From the graffiti coloring books, to the mutant Simpsons figurines and abundance of anime plush toys, Yoyamart is a small trendy children’s boutique somewhere in-between the tourist-filled streets of the Meatpacking District and the residential calmness of the West Village. It is a small toy store that has made a large impact in the area.Its exclusivity to the neighborhood makes it stand out to many of its residents. “It is just so original,” says Linda Marrow, 35, “It is my go-to spot for cute but beautiful and intricate things. I have a lot of artist friends and they love the creativity of the toys, I’m sad to see it go.”

After 10 years on Gansevoort Street, Yoyamart has become one of the neighborhood’s many victims of gentrification. The increasing popularity of the once abandoned neighborhood has caused the store to conjure up a new business plan that includes leaving their current location and its rent increases behind. “I love the shop but I don’t believe many people would know about it if they didn’t live here,” said Marrow.

Yoyamart is a product of its former partner Yoya, which first opened in 2001 in the aftermath of September 11th. Yoya was originally owned by two married couples, The Gerbiers and the Villegas. They wanted to combine art and fashion to create a high quality baby store without coming across as kitschy or old fashioned.

The original store, which is only a few blocks away from Yoyamart became very successful , it was voted New York magazine’s “Best Kid’s Store” in 2002 and since has been featured in numerous magazines and TV shows. Many celebrities such as Julianne Moore, Liv Tyler and Hugh Jackman have shopped there.

Buoyed by Yoya’s success, two years after its launch,  Stephane and Gena Gerbier were interested in opening another location, but for a different type of cliente. “Yoyamart [was] for the older kid but also for the kid in the adult” explains Josephine Ledda, part-time manager and senior sales associate for three years. “Stephane was a dad who saw the possibility in having a store with an eclectic mix with a common theme of remaining hip but since the two stores had such different aesthetics that eventually it made sense for them to split, amicably of course.”

Yoyamart has become a West Village staple. “With each holiday, or fashion week, certain regulars make sure to stop in and pick up the latest things for their children and themselves,” Ledda said.  The store carries an array of clothing, jewelry and rare collectables that are hard to find anywhere else.

There is an entire wall of Kid Robot, Tokidoki, BearQee and various other collectable figurines. They vary in design but all share a similar aspect of being hard to find. Items start at $1 and can go as high as $3,000. “If there’s a price range you’re looking within, we’re more than happy to help accordingly which I think separates us from most of the stores in the meatpacking district in general, let alone the kids stores in the area, like Marc Jacobs Kids,” Ledda explained.

The store attracts a wide range of clientele as well. From tourists who strayed away from Meatpacking, to neighborhood regulars, to celebrities including Uma Thurman, H. Jon Benjamin and Alton Brown. “Yoyamart is different in that the business model isn’t dependent on a plethora of customers but instead what one customer in particular feels like,” Ledda said.

Yoyamart carries something for everyone, while still maintaining a hip, young atmosphere, which is a very different standpoint on what a toy store is normally depicted to be. “I like this store because it isn’t like any other toy store I think I’ve ever been to,” says Richard Leahy, father of two and local resident, “they have a great variety of really unique toys from all over the world and I think that’s more special than anything you can really find at Toys R Us.”

Despite it’s success, the store will shut down in January. “The company is looking to move and develop accordingly and is taking some time off after 10 years of a brick and mortar shop to rethink how we decide to brand,” Ledda explained. Options for the store include working through pop up shops for more flexibility, moving to a place like Los Angeles where there is more real estate available or simply investing more into the current website and having it be an online only store.

Shop Jeen is an online store that attracts a similar demographic to Yoyamart. While it tries to cater to a more teenage audience, Shop Jeen has the same idea in that it also carries hip and trendy toys, clothes, and accessories.

Erin Yogasundrum, the shop’s 22-year-old owner, started the company out of her college dorm room and what once was a side hobby quickly turned into a career when the site started getting over 1,000 hits a day. It has been mentioned in many publications and is currently in the running for being in Forbes 30 successful businesses under 30 .

A large factor in her success rooted from her minimal startup cost by basing her shop online. With her profits and revenue, Yogasundrum eventually saved enough to rent storage and took off from there. “I definitely think my strong online and social media presence are the biggest factors to my success,” Yogasundrum said in an interview “I think it’s a necessity for any small business now-a-days.” Shop Jeen’s business template is one that Yoyamart is attempting to mimic, and hopes to maintain similar success.

Ledda has done a lot of work in the social media for the store, which has roughly over 5,000 followers on Facebook, but does not get a lot of traffic through its online portal. “We keep trying to build and grow on it but it never got to the level that our Facebook page did. The premise was more to gain a fan base that would actually come into the store, rather than make it an online store. We wanted people to come in and gain the full experience,” she said.

While that logic would have probably worked some number of years ago, the ever-growing popularity of online shopping has had many business owners focusing on online only stores which has a lower start-up cost and makes their products accessible to a larger customer base. “I think whatever the next move may be, it is one that is keeping up with the times and with the way the world shops now,” Ledda said.

