A look inside the plywood on St. Mark's Place at Avenue A...
Back in July, DNAinfo reported on what to expect from this location:
A Starbucks spokesman said the company was designing the new store to reflect the unique character of the “Lower East Village.”
“We are proud to bring a new Starbucks store to the Lower East Village later this summer,” said the spokesman, who would identify himself only as Jonathan. “In addition to offering employment to more than 20 partners (employees), this store will provide a gathering place for the community and will be designed to reflect the uniqueness of the neighborhood.”
The spokesman added that the company’s partners are “involved in community service” and that the store donates all leftovers through its FoodShare program in partnership with Feeding American and City Harvest.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Starbucks confirmed for Avenue A
At the 'Not Another Starbucks Rally'
“Lower East Village.” This one is up there with George Bush calling Queens, "The Queens". It will be filled with the same people who always go to Starbucks, those that are brand obsessed, sugary drink addicted, squares that think this is part of the "coffee culture", tourists who only want what they can get at home, and not me.
ReplyDeleteI'm psyched about Starbucks opening. Their coffee isn't the best, but neither is most of the rest in the neighborhood, and I'm fed up with the snooty, pretentious people at Mud. The customers, that is.
ReplyDeleteTry the coffee at Florentine on 10th between 1 and A. It's superlative. Plus their croissants are the best outside of France. The coffee at the cafe across from St. Marks on the Bowery is really good. The Bean isnt so great but the kids that's work there are always friendly, my dog can go with, and they have treats. There are plenty of choices, but since there aren't plenty of people who no longer care about corporations replacing local venues, I guess they'll do ok.
DeleteMore than 20 "partners"! Let me apply right now!
ReplyDeleteI do look forward to having another public restroom available in the neighborhood.
Yay! Can't wait.
ReplyDeleteYup. Already making a great impression with us “Lower East Villagers.” What an asshat! All I can hope is that the sugary drinks and crappy food kill off the douchebags.
ReplyDeleteHa, dummies! Don't they even know this is the Lower East Midtown South Village? It's right between BroDeo Drive and Thompson Square Park. Just ask the all tourists eating Exotic Frozen Asian Desserts and Organic Marshmallow Sandwiches, they know.
ReplyDeleteI said it before and I will say it again: I'd rather have a Starbucks than another bro bar. The bros are even taking over non-bro bars. Bros are killing NYC culture faster than any chains are. Get the community board to create special, bro-free districts. Right now the only safe zones in all of NYC are art-house theaters, museums, bookstores and nonprofits where people donate their time to help those in need. (Bros only help themselves or their fellow bros in need — "need another Miller Lite? I got ya covered bro!" "'Chos bro?")
ReplyDeleteKill me now.
ReplyDeleteThis is depressing. Nino's forever!
ReplyDeleteI know all this said before: Why does Starbucks dominate? 1. Caffeine. 2. Sugar. 3. Fat mostly dairy. 4. The public bathrooms. 5.Completely Overpriced but what they sell is still affordable by anyone.
ReplyDelete@BroNo. i don't disagree. But if a bro weren't by definition a white dude, that comment would have you castigated.
ReplyDeleteNo place for hatred of any type.
Welcome Starbucks. You are used to the haters by now.
ReplyDeleteStarbucks has an improving app experience too, which is hard for shops to compete with. You can order a coffee when you're a few blocks away and by the time you get there it's ready to go. Even if you don't order ahead, the barcode scan experience is much faster than dealing with cash or waiting for your cc chip payment to go through.
ReplyDeleteIf someone is wandering around here from another area, it's way easier to deal with. Easier to find the place and get in and out ASAP.
Pro Starbuckers please keep in mind that these places are an anchor of gentrification in a neighborhood. Realtors love to brag that some shitty 6 floor walkup tenement with newly installed 2 linear feet of granite kitchen counter space has a Starbucks nearby, it's signal that all is "safe" familiar and non-challenging. The arrival of Strarbucks also tells landlords that their building too could house a corporate chain restaurant so get rid of that independent company in your retail space and keep it empty until you can nab one for yourself. If you folks give two shits about your neighborhood you would not be rejoicing, after all there are 2 of these place on 1st avenue already. This block is already flooded with loud restaurants and bar so not have another place with post fraternity and sorority people would make no difference to those poor people who live within earshot.
ReplyDeleteI agree with one of the other commenters. I'd also much rather have a Starbucks in our hood than another bro bar. There are plethoras of them left, right, up, and down of and in the EV. And there are indeed an influx of them at non-bro bars, especially on the weekends. As I've said, it often feels like Chapel Hill over here on Ave C and 7th St on the weekends. I feel like I am in the throws of a frat/sorority house gone wild. For those on Ave A, I'd implore the opening of a Starbucks there anyday over the hum drum of the bro culture, which seems to definitely invade NY. What the hell happened? How did this happen? How did the bros dominate the landscape?
ReplyDeleteI welcome Starbucks with open arms. At least they will have a restroom, inexpensive refills, and free WIFI, something almost none of the cafes offer here. Can't wait till the opening. Anything to keep more bros out of the way.
Again, so, because of high rents, the only choices we have is for the "Lower East Village" either becoming Chapel Hill or a strip mall.
