Open Thread Wednesday

By on September 3, 2019 11:33 pm in open thread

What’s on your mind? Comment away!

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  • http://www.yotamzohar.com StudioBrooklyn

    From the Brooklyn Eagle: “Beloved art from former Brooklyn Heights Library is coming back”

    https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2019/09/03/beloved-art-from-former-brooklyn-heights-library-is-coming-back/

  • AbbeyK

    Looks like Teresa’s might be closing…..
    http://nycretailleasing.com/80-montague-street

  • Nomcebo Manzini

    The link didn’t work for me, but the site appears to essentially be “Corcoran for commercial space,” and if one starts with the dot com URL, one can get to the “Teresa listing” in a jiffy.

    Here’s how the space is marketed:
    * Fully Built Out Restaurant
    * Outdoor Seating for 26 Seats
    * Heavy Foot Traffic
    * Steps from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade
    * Located on Elegant Brooklyn Heights Corridor
    * Minutes to Borough Hall Station with over 11,000,000 riders per year

    WHAT WOULD YOU PAY for such “perfect” space? Well, the per month is the number you would get if you took one thousandth of that “ridership” number and then bumped that up by $7K.

    Yes, it’s a big “nut,” but I guess I’m a little surprised that it’s “that low.”

  • KXrVrii1

    Link worked fine for me.

    Don’t know Jack about restaurants, but was bored and curious how this fits into the NYC trend of shuttered store fronts waiting for the perfect national tenant, and googled some simple metrics.

    Looks like rent costs should be around 6-10% for a good restaurant. Taking the conservative 10% and based on the $18,000 weekly rent ($216k per year), you would want revenue of $2.16m per year.

    Some analysis of publicly traded companies shows that Cheesecake Factory in 2013 was at the high-end of annual revenue per square feet of $887. Multiplying that by the listings 2,200 sq ft, and you get to $1.95m. But, I don’t know if that sq ft number includes the outdoor seating are. Looking at google maps, I’m ballparking 30 x 10 feet for the outdoor space. I’d think the revenue per sq ft would be at least 50% less than full year availability, so 300sq ft x $440 = $132k gets you to a hair under $2.1m.

    Looking around some more, that Cheesecake metric seems pretty high. Other sources seem to suggest that high-profit full service restaurants are in the $350+ per sq ft range. But those are probably national numbers, I’m guessing NY prices would be at the higher end, but it seems like getting to the $887 per sq ft is pretty hard.

    So seems priced pretty aggressively to me, and probably targeting a national chain as seems to be the trend in NYC commercial real estate.

    Again, I really have no idea what I’m talking about other than some googling (actually, duckduckgo), so I’d love to be corrected by anyone with better back of the envelope analyses.

  • KXrVrii1

    Good news. I am still optimistic that the new library will turn out well, but I did really enjoy those bas-reliefs.

  • DB

    Whatever happened to the taco place that was supposed to go in Vegetarian Ginger?

  • Jorale-man

    I would have thought there would be a more sentimental spot among readers for Teresa’s but maybe not… I’ve enjoyed their hearty Polish comfort food and outdoor seating. The waitstaff could be a little crusty but still a dependable option on Montague.

  • cool
  • http://www.yotamzohar.com StudioBrooklyn

    I’m confused. I thought she (Teresa herself) owned the building (and the one adjacent, with the laundromat and wine shop).

  • Reggie

    “Mr. Souvlaki” (not his real name) still owns the building that is host to Hanco’s.

  • lois

    A black skeleton superhero figure is trying to get back to his owner before the caterpillar devours him. He was lost in front of 187 Columbia Hts. some time over the weekend.

  • Proto Plano

    She does, but it does not mean she wants to stay in the restaurant business.

  • Proto Plano

    I am quite sad to see Teresa’s go. I too have enjoyed many years of eating there. Polish platter is my favorite. I like their presence in the neighborhood and don’t mind the grumpy waitstaff. I prefer it to the manufactured politeness at most restaurants.

  • Moni

    Anyone know what is going in to the old Closeout Store on Court St.?

  • http://www.yotamzohar.com StudioBrooklyn

    Ah, that was my suspicion. Glad to know (hopefully) it means the laundromat and wine shop might stick around.

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7nPOzGeyaw Arch Stanton

    Yeah those will probably stay, those businesses are a lot easier to run remotely. Restaurants however require constant supervision, she likely wants to retire.

  • Nomcebo Manzini

    in the “shooting the breeze” vein – aren’t you forgetting that CC(har) doesn’t (?) serve alcohol? And it seems to be that # of covers (meals sold) and avg. tab MIGHT be higher at Teresa’s – “bargain” though many consider it.

    Lots more comments since I first wrote. STRONG GUESS that “profitability” is not what motivates a possible sale. “One big payout” (in the 2019 environment where R.E. profits probably are treated kindly) is ALWAYS an option for the “haves.”

    People talk about “national chains,” and that one makes little sense to me. We’re not talking malls on Montague. I’m sure Kiehl’s has great margins, but are we really heading toward a “corridor” of restaurants/bars, cellphone shops, banks, urgent care, etc.?

    Maybe, we need an urban analog to “wildlife preserves” – a place where barbers, butchers, etc. can ply their trades without pricing that is all but self-destructive (not infrequently.)