Two-Bit’s Retro Arcade

Two Bit’s Retro-Arcade smells like a mix between dirty gym clothes and a fraternity house that has not been cleaned for decades. It is located in the middle of Essex Street in Manhattan’s historic Lower East Side, and has the same standing shell structure that has been around since the notorious tenement days of the area. The space which serves as both an old-fashioned arcade and bar contains about twenty vintage video game stands, a full bar, and three pinball machines. This unique concept made its debut on December 6, 2012 and according to the current Manager Rob Woods, “We have had a pretty successful first year and we’re definitely ready to celebrate our one-year anniversary.”

Woods joined the staff of one full-time and two part-time employees around March of 2013. The owner of Two-Bit’s Retro-Arcade, Perry Doustan, who flirtatiously would not reveal his age, looked about fifty-eight. He had sagging skin and facial features that inevitably revealed years of cigarette smoking, drug use, and partying. On the right side of his neck was an illegible tattoo with a name in script and a diamond figure. Doustan had owned bars most of his adult life but took a break after working “regular day jobs” for about 10 years, according to Woods.

The bar is currently awaiting the approval of its full liquor license but proudly serves old-fashioned malt liquor, which is unavailable at any of the twenty-four establishments that serve liquor in a three-block radius. There is a chalk board outside the space with the words, “MALT LIQUOR MONDAY, WE HAVE 40’s 21+ ID FOOTBALL.” However according to the bartender who calls himself “Boogie” and “Pepe”, the same sign stands outside throughout the week.

The best-selling drinks are the beers, “Yeah dudes love coming in here to grab a brooski,” Boogie said, “And unwind after a long day of working in those (…) uptight offices, but I mean the malts are pretty good anyways and sell like crazy.” He was unable to estimate the amount of beers they sell in one night but confirmed that Fridays and Saturdays are the bar’s best nights. Boogie alluded to the fact that the revenue for the bar since it’s opening is coming to about $400,000 but he also seemed unsure but confident.

The average patron at Two-Bit’s Retro-Arcade varies from what looked like upper-middle class white men in suits, to local urban males dressed in oversized comic-book themed t-shirts roughly between the ages of fourteen and fifty, of various ethnicities.

According to the 2010 Census, the total population from East Houston to Rivington between Clinton and Allen streets is 4,384, with 2,288 (52.19%) people identifying as male. Additionally, 2,732 (60.82%) people classified themselves as white alone. In the same four block radius, 149 (3.32%) people identified as Black or African American, 16 (0.36%) identified as American Indian or Alaskan Native, while 1,029 (22.91%) identified as Asian. Two-Bit’s Retro-Arcade is seven short blocks away from Canal Street that is home to Manhattan’s Asian-American population, and more commonly referred to as Chinatown.

Three stand-up pinball machines are located next to each other in the front of the bar and they each have different themes and titles.  The one closest to the door has Metallica-memorabilia and plays one of the hard-rock band’s biggest hit, “Enter Sandman” when the player scores a point. Another is Terminator 3-themed and the third is called “Fun-House”. Woods explained that after the bar, these games bring in the most money. Patrons are able to insert their own money into machines and they are emptied out each night.

Other games lined throughout the bar consist of games that are essentially extinct like Super-Spirit, Paper Boy, Pac-Man, and Mortal Combat. After walking into Two-Bit’s Retro Arcade one patron named Joey who was visiting for the first time exclaimed, “Holy sh*t this is such a rad place I can’t wait to come back here with my boys!

Slideshow: Two-Bit’s

The Liberty

With over thirty restaurants and bars in a three block radius, The Liberty, located on 35^th between 5^th and 6^th avenue, lies in a highly competitive bar and restaurant market. The area is surrounded by offices, a quick walk from the Empire State building, a block away from Penn Station and a short stroll from Grand Central, where over a million people commute through daily.

The majority of the bars in the neighborhood are Irish pubs and sports bars that offer happy hour and comfort food, like wings, burgers, and fries to an after work crowd. On 35^th street between 5^th and 6^th avenues alone there are three Irish pubs, seven restaurants, two rooftop bars, and two recently opened upscale venues.

The Liberty opened its doors in May 2012, and is owned by Glenn Treacher, a Welshman with over thirty years experience in the nightlife industry in New York City, and Eddy Buckingham, a young entrepreneur from Sydney, Australia. The concept for the bar was to fill a gap of upscale casual establishments in the neighborhood, which according to Mr. Treacher the area demanded.

Unlike many of the bars in the neighborhood, The Liberty has no neon signs or banners to identify it to street traffic. Instead, two thick ten-foot French style doors guard the entrance, and large glass windows offer a clear view of the interior.

Once inside, eighteen-foot ceilings with over one thousand black and white pictures ranging from John D. Rockefeller to Teddy Roosevelt, to Marilyn Monroe surround the 2,500-sqaure foot space. The focal point of the venue is a 34 foot long black granite island bar in the middle that can seat up to forty people comfortably. “Island bars are not found too often in NYC,” says Mr. Buckingham “given the tight space and high value of real estate in Manhattan, architecturally Island bars do not maximize space.”

While the bar has the capacity to accommodate over three hundred people, its immense size becomes a disadvantage when it only has fifty or sixty, “bodies breed bodies” says Mr. Treacher,  “when the venue looks empty from the outside it scares off potential customers who peak at the dense Irish pub next door with only twenty patrons.” The Liberty responds to this challenge by placing customers as close to the entrance as possible, giving pedestrians peaking through the windows a feeling that the place is full.

