The Hetal Convenience Store on First Avenue just south of East Seventh Street has been closed of late. Earlier this week, EV resident Bill the libertarian anarchist noticed the gate slightly open. He looked inside and saw that workers had cleared out the storefront. (Another reader said that she spotted workers standing in a now-empty space last night.)
The store, which, among other things, featured an array of Polish-language magazines, has been around since at least the early 1980s. Has anyone heard why the store may have closed?
DNAinfo included owner Gary Patel in an August 2010 feature about the city's new bike lanes:
Other merchants that rely on taxi traffic said that despite the negative impact on business, the city is safer overall with the new bike lanes.
"I don't have any problems. The city is better," said Patel, owner of the Hetal Convenience Store on First Avenue near East Seventh Street, noting he's fine with the fact that he has lost about 10 cabdriver patrons a day due to the new lanes.