ReplyDeleteStarbucks has a very aggressive approach to expansion - the company will often move into a neighborhood with an already established coffee shop or shops, and would bring just enough competition to topple the local shops’ economy - as local shops have to remain profitable (this can be hard to deal with, because every food service shop has a very delicate balance to stay afloat financially, and even a slight disruption can bring down the business), but Starbucks, as a global corp, can take proceeds from more successful branches, and spend them in new or low performing neighborhoods. This represents, to some, and unfair practice. Then, after the local shops’ fail, they go away, and within a few years of a new Starbucks’ arrival, the local shops are gone.
Enjoy the shite coffee, pretentiousness, and the bathroom and y'all.
@7:38 PM: If you look at the maps on the NYS Liquor Authority website you'll see what happened. At Bua at 122 St. Mark's, there are 23 or so on premises liquor licenses within 500 feet. At 13 Steps at 149 2d Avenue there are also 23 or so on premises liquor licenses within 500 feet. The law limits on premises liquor licenses to 3 within 500 feet unless you can show it is in the public interest to have more. There is no public interest in all these liquor licenses. The Liquor Authority has sold us out.
ReplyDeleteStarbucks on average pays better than a local coffee shop and offers benefits such as tuition assistance and health to their workers. I woul;d think some on here need to rethink their position as what is best for the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you need to rethink your position as to whether the "Lower East Village" is your neighborhood.
DeleteI moved to 7th St between C & D in 1969. Part of me sees the Starbucks by the park as a travesty. However, now as a gray haired senior with arthritic knees, I welcome Starbucks: always treat me with respect and friendly, never like I'm mentally deficient because I'm over 40, has chairs with backs, not backless stools too high or too low, a diverse staff and clientele (in age, sexual identity, race, ethnicity, etc), and always enough room to find a seat (and without being elbow to elbow with another patron). There are food options other than sweet pastries and I feel comfortable reading a book or watching the passing humanity without feeling I am robbing the proprietor of precious income.
ReplyDeleteI try to support local/small businesses where I can, but if I don't find a welcoming atmosphere, I don't feel compelled to give a business my patronage.
I do believe Starbucks treats its employees well and contributes to important causes and campaigns.
The proliferation of coffee spots in the EV is already cannibalizing each other. The addition of another Starbucks will not change that, if anything, will only affect the other nearby Starbucks, as one is either a Starbucks supporter or not.
As for gentrification, that's already been done. Clearly this landlord has set a rent that only a chain or bro bar can afford. There is no going backward in this city until it collapses on itself from the weight of mediocrity and empty storefronts. What is happening in the EV is happening all over Manhattan and the boroughs. Until there is political support for small businesses, there is no end in sight.
@7:26 AM
ReplyDeletePerhaps "Stockholm syndrome" should be renamed "Starbucks Syndrome" many here have lowered their living standards of our neighborhood so that an extra public bathroom is a fair trade to perhaps 3 new independent businesses which could have occupied these now combined retail spaces. The fear of more bro bars has got us running into the arms of a huge corporation hell bent on bringing sameness to our once vital neighborhood. You have been duped if you think those are our only 2 choices. Those new upper minimum wage jobs won't replace the real chance of advancement that a family owned business could offer. Those jobs as with soon everyone living here will be transient. Don't settle for a chain restaurant demand more from our local government.
The upward mobility provided by family owned businesses no longer exists in retail today. The only possibility of a family owned business providing a significant opportunity for professional advancement or future generations is if the small business grows into a chain. That's what's happening with The Bean, Basics Hardware and other local businesses. In other instances, succeeding generations had no interest in staying in retail, New York Central as an example, as tech and other industries are more lucrative or interesting.
DeleteJust walked into the Starbucks @ 3rd St & 1st Ave...and found a line of Hell's Angels ordering coffee. Seems a perfect commentary to add to this discussion, however one interprets it.
ReplyDeleteTo quote from The Office:
ReplyDelete"If we don't patronize the only Syrian restaurant in town, there'd be nothing ledt but pan pizzas and... you know, make your own salads.
But the problem with that also is that there are no mom and pop shops to patronize because Starbucks are the only ones who can afford the rent.
Becoming a local chain retail business is not the only option for upward mobility. When I first arrived to the EV in 1981 the last Italian family run green grocers where selling their shops to the recently immigrated Korean families. These stores were given a new life and a whole different kind of products were then sold. 20 years later the Korean families sold and moved away with their new college educated children. Small family owned business put their kids in higher education, they work harder than anyone to accomplish this American dream.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I didn't mean to imply that the second generation didn't benefit (particularly by college opportunities), only that within the business, there is no room for professional advancement unless the business becomes a chain. There was a time when small businesses passed through generations, but that happens rarely now.
DeleteThere are tons of coffee places to go to in the hood to avoid Starbucks, except I would not recommend the one on E 7th st near 1st (that starts with an "A.") because they were never nice, and I'm a nice person. Along with Starbucks, they are on my do-not-patronize list.
ReplyDelete@11:08 - well said.
ReplyDeleteLower East Village!? NOT!
ReplyDeleteJust another globalized spot ��
Bringing the community closer? Yeah, sure. It's called Wi-Fi.
Nino's was the best and known for After Drunk food.
Deuces, Starbucks.
Guess it's been a while since strolling by there, had no idea Nino's closed. What a bummer. Been going there since I was a kid. Always a dependable spot for a late night slice. Guess this was inevitable. East Village has been dead for some years now anyway. No reason to head that way.
ReplyDelete