Another struggle The Liberty faces, and according to Mr. Treacher one that all venues face, is inventory control. Besides rent, which runs The Liberty approximately $30,000 a month, the supply of food and liquor are the bar’s second and third largest yearly expense at around $10,000-$20,000 a month. Unlike rent though, inventory often goes unaccounted: it can be stolen or wasted. According to Mr. Treacher who has ran successful sports bars, nightclubs, and restaurants, “inventory control, will either make you, or break you.” With the help of new tracking technology, The Liberty has been able to decrease its lost inventory by seven percent over the last few months, but is still slightly above the industry standard of ten percent.

Its struggles aside, The Liberty has been largely successful reaching its revenue expectations in the first twenty months. Mr. Treacher expects the bar’s managers to reach a minimum of $65,000 in revenue a week, anything below requires an explanation, and anything above merits a management steak dinner.

Another struggle of any business, especially in the hospitality arena where many employees remain disinterested in a long-term career in the field, is staffing says Mr. Buckingham. The Liberty has twenty front of house staff (server, bartenders, hosts), and twenty back of house (kitchen, bar support) personnel.

Everyone who works at the liberty is a friend of friend or as they would say, a “mate of a mate.” The front of house staff is mostly from Australia, which can be heard from a quick interaction with the staff. Since opening, Mr. Buckingham claims he has not had difficulty finding high quality reliable staff, as “ for every Aussie leaving the city, two are coming in.”

The Australian staff gives the place its vibe “When people come into The Liberty, they feel as though they have entered exotic territory,” says Sara, a regular at the bar. The “laid back” Australian feel, along with the upscale environment give The Liberty the extra edge it needs to attract a regular following from the office buildings in the area. Mr. Williams, who works for a fashion design company in the Empire State Building, claims “The Lib” (what he calls it), is “the best bar in the area,” and “loves the Australian accents.” He swears by the Brooklyn Cocktail, a specialty at the bar, and comes to The Liberty almost every Friday evening with his co-workers.

The competition in the area keeps increasing as more entrepreneurs catch on to the demand. Since The Liberty opened its doors, two new upscale venues have opened up on the same block and four more in a three-block radius. Mr. Buckingham says he has no worries though, and sees the upscale competition in the neighborhood as an asset to his business because it “legitimizes the area as a going out destination, which creates heavier and trendier foot traffic.” He goes on to say, “even with all the competition, midtown has enough foot traffic to fill up any bar, weather the bar can turn a profit is another question, and luckily we have.”

           As the number of food trucks in New York City continues to grow, it has become more difficult for new entrants to stand out from the pack and garner a loyal following. It wasn’t until 2011 that they started receiving critical recognition when Zagat decided to include food trucks in their annual “New York City Restaurants” guide.  In July 2012, Dom Tesoriero and Steve Lee decided to try their hand at the business with the Mac Truck, a food truck specializing in a variety of macaroni and cheeses. The idea, which has been very well received as evidenced by their loyal following that can be seen on Facebook, Twitter and Yelp, was not their first attempt at developing a food truck.

        “Dom had the idea of doing a fresh pasta business on a truck, but after few practice runs it seemed too difficult,” Lee explained. In order for the truck to be a profitable lunch business, they need to make around $1,000 per day, or $650 after the average daily overhead of about $350 that Lee says they encounter. The idea for the Mac Truck came from Tesoriero’s dad who insisted “everyone loves mac and cheese”

        After securing a spare truck from a local Staten Island food truck business, Lee and Tesoriero brought their business up to Saratoga.  The two had made a connection with the head of food and beverage at the Saratoga Race Track while working together for a catering company in China at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and the connection welcomed the Mac Truck up there for the season.

        The following fall, the Mac Truck began its run in New York City.  After a few test runs, Lee and Tesoriero realized that to make this work, they would need to focus on the Manhattan lunch business.  They rent out the kitchen and an office at the Staten Island Grand Mason’s Lodge to prepare the mac before heading out for a day in the city or any other events. With a rotation of spots to park the truck, different neighborhoods have the pleasure of the Mac Truck’s presence on different days.  Customers, or as Lee and Tesoriero prefer to call them “Mac Heads”, can follow the truck’s location from its Facebook and Twitter pages.  On Facebook, the Mac Truck has over 1,500 fans and over 2,300 followers on Twitter.

        The Mac Heads openly share their opinions and love for the mac and cheese on both of the social media accounts as well as on Yelp, where the Mac Truck has earned a 4 out of 5 star rating.  One user, Patrick K. of Bay Ridge, commented “I must say, it’s the specialized food-truck I’ve been looking for my whole life.”

        “Our business is based on Manhattan lunch business, so we choose our location by which areas have the most concentration of eaters between 11:30-2:30. From there we had to review New York’s restricted streets list and see where we can and can’t park,” Lee said.

