The New York Times had more on Stogo's closure... the vegan ice cream store closed for good last night after some four years in business.
Stogo, which is on Second Avenue, couldn’t pay October’s rent when it came due, but the month brought higher-than-expected sales. “We were starting to say, ‘O.K., we can probably pay this and that,’” [co-owner Junie] Ishimori said. “Then Sandy hit.”
Stogo lost power for days. Its ice cream spoiled, and even when power returned, it couldn’t reopen until it had replenished its stock. Ms. Ishimori estimated the store lost $6,000 in inventory and $6,000 in sales. “That’s a make-it-or-break-it number,” she said.
Stogo is now two months behind on rent. A spokeswoman for Beach Lane Management, which owns the building, declined to comment.
Ms. Ishimori had planned fund-raisers to finance a move to a cheaper location. But after the storm, she said, “it just felt frivolous asking people for money when people were homeless.”
DNAinfo's Serena Solomon first reported on the closure this past Wednesday. Our post to that link prompted 28 comments, among them:
Adam K. said...
@Price is no object: A prospective-tenant strike on pricey commercial rents wouldn't force down rent prices; it would create a lot of empty storefronts, which aren't good for anybody.
Not all new neighborhood businesses are started by suckers for suckers. And not all (though surely some) businesses that close are forced out by their landlords in bids to trade them for deeper-pocketed tenants. Most businesses, sadly, will peter out on their own eventually.
I have a 2+ year old retail business in the neighborhood, and yes, my business would be stronger if my rent were lower. All the more reason that I should feel bummed that some of my neighbors might be boycotting it for no better reason than the fact that another (completely different) business used to have the same address.
Want to hang on to dwindling retail diversity in the neighborhood? Sick of chain stores, strip mall eateries, and banks? Me too. So along with your favorite neighborhood standbys, try dropping in every now and then on some small new businesses that are trying to make it in a tougher environment than ever.
Previously.
