689 Washington Avenue (at Prospect), what will you be next?

whynot_31 · August 2015

You were Crown Fried Chicken.
You were Skazzy Cafe.
You were Prospect Corner.
Now you are once again vacant.

What will you be next?

689 Washington Avenue
Crown Heights

pheightsresident · August 2015

They were also KFC (Kennedy Fried Chicken) before becoming Crown!

whynot_31 · August 2015

Indeed they were: https://www.google.com/search?q=kennedy+fried+chicken+"689+Washington"&hl=en&biw=&bih=&gbv=2&oq=kennedy+fried+chicken+"689+Washington"&gs_l=heirloom-serp.3...5351.7972.0.8159.2.1.0.1.0.0.171.171.0j1.1.0....0...1ac.1.34.heirloom-serp..2.0.0.m2N__q2h3WY

You now have me wondering if Crown is somehow more upscale than Kennedy.

...and wondering whether the late night patrons of Way Station would have supported either had they not closed.

ehgee · August 2015

Yuppie fried chicken would probably be an attractive market niche these days, actually.

pheightsresident · August 2015

Kennedy and Crown used the exact same recipe (or at least tasted that way, and they had identical menu items for the most part), which leads me to think that they are under the same umbrella company. And most of the Crown Fried Chicken joints that I'm aware of were once Kennedy's. Basically, instead of the red awning and different word/langue choice unique to Crown, Kennedy's awning was green. I still see a few standalone Kennedy's around, but that is becoming rather a rare sight.

whynot_31 · August 2015

I think a place that charged $15 for Swanson TV dinners, complemented with craft beer could work.

I would put trash TV on a big screen:
Price is Right
Jeopardy
Judge Judy
You are (are not) the father!

booklaw · August 2015

I wouldn't be surprised to learn that whatever behemoth company it is that owns the Kentucky Fried Chicken brand had sicced its lawyers on Kennedy Fried Chicken shops, for trademark dilution or Lanham Act unfair competition, claiming that consumers might purchase Kennedy thinking it was Kentucky, wouldn't like the taste, and so would never thereafter buy KFC.

whynot_31 · August 2015

Kennedy Fried Chicken still has locations.

https://www.google.com/#q=kennedy+fried+chicken+locations

ehgee · August 2015

Kennedy (and presumably Crown) Fried Chicken actually isn't a chain, but a brand that random Afghans use:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/14/nyregion/14chicken.html

“Anyone can own a Kennedy, and I’ve never heard of this Abdul Haye,” he said. “Every place has a different owner: same chicken, different menu. So what’s the problem?”

whynot_31 · August 2015

It would not surprise me if we lost a few of our remaining Crown Fried Chicken locations in 2016.

I was only able to find 6 remaining in Crown Heights

431 Ralph Ave 11233
848 Nostrand Ave 11225
148 Utica Ave 11213
642 Nostrand Ave 11216
226 Utica Ave 11213
116 Kingston Ave 11213

For those who don't believe a place called Skazzy Cafe ever existed:

pheightsresident · August 2015

As long as the location on Fulton Street between Washington and St. James Pl. (Clinton Hill) remains open, I'll be happy. Crown and Kennedy have pretty good chicken and fried fish, in addition to some other fairly tasty, if greasy, items. They also have cheap and decent (nowhere close to great, though) pizza; all Halal, too, which is good news for people who want non-pork pepperoni topping.

dac545 · August 2015

Agreed that their chicken is actually pretty good. Horrible for you, but tastes good

whynot_31 · September 2015

This puts a twist on it.

It seems that the property, along with the ancient properties adjacent to the right along Prsopect and Grand were recently all for sale:

They wanted $11M
http://www.propertyline.com/listing/emarket_report/248474

http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/14889279/671-689-Washington-Avenue-630-Grand-Avenue-642-Grand-Avenue-Brooklyn-NY/

671, 673, 675, 677, 679, 681, 681, 683, 685, 687, 689 Washington Avenue
630 Grand Avenue, 642 Grand Avenue

Previously, I had seen ads for just this buildng, but the package deal makes me believe that whoever rents this space will be given a lease that states "if we find a buyer for this assemblage, your lease is void"

Hence, I doubt anyone is going to invest a lot of money to customize this space.

prior ad for just this building: http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/14612673/671-689-Washington-Avenue-Brooklyn-NY/

ehgee · September 2015

That offering is an absolutely enormous lot, containing the laundromat, Skazzy, and the strip of stores including Janelle's and the Way Station.

whynot_31 · September 2015

Yup.

The vast majority of which are filled with tenants. If one were to figure in those rents, plus the annual appreciation of the properties, I would be surprised if it went for as "little" as $11M to a developer today.

From above ad:
"The resulting 20,800 SF assemblage lot will have approximately 60,000 buildable SF usable for the construction of a residential building, with retail on the lower 2 floors, amassing 34,000 SF of retail space"

whynot_31 · December 2015

The civil war era brown house on Prospect that is/was part of this package has been completely stripped and is not secure.

View from back:

whynot_31 · December 2015

View from the front:

View from the sky:

mishaps · December 2015

That brown house on Prospect had a massive fire a few years back - I wouldn't worry about it being secure because there's not anything in there worth stealing at this point, if the structure is even salvageable.

I know that the proprietor of the Way Station was trying (in cooperation with his landlord, I presume) to connect a new tenant with that restaurant space, but this was while Prospect Corner was still in business, so it was very "we'll see."

whynot_31 · December 2015

I have no doubt the brown house is a teardown. It is just a matter of when.

689 Washington Avenue (at Prospect), what will you be next?

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