        In a crowded city with so many parking restrictions, it can be very difficult to find a spot.  Lee noted, “We did have a favorite spot in the city up until September, when New York City shut it down. Our spot was 47th Street between Park and Madison. It was right in front of Chase Bank’s headquarters in New York. This was the hub of food trucks. People raced there every morning for the ten spots available each day.”  With the city granting around 3,000 food truck licenses overall per year and a very long waiting list to obtain one, food trucks vying for a perfect spot has turned into a daily race.

        The situation on 47th Street Lee referred to goes back to a decision by the city to ban food trucks from the popular spot because many of the food trucks parked on metered spots, which violates city law and has been increasingly enforced according to Business Insider.   Lee explained that of all the streets in New York City, roughly 75% of them prohibit food trucks from parking there and that many of the new CitiBike locations are the former spots that many trucks inhabited.  Competition between trucks also plays into the parking battle.  Lee explained that often times another truck won’t move up just an extra foot or two to make room for the Mac Truck, forcing them to look for a spot elsewhere.

        However, Lee discussed new food truck parking lots that are popping up in Manhattan’s Financial District and Brooklyn’s DUMBO area.  For a monthly fee, vendors can reserve a spot in a lot that they will be guaranteed, creating a sort of mobile food court and offering customers with easy access to the truck.

        Finding the perfect spot to setup shop for the day isn’t the only obstacle the Mac Truck faces.  Lee admitted, “With the running of a food truck business we run into tons of obstacles, from everyday traffic to extreme weather like Hurricane Sandy or snow storms, to New York meter maids who can issue between $65 and $300 daily in tickets.”  With the temperamental weather of a New York City winter, Lee said that there are days when adverse conditions make it unrealistic and very difficult to get the truck into the city in time to find a spot for the day.

        The Mac Truck has also built up a demand for private catering, including bar/bat mitzvahs, weddings, Belmont, Mayor-elect Bill DiBlasio’s rally and NYC’s Comic Con, where they served between 1,500 and 2,000 people a day, a large difference from their typical 100 to 150 daily count.

        Even though they had built up quite a loyal army of Mac Heads over the last year, Lee and Tesoriero decided to venture back to Saratoga Race Track again this summer.  Despite how risky it might seem to leave such a following behind, Lee explained, “There are certain aspects to the race track that make it different from the city.”   First, he cited the ability to have the truck parked in one location for six weeks in a row with no hassle. Also, the track could have from 20,000 to 50,000 people there a day, providing a constant, high volume flow of customers. All of the truck’s food production could be done at the track, saving time that would otherwise be wasted in traffic.

        Besides, the six-week stint at the Saratoga Race Track was very profitable, even with the cost of having to find a place to live nearby.  And without a summer in Saratoga, Lee would never have had his favorite customer experience – a family from Saratoga took a trip to midtown Manhattan just to satisfy their macaroni and cheese craving.

Mac Truck Slideshow

Sources:

• http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/09/17/food-truck-vendors-pushed-off-47th-street-in-midtown/
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/23/food-truck-secrets-10-things_n_1694775.html
• http://www.mactrucknyc.com/
• Steve Lee, Mac Truck co-founder
• http://www.nycfoodtrucks.org/faq
• http://www.yelp.com/biz/mac-truck-new-york-2
• https://www.facebook.com/mactrucknyc
• http://www.businessinsider.com/food-truck-parking-restrictions-2011-11
• https://twitter.com/mactruckny

“A Bar For The New Generation” by Ivan Mena

Alcohol and video games. There’s nothing more that can describe two of the top interests of this generation’s young adults. In the 1980’s, when video games made a huge splash, it was hard to keep young boys and girls from draining their parent’s wallets for these new Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis and all sorts of other video games that were a big part of the culture in the late 20^th century. Decades later, these children that were so filled with energy and excitement over playing classic titles such as Alien Invaders, Tetris, Donkey Kong, RoboCop, and many more are all grown up and ready to face on the responsibilities that come with being an adult. But why should stop them from reliving the moments that have brought so much happiness when they were younger? Why not just bring back the classic arcade games for these young adults in an environment for them and just for them?

Barcade, which from the title you can assume it’s a bar arcade, is exactly where anyone of these children can play those heart-thumping games that made kids jump with enthusiasm whenever mothers and fathers uttered the words “here’s a quarter go play a video game”. Founded in 2004 by four friends who were each working on their own careers at the time, decided to open up an arcade that serves beer and other alcoholic beverages. Paul Kermizian, one of the founders, was working in film at the time and just recently released a documentary on an American beer industry called “American Beer”. The other founders Pete Langway, who was working in advertisement, and Kevin and Scott Beard, twin brothers who were in graphics design, spent time with Paul during the filming relaxing in his Williamsburg loft playing games and drinking beer. It wasn’t long before they hatched the idea of opening up an arcade themed bar. Of course, arcades in bars isn’t something new but Kermizian saw something that was different. “Yes there are arcade games in bars but this is something else. This is a whole arcade in a bar. Bet you haven’t seen that”.

