AS Pork is Closing
Surprise surprise....due to a rent increase, the landlords have asked A&S to vacate. The owners want to stay or find another location on 5th Avenue. You can stop in and sign a petition if you want this neighborhood butcher to remain. Otherwise perhaps another bank can open or another boutique.
Comments
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This is a real tragedy. Sal - the owner - is a very very nice guy. He always asks about my kids when I go in there. Park Slope will be just a little bit less special if this place is allowed to close.
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didn't i hear the owner was also a family member who was just kind of evil, or did I make that up?
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i know hindsight is 20/20, but these businesses which have been here forever should have had the foresight to buy the building where they housed their shops. do these business owners not realize that rents always go up in the long term?? were they hoping park slope would never take off, thus keeping their rent low for eternity? i guess i don't get it.
i don't know how long this place has been here, but i'm guessing long enough that you could have practically had this place given to you by the city 20 years ago.
it seems like it should be a sad day to have the local old school butcher close up shop, but i've never set foot in there, so personally i'm not all that worked up over it. i heard it was uper expensive and i don't eat a ton of meat anyway. if i do, i get it at union market.
sorry to those who loved the place. guess you should have eaten more meat. -
belzjm I agree. They have been there since 1942 but seems it's a family issue according to Gowanuslounge:
"The blogger who does Adventures of a Gal, which often touches on Brooklyn real estate issues, emailed us to say that the stores, which has been in the same location since 1942, is being “forced to move out due to a skyrocketing rent, they only have 3 months to find another place.”
Another source reports that the same landlord’s rent increases just led the closure of Lucia next door as well.
Per Adventures of a Gal:I spoke to the owners at A&S and it seems to be a family squabble gone awry and now the daughter of the former owner (still all family) is jacking their rent up b/c she knows she can get more money for that space and doesn’t care that the family business won’t be able to afford it. They have 3 months to find a new place and so far, can’t find anything in this area that they can afford." -
regardless of who's at fault, it is a shame. those folks made a mighty fine sandwich.
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bummer
I hope they find a new place, or their grandma intervenes and makes them all play nice...
cause they really do make a good sandwich, and are sweet as pie to boot. -
belzjm wrote: i know hindsight is 20/20, but these businesses which have been here forever should have had the foresight to buy the building where they housed their shops. do these business owners not realize that rents always go up in the long term?? .
I know it might be hard to believe....but some people have trouble saving a downpayment to buy Brownstones. Not everyone works in banking or business and can have the "foresight" to "invest" in a neighborhood. Some people have kids young and then it is really hard to save. Some people;s work is to provide great sandwiches and that doesn't come with a year end bonus. -
And when the person who does own the building is your father or uncle or whatever, and you are part of an extremely close-knit family, there probably does not appear to be any need to buy the building.
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...and since it's hardly a secret that rents tend to go up, it's possible that said buildings haven't been for sale.
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To me, these kind of family owned businesses are what makes Brooklyn great. But as these close up and are replaced by banks, or restaurant franchises, I think Brooklyn loses a lot. It loses the community that people all say Park Slope has. But I don't feel a lot of community from Chase bank, but I do from places like A&S or Brookes Vacuum (or the old Liberty Butcher on 7th and 13th? several years back). Places that have been around, are locally owned and where the owners care about what they do. So yes, it is a family squabble but it is sad that there is nothing available to rent at a reasonable price for these kind of businesses to reopen.
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WTGirl wrote: To me, these kind of family owned businesses are what makes Brooklyn great. But as these close up and are replaced by banks, or restaurant franchises, I think Brooklyn loses a lot. It loses the community that people all say Park Slope has. But I don't feel a lot of community from Chase bank, but I do from places like A&S or Brookes Vacuum (or the old Liberty Butcher on 7th and 13th? several years back). Places that have been around, are locally owned and where the owners care about what they do. So yes, it is a family squabble but it is sad that there is nothing available to rent at a reasonable price for these kind of businesses to reopen.
yeah, it's true. if there was a fight 15 or 20 years ago, they could have opened down the block.
but maybe there wouldn't have been a fight about it 20 years ago, cause no way could a higher rent be sought...
I just heard the Pure Energy martial arts school on Fifth Ave just down from A&S is moving at the end of the summer, due to rent increase. They found a place on Union and 3rd Ave. But that seems less likely to work for a sandwich shop/butcher.
I really doubt the long term security of stores that open with a really high overhead. Most of them are not able to make a go of it with top dollar rents hanging over their bottom line. As a landlord, I'd rather have the steady secure income and not have to worry about it -- look how 7th Ave tanked on the downside of the gentrification process! -
first the Tea Lounge re-thread, now this. a lot of posts covering things that have been covered before already today.
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J0518 wrote: first the Tea Lounge re-thread, now this. a lot of posts covering things that have been covered before already today.
yeah, not everybody reads every post or comes to the board on the same schedule . . . if a conversation is an annoying retread to you, please ignore it
Anybody know how much longer to we get to enjoy A&S at their present location? -
I'm glad this was posted again. I hadn't seen this, or the Tea Lounge thread, and I do come here. At least weekly. My schedule doesn't permit more time to just surf the internet.
