2011/03/coming-soon-to-219-7th-nails-saloon.html

pmonk

The video store on 7th between Carrol and Garfield.

Park Slope is slowly going down the toilet!

piano

A video store closing! It must be the end of Park Slope. Can't have anything to do with the fact that nobody uses video rental stores anymore.

blevine77

Pfffft. Everyone knows Park Slope ended the day they closed that last beeper store.

pmonk

Piano said:

A video store closing! It must be the end of Park Slope. Can't have anything to do with the fact that nobody uses video rental stores anymore.

I like how you seem to be under the impression that you think you know what you are talking about?

I am sure you are one of them dipshits who form a line outside of Starbucks every morning?

piano

Ha! Nice tantrum PMonk (actually it's pretty lame and random. Reminds me of Costanza's rant about people with complicated shoes). Boy, you're just angry aren't ya? And on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

But you're right. A video store going out of business is definitely a sign that this entire area cannot support economic activity of any kind.

I mean look at the streets of Park Slope. Absolutely dead. No one going anywhere, no one buying anything. I just did three laps around Prospect Park without seeing another living person.

If only the remaining area businesses would heed your brilliant foresight and close up shop now, they may be able to prevent themselves from going broke. If only we'd all listen to your stellar intellect and sound judgment the world would be a much better place.

I don't blame you for always being so grumpy. I'd be too if I were you.

davidg8089

I noticed the other day that there were several empty storefronts on 7th ave. While this is NOT a really good thing, it happens. During the last bad recession in 1989 there were quite a few places that closed their doors and some new ones opened and lasted quite awhile.

The thing to look at IMO is how long it takes to fill a space rather than precisely what goes there. If you don't like the place, don't buy or shop there and encourage others to do the same, ..

I worked in the Bronx some years back and in that area there were storefronts that were empty for YEARS. Now THAT was a run down area!