Located on Union Avenue by the Brooklyn-Queens Express Way, its easy getting to if you know Brooklyn. If you’re using public transit, the L train and G train both are within a block from the arcade bar on Lorimer St/Metropolitan Ave. It was a little risky for these four gentlemen to even get started with the business as, for one, the idea was risky itself seeing that it was a fresh new idea and secondly, capital to even start a business is always an issue. The financing and finding banks that were willing to lend money was definitely not easy. It took a while before they were able to actually find the funds to open the business, and it turned out great for them. After the Williamsburg location took off, they opened two other locations in Jersey City, New Jersey and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Upon entering the bar, you may or may not be greeted with a large crowd as it really depends on the days you go. Weekends are usually the nights that get the largest hordes while weeknights are where you will see casual drinkers and video gamers sporadically spread throughout the bar.

“It feels like home” says Josh Vargas, who lives a couple blocks down from Barcade. “It’s almost like I’m a kid again except not because I can drink now which makes it a whole lot better”. Many people, like Vargas, enjoy coming to Barcade for the video games and enjoy a beer on the side while others are different.

“I was never really much of a gamer” says Gary, a 24 year old college student at Pace University, “I come here because I like the people here. I like to drink with these people. Sometimes I play a game or two but to me it’s all about the beer and the people.”

The pricing is standard of the most part. They offer a large variety of different beers such as Brooklyn Weisse, Dogfish, Harpoon and Penn Kaiser. All of these are $6 each and if you make it on time for Happy Hour, which are from open to 8pm on weekdays and to 5pm on weeknights, they are $5. This is pretty good compared to other bars around the neighborhood. Williamsburg has become a sanctuary of bars over the last decade or so and it is a tough environment to compete in. Union Pool is a popular up & coming bar located a few blocks down from Barcade between Skillman Avenue and Conselyea Street. With draft beers being $4-$5, it’s not too much different than Barcade. “We have a business to run” says Kermizian. “We don’t need to worry ourselves with the prices of other bars. I’m sure they don’t worry about us.” Many bars around the neighborhood are around in the same ballpark when it comes to price but Kermizian knows there’s something special about Barcade that keeps customers coming.

“It’s different, you know. We offer a large variety of drinks and fun with these arcade games that you can’t get anywhere else, really. I think we’re doing pretty well”. Oh and they are. “I don’t feel comfortable disclosing our numbers but I guarantee you that we’re doing pretty well considering our beginnings.”

Bartender Jeremy Flauta, who works weekends at Barcade, also vouches for the bar’s financial success. “I probably walk out of here with about $200 worth of tips a night. I only work Saturdays and I’m sure it gets pretty dull around here during the week but we sell about a thousand beers a weekend here no joke so that’s an easy $5,000 of revenue right there.”

Barcade is definitely not going to slow down anytime soon as they plan to open their forth location in the Chelsea area of Manhattan in 2014. Kermizian remains hopeful that the future generations will enjoy barcade as much as he has with his friends.

“It’s all about fun. I love video games. I love drinking. I love being with my friends. I know people love doing that too.”

When the dust has settled, that’s what life is all about. Having fun and being with the people you want to be around. “That’s why I come here” says Vargas. “Nothing better than booze, buds and bideo games. I tried to make them all b’s but whatever”. He laughs as he shoots at the zombies on the screen.

Barcade Slideshow

Harlem, Ooh La La

By Aleksandra Neizvestnaya

Harlem has been the image of the black American community for much of the last century, but now that image is becoming more and more obsolete. Over the last decade, the streets of Central Harlem have undergone a makeover. And in years to come, it will not be just the lower east side or midtown that adventure seekers run to. Chez Lucienne on Lenox Ave. between 125th and 126th St. is one of the restaurants that has helped transform the neighborhood.

“There is a spirit here that we have never seen in all our restaurant life,” says Nadine Chevreux, owner of Chez Lucienne.

Chevreux left the Upper East Side with her husband and four sons in 2001 and moved to western Harlem’s historical Strivers’ Row, located on 138^th and 139^th streets between 7^th and 8^th avenues. In 2009, Chevreux and her husband opened Harlem’s first French bistro, replacing an old pizzeria with reasonably priced Parisian cuisine right at the heart of the neighborhood.

Chez Lucienne has seating for 60 customers for inside seating, and can accommodate 20 outside. A full sized bar also seats seven. The restaurant has a laid-back, nonchalant kind of vibe, with a high ceiling, globe lights, and a light blue couch along the wall. At night, it becomes dimly lit with mostly candles, setting a romantic mood. White tablecloths and wooden maroon chairs give the place a conservative look, yet the tattered brick wall on the inside makes it cozy and welcoming.

Smooth Jazz and R&B bands play on Saturday and Sunday nights, which is when the restaurant is at its busiest. Chevreux chose not to reveal the restaurant’s revenue, but said that on the weekends it gets so crowded that they have to start turning people away. The restaurant’s busiest months are during the summer, when the customers start to crowd the sidewalk seating. Chez Lucienne employs about 80 workers, from waiters and waitresses to bus boys, cooks and managers.

There is a Saturday Brunch fixed-price menu, and also a 50% discount of the bill for Fridays and Saturdays between 12 AM and 2 AM. The menu consists of appetizers such as Escargot, and entrees such as Coq au Vin, which is braised organic chicken in red wine, pearl onion, and mushrooms.  The restaurant also serves four variations of Moules-Frites, which are mussels and fries.