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I just walked by the martial arts place on 5th Ave between 2nd and 3rd, and it looks like A&S is taking over. Tessa Gordon's moving to a bigger place on Union St.
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5x5 wrote: I just walked by the martial arts place on 5th Ave between 2nd and 3rd, and it looks like A&S is taking over. Tessa Gordon's moving to a bigger place on Union St.
Great news!!! -
If the move is true, I'm happy for the owners and all the fans of the place. However, they may want to reconsider the hours they're open. I've tried to get a sandwich at night only to find out they close at 6 or 7 p.m. That might have been fine 30-40 years ago when the woman of the house was almost always a stay at home mom and could shop during the day, but the fact is now both adults of most households work and are not able to do any shopping until later in the evening. Again, I'm glad if the rumors of the move are true, but these older neighborhood shops also need to adapt to the times if they want to be competitive.
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i'm glad they're leaving, i never liked those sandwiches anyways. the place sure is charming though. hopefully a new bar will open up in its place.
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They are not a sandwich shop-they are a butcher shop. As a butcher shop, they are very good.
I walked by today and they have a big sign saying they are moving to 312 5th Avenue, there is even a sign at 312 5th Avenue saying A&S is moving there. -
LongTimeSloper wrote: They are not a sandwich shop-they are a butcher shop. As a butcher shop, they are very good.
This. -
Sure, I realize it's a butcher shop and not a sandwich shop (if the comments were directed to my post). My point is, no matter the type of store, adjustments need to be changed to reflect the reality of the work habits of the community. And I say this based on my exactly 0 years experience in owning my own business. Just an observation.
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Carnivore wrote: [quote=5x5]I just walked by the martial arts place on 5th Ave between 2nd and 3rd, and it looks like A&S is taking over. Tessa Gordon's moving to a bigger place on Union St.
Great news!!!
yeah!
(and I like the sandwiches -- esp if you happen to get there when they've just made mozzarella and it hasn't gone into the fridge yet...)
a giant delicious sandwich for 7 or 8 $ - what's not to love?
AND it doesn't smell weird (similar place in the south slope, take a note)
Is their A&S salumi any good? I have to say, I haven't had much need for them as a butcher shop, although I have bought lard there a few times for frying chicken...
I hope the move, some expenzive reno, and high rent at Tessa's old place doesn't mess up their biz
:shock: -
Anyone know what the rent is at the old karate school place? I am personally thrilled because they will be right near my house.
And, yes, I can see closing at 6 or 7 being early-but, I think those are fine times for a butcher shop-they are still open for people getting off the subway from work to go in and get some meat for dinner. -
i work in manhattan, get off at 6pm and never get home before 7.
i think that's a pretty typical schedule for a person living in park slope to arrive home, yet almost everything is already closed by 7pm shop-wise.
i agree that these places need to start catering to the clientele and the 21st century. open at 12 and stay open till 8. not nearly as many people want meat before noon as they do after 6, i'd think.
i would love to go to a butcher, but apparently i can only do so on the weekend. -
Guess I am out of touch, don't most people work until 5, get home by 5:30, 5;45? At least, that is how it worked when i worked in the city.
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LongTimeSloper wrote: Guess I am out of touch, don't most people work until 5, get home by 5:30, 5;45? At least, that is how it worked when i worked in the city.
I do both -work at home and sometimes go into an office in the city. It's publishing - most people are still at their desks at 5:30 or so. If you've got an hour's commute, and maybe there's train trouble (as there usually is, of one sort or another), it's easy to see not getting back to the neighborhood till 6:30 or 7 - I think keeping a shop open that sells dinner supplies is a good idea. Eight might seem late, but the truth is, not many women are home during the day to do the marketing the way they used to be.
France and Italy are experiencing this as well - many of their shops close up at around 5, which is just when folks are getting out of work and ready to buy dinner ingredients. -
it depends on the business you're in.
arts related jobs are typically 10-6.
i've always worked those hours in every job i've had here. -
LongTimeSloper wrote: Guess I am out of touch, don't most people work until 5, get home by 5:30, 5;45? At least, that is how it worked when i worked in the city.
You are a bit out of touch- when I was working in the city at my last job I left the house at 7:45 to make it in by 8:45 and didn't leave the office until 8 (sometimes later) which got me home an hour+ after that. if i worked until after 9 I was sure at least an hour commute. Most people I know who are my age and have a decently paying job work 10+ hour days as the norm, especially if you work with international clients (as I often did- we had conference calls that STARTED at 6pm.) -
I used to work in the fashion industry-the office closed at 5 pm, and about 95% of the people went home then.
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Yeah, I'm usually home right around 7 p.m. I really don't mind paying a little extra money to shop at locally owned businesses, especially if the quality might be a bit better. However, I'm sorry to say some of these stores are shooting themselves in the foot by making it a little inconvienent to shop during their open hours. I'm in full agreement with the post above that suggests butchers should be open from noon until 8p.
Now, who wants to volunteer to tell the large, knife wielding butchers of A&S they have to change their shop hours?
-anthony
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