[Photo by Steven]
The for rent sign arrived yesterday on the northwest corner of St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue.
This is the first time in six years that this high-profile retail space is on the market.
Nobletree Coffee closed here in May after just five months in business. A sign on the door for Nobletree's "beloved customers" offered thanks ... along with a reason for the closure: "Because of the slow foot traffic at this location we were forced to close." (And we've noted the notes here and here.)
The listing at Winick notes that this is the "busiest intersection in the East Village." And it very well may be...
The rent is available upon request. In 2013, the asking rent was $27,000, per listings at the time.
This storefront previously sat empty for three years — ever since DF Mavens closed in January 2016 after a Dec. 26, 2014 debut. (It took the Mavenators 14 months to open the space.)
Other tenants in recent years include Eastside Bakery (.net?) and Roastown Coffee.
And the only business to last here in the past 30 years: the Gap, from 1988 to 2001...
[Photo by Barry Joseph]
Any thoughts on how much longer the space was sit empty... or who the next tenant might be...?
Previously on EV Grieve:
What a 'prized position' will cost you on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place
god i remember a friend taking a leak in between the gap's glass doors at night, when we all thought its arrival was the height of gentrification in the east village!
ReplyDeleteAlmost no one can afford these corner spots anymore. Even Chase closed up their 2nd Ave & St Mark's and Ave A & 2nd St spots. I'm willing to bet this location will sit empty again for months.
ReplyDeleteThere are about 8000 coffee shops in the neighborhood. Not really sure what these entrepreneurs are thinking when even Starbucks is reducing their presence.
ReplyDeleteI almost never go to new business including restaurants which I know sound counter productive to the health of our neighborhood but too many times when I really fall in love with a new place it is crushing when it closes within that first year.
ReplyDeleteIt was a huge sign of gentrification back then. Look what happened. What I really miss is the movie theater next door with cheap tickets and great midnight shows.
ReplyDeleteI almost never go to new business including restaurants which I know sound counter productive to the health of our neighborhood but too many times when I really fall in love with a new place it is crushing when it closes within that first year.
ReplyDeleteAnyone even remotely interested in renting this space would be well-served to search for all posts on this site with the label "37 St. Marks Place". There's even a link at the bottom of this post.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that will work here is a Japanese owned chain store with deep pockets and a built in customer base. Anyone else trying to start a business from scratch in this location will be scratching their head that day after they open, wondering what the hell they were thinking when they signed that gold plated lease.
ReplyDeletecan you imagine the reaction of the EVGrumps on this site if they'd tried to put a Gap in that location today. it'd be the end of the world -- even though it already happened 30+ years ago.
ReplyDeleteGentrification isn't always an overnight thing. It's a constantly evolving process. We're certainly more gentrified now than in 1988, but I bet in 1988, people would have thought the EV in 2019 would be nothing more than YUPPIE SCUM (
Thanks to the person who left that YouTube link... will post that later!
ReplyDelete@Giovanni - There already was a Japanese-owned chain store right next door. It failed. There was a bakery upstairs, I think called The Italian Tomato, and a food store in the basement. The bakery was a Japan-based chain that also had an outpost in that Japanese strip mail Yohan/Mitsuwa in Edgewater, NJ. I remember fondly their donuts stuffed with potato salad. "Fondly" isn't the right term, actually.
ReplyDelete