Though Chevreux and her husband were entering unchartered territory, with only mom-and-pop stores in the area, Chez Lucienne was welcomed by the community. According to Manhattan Community Board 10, “while Harlem has a significant economic base, the economic potential of the area is not maximized.” Decades have shown that despite the restoration of abandoned buildings and the conversion of vacant lots for commercial purposes, public investment is still low. This is why the Community Board of Central Harlem has been so welcoming and inviting to “new dynamic business clusters” in the neighborhood.

Chevreux agreed, saying that the neighborhood needed an upscale-casual restaurant like this one. But being welcomed by the community didn’t help it bring in business from outside of the neighborhood. What “put us on the map,” Chevreux says, was the opening of Red Rooster right next door.

Marcus Samuelsson, who had the honor of cooking the first State Dinner for President Barack Obama in 2009, opened Red Rooster in 2011. Specializing in American comfort food, the celebrity chef attracted both locals and non-locals to the area. Just in the past year, restaurant chains such as Joe’s Crab Shack and Red Lobster have opened up by the corner of 8th Ave. and 125th St, just two blocks from Chez Lucienne. Soon thereafter, major retail brands like DSW and the Gap Factory Store also opened up shop in the neighborhood. Whole Food is also waiting to open on the corner of Lenox Ave. and 125th St. in 2015.

Meheret Meskel, a waitress at Red Rooster and a local since 2009, comments that the neighborhood now has restaurants with the “standard of the Upper West Side. People are coming from all over the city.” She also adds that she doesn’t see Chez Lucienne as competition for Red Rooster, adding that they complement each other. “A person may want to have a cocktail at Chez Lucienne and then walk over and have dinner at Red Rooster.”

Alongside the new ventures, businesses that reflect the neighborhood’s historical African-American culture can still be found. Past 126th St. along Lenox Ave. is a store called African Paradise; down the block is a store called Black Star Music and Video; and at the corner of 126th, is Sylvia’s Restaurant, “the Queen of Soul Food.”

Sylvia’s had its 51st anniversary in August of this year. It has been one of the witnesses of the neighborhood’s changing business environment. Judy Smith, a manager at Sylvia’s for 15 years, says that this change is good for the community. “Before people were scared of Harlem, because of things that they would see in movies, but now people are finding out that they were wrong.” And the bigger variety of stores means that she “[doesn’t] even have to go downtown.”

Smith says that Sylvia’s has not been hurt by the new competition. In fact, she loves the food at Chez Lucienne. When she isn’t managing at Sylvia’s, she runs over to eat there when she can.

Chevreux calls the customer base of Chez Lucienne, “eclectic.” But no matter the diversity of the clientele, she tries to maintain an “authentic feeling.” She compares the atmosphere of Chez Lucienne to her other restaurant, Cafe du Soleil, in the Upper West Side, saying that “this is where people are having the most fun” as opposed to over there “where people just order one drink and sit.”

Arlyn Blake, who traveled the world critiquing food as a former ambassador for the James Beard Foundation, and is now a publisher of FOODCalender, says “It’s my favorite little French restaurant in all of New York. It’s authentic and different from other French restaurants in Manhattan – I’ve tried them all.” Blake adds that even though the last time she was there, “the service was bad, and the mussels were very small and cold,” she is not giving up on Chez Lucienne. She loves the mix of interesting people that she finds there.

Many people point to the influx of wealthier, white residents in Harlem as the reason for the increase of high-end restaurants in the area. Blake countered, however, that the “white and black” obsession that started 20 years ago is over. “The migration of white people to Harlem is not new,” she says, “it is a lot more diverse now.” The Census Bureau shows that the white population in Harlem, from about 120th to 145th street, was 10.5% in 1990, and had nearly doubled by 2010.

Reka also adds that the atmosphere suddenly comes alive once the sun goes down. Another customer, Joi Frankel, commented while eating dinner with her husband, “it is a little bit of Paris in the middle of Manhattan.”

Chez Lucienne Photo Slideshow

Timmy Wu

Bus & Fin Writing JRN 3600

Park Slope Food Coop

To the uninformed, the Park Slope Food Coop is just a small market located in one of Brooklyn’s wealthiest areas. Similar to the other markets selling healthy food in the neighborhood, they provide a wide assortment of products. The competition is severely fierce with The Union Market on the corner of the same block and Back to the Land Natural Foods is just around the corner in the opposite direction.

