It has been 15 years since the first Starbucks opened in Harlem and since then, chains like 7-Eleven have slowly been arriving into upper Manhattan. The 2,300 square foot ground floor space just east of FDB/8th Avenue on 116th Street signed a lease back in October for Harlem's first 7-Eleven store and will open sometimes in early 2015 if all goes to plan. As commercial rents get higher in South Harlem, we expect more of these types of businesses to start appearing just like those other neighborhoods downtown. With that said, it appear many of the newer boutique businesses are now heading above 135th Street for better deals on commercial rents:
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No cheering on this news. If I want a bad cup of coffee or an overpriced quart of milk I'd rather buy it in a bodega than a 7/11.
ReplyDeleteI've seen 7/11's come and go in so many areas. When all is said and done, most folks still prefer to go to their local bodega. I give it 18 months.
ReplyDeletewhen they opened downtown I snubbed my nose too.
ReplyDeleteBut.......here I am going in often. Good coffee and muffin for $2.. can't beat it.
and the staffs are generally nice and the place spic and span clean.
so they won me over...
and yeah there is something so not New Yorky about them.. but they are growing on City and vice versa