So what makes this market that was established in 1973 so popular and draws over 15,500 members? The difference here is the 30-40% off organic food products and membership system that draws people in the neighborhood and keeps them dedicated to the food coop. Food prices listed at the coop are cheaper and more affordable for their members. A simple example would be the price of their organic golden delicious apples. At the coop, they are listed at $1.15/lb. while their competitors at The Union Market sell the same apples for $2.49/lb. Their competitors at Key Food sell the same apples with a special manager’s sale also for $2.49/lb.
The competition for healthy food markets are extremely high. The Union Market down the blocks typically sells the same food that the coop sells but feels they excel in areas that the food coop lacks. “We were conscious to accommodate the needs of the people of Park Slope, says Co-Owner Marko Lalic referring to the crowded isle and small store of the coop. “No aisle is smaller than four-feet. Customers also do not need to be members to shop at our store.” The food coop does lack in size with 15,000 members in a small building on Union Street. However, in 1999 they purchased the building directly west of the first building to expand the store as best that they could to accommodate all the members. They now have two buildings which still doesn’t seem like there’s enough room with the extremely long lines and crowded spaces in the store, but there are no other buildings around the coop that could be bought. Directly east of the coop is a fire house and directly west is an apartment building.
However, one of the most compelling things that the coop does is the required work shift that each member must complete, a total of two hours and forty-five minutes every four weeks. Members must pay an initial membership fee that is called an investment of $200 dollars when they first join the coop. This fee is later returned to the member when and if they decide to stop shopping at the coop and wants to terminate their membership. The reason why it’s called an investment is because the $200 is not really used as revenue for the coop but more of an incentive for the member to show up and complete their work shifts. Compared to the annual executive membership fee of $110 that Costco wholesale charges their customers, the one-time fee at the park slope food coop is minimal. “The working system really helps my family because we cannot afford to pay an annual fee each year to shop.” says Dawn Redekop a five year member of the coop. The free labor cost that the coop receives allows them to make a profit each year. Last year’s total revenue of $49 million is evident that the coop is successful but there are things that the money is used for.
The coop has a few paid employees that are listed as General Coordinators who oversee the daily operation of the store. They are hired by the General Meeting and the Board of Directors of the coop. David Bowser a member of the park slope food coop expresses his desire for the position that he applied for. “I applied for the General Coordinators position and hope that they hire me. I love the coop because it feels like a family and I believe in everything they do here. They try to provide the best products at the lowest price for their members. As a General Coordinator, I will oversee the daily operations and make sure everything runs smoothly. I can also come up with new ideas for jobs that are lacking vision.”
The coop is located in one of the richest neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Filled with brown stone houses and expensive coffee shops, Park slope is the perfect location for a cooperative like this. An estimated rent for an apartment of the brownstone homes is about $3,000. One of the main reasons why the park slope coop is so successful is because of it demographic location. People in the park slope area are wealthy and have the luxury to choose to eat healthy and more expensive foods. The park slope food coop attracts those wealthy people to shop at their market. People in some of the poorer communities such as Sunset Park do not share the same luxury because they do not have the money to pay for expensive organic food. “I think it’s extremely important that the park slope coop is located in Park Slope. Residents here are always looking for organic foods and this coop allows the people to shop for items that they want. It would be less successful in other areas where there is less demand for organic foods like Bensonhurst.” says Catherine Brennan a current resident of Park Slope and member of the coop.

After you make your purchase and say your farewell to the friendly man that rung you up at the cash register, you fill your box or recycled bag that you bought with you with your groceries. Then you head to the door and give your receipt to the lady sitting at the door. She marks your receipt with the highlighter in her hand checking to see how many bags or boxes you have. She smiles at you and tells you to have a nice day as you walk out of the busy coop happy with the groceries you have knowing that you’ll return soon for the inexpensive groceries or for your work shift.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ECql5dlJxP65MiYm8CecFfSItGpJg4GTZLSuS2CbnPQ/edit?usp=sharing

Terrelle Terrelle Slideshow

At a point in time where everyone in the Y Generation wants to either be a model, photographer, rapper/singer, or fashion designer, Terrelle Terrelle refuses to jump on the bandwagon.  Instead, it is intent on creating fashion that will endure far into the future.

Terrelle Terrelle is a clothing line started by two young men, Alex Baril, 23, and Terrence Ferguson, 29. In 2010 while working for Uniqlo in Soho, New York, the young men met and two years later in 2012, Alex approached Terrence with the idea of launching their own clothing line – the rest is history.

Alex is the older of two children born into a Haitian family. Terrence is the second to last child born into an American family. Terrence graduated from the Fashion Institute of Philadelphia. Alex has taken several online business courses, has several years of management skills under his belt, and interned within a showroom as a way to learn about the different aspects of the fashion industry. Alex is the corporate side of the business, while Terrence is more of the creative mind. Even though both young men specialize in their own certain fields, they tend to cross over into each other’s fields.

Their first step as a new company was to trademark the name Terrelle Terrelle. Terrelle is Terrence’s middle name and the owners decided that since there were two of them that they would call it Terrelle Terrelle.

Alex and Terrence handle all operations of the business. They handle finances, manufacturing, design, and exposure. The start up costs of the business from buying fabric to business cards come out of the pockets of the owners. Both young men have separate jobs, but dedicate majority of their free time, and income, to furthering and nurturing the Terrelle Terrelle brand. Within a year of being established, they have spent approximately $2,000 on investments on fabric, trademarking, and business cards. In return they have made close to $1,100 back from sales.

Terrelle Terrelle not only appeals to trendy street wear enthusiasts, but also to young professionals looking to test the limits of the office dress code. With a strong sense of history, exclusivity and cultural awareness, the brand challenges their customers to step outside of the box. Their strength lies in their ability to produce clothing that can be worn in different social environments, which makes them versatile, while also revealing different aspects of a customer’s personality. Above all, the company strives to produce comfortable clothing.

The garments are a reflection of hand made patterns designed by Terrence with input from Alex. They are constructed to fit well, and tailored to compliment all body types. Within the Fall/Winter 13 collection, Terrelle Terrelle has capitalized on the recent demand for trendy active wear and edgy leather pieces, such as with their best selling two-toned drop crotch sweatpants. However, when the trend passes, Terrelle Terrelle looks forward to continuing to stand, adapt, expand, and prosper like many great businesses do.

The company faces many obstacles. Since the owners of the company, are the only ones who manufacture the products by sewing the pieces themselves at Terrence’s house in Queens, New York, it is hard to produce large amounts.

“We see the obstacles as barriers to bust through,” said Alex, “We are looking into manufacturing companies to help us produce, but we need to find a company that will deliver the same quality as if we did it ourselves.”

Being a new company, it is facing the difficulties of getting acknowledgment and exposure while also producing new innovative apparel that people will want to buy. They have participated in fashion shows at City College in New York, New York, and also have been featured in Fuzion Magazine. These chances at exposure have worked in their favor to having their products seen by larger audiences but they are still aiming for more exposure.

Terrelle Terrelle is a thriving business and has established a buzz for itself. They have begun expansion from being a company with two employees to a company of four employees. They also have their own team of stylists, photographers, event coordinators, sales, marketing, and public relations representatives.

Subsequently, as their company expanded their client base has as well. They have formed new relationships with industry contacts to help them with placement and exposure of the market. However, the last piece of the puzzle has yet to be found – a large manufacturer to produce the products at larger quantities and with the same quality as desired by the owners.

Photo Slideshow 

Written by Nina Thomas

It is late November and the Christmas season is just about to start.  Decorations are already put up and Christmas lights are all around.  It’s 8pm at night and it’s raining outside, actually its drenching.  Radio city is two blocks away while Rockefeller center is around the corner.  The city blocks are wide and somehow everything still seems to be buzzing, even though the sky is already pitch black.

 And the line at 53^rd and 6^th for its famous chicken and rice combo is long at all 5 different carts surrounding the cross section even with rain pouring and wind blowing. People have their umbrellas out and ready, willingly waiting the average 10-15 minute wait in the rain.  The smell of chicken and lamb cooking saturates the city air.  What can you do?

 “The Halal Guys” is a chicken and rice cart located on 53^rd and 6th that sells spicy chicken and lamb platters and sandwiches.  Expanding from one cart back in 1990, it now has five carts surrounding the 53^rd and 6^th cross-section, all of which are packed on a average city night, even when it is raining.  Platters cost six dollars while sandwiches cost four dollars.  This food cart is one of many located across the city.  Customers go up to a stand and ask for their order while the meat is cooked right in front of them.

Halal meat is unique in the fact that Muslim people are allowed to eat this under their religious law.  Customers wait outside for their food and are given their food to go.  This is difficult under harsh weather conditions yet many people still make the trip to “The Halal Guys”.  Should weather permit, patrons also eat outside by the stand, although no formal seating is offered.   Many times customers will also add “white” or “hot” sauce to their combinations.   These additions have become famous because they are offered at halal carts.

“The Halal Guys” first became famous for selling its classic combination of chicken and rice on 53rd and 6th street.  They started back in 1990 as a small hot dog stand when it later decided to appeal to Muslims caddies by introducing halal chicken and rice to the menu.  Five years after its opening “The Halal Guys” experienced an increase in sales because of a New York Times article advertising their cart.  From that time two or three more articles came out and before they knew it the owners were met by a surge of people who wanted chicken and rice.  Now 53^rd and 6^th has become the place to go for the perfect combination of chicken and rice.

“The Halal Guys” plans to open a brick and mortar shop between 14^th street and 2^nd avenue.  This is after almost 24 years of selling from a cart. Hesham Hegazy is a senior manager and partner for “The Halal Guys” and is opening this new location due to a high demand explaining that, “any business person would do the move.  We expanded from 1 cart to 2 to 3 to 4 to 5 and now a store.”  The 14^th street store is located much farther downtown and because of this is much more accessible to college students.  In many ways it is more hidden than a traditional stand on a corner.  Other food franchises surround this location such as: Wendys, Taco Bell and Subway.

Currently customers order their food from the cart and then immediately take it to go.  Some even wait until they are home to eat the food they have brought.  However at this new location they will offer seating inside and patrons will be able to order food from outside of the store and inside as well.

At this new location, an extended menu will also be offered to customers.  They will offer a different menu including more vegetarian options and a juice bar.  This made in an effort to cater to a larger of audience of people while providing healthier options as well.  Outside of the store a traditional chicken and rice stand will be available that will sell the classic menu of spicy chicken or lamb over a platter or sandwich.  The only clear difference will be the additional menu located inside that will offer more options to customers but at a steeper price.

For a long time “The Halal Guys” were hesitate about opening a store.  A brick and mortar location was available next to their carts on 53^rd and 6^th but this would cost them almost $40,000 a month according to Hegazy.  This is now the location where a Starbucks in now open.  While at the same location except in carts, “The Halal Guys” are able to serve 500-700 people on a summer night just from carts.  With plates running for $6 on average, that is anywhere between $3,000 to $4,200 in just one night of business.  Their hope is that a new extended menu with costlier items will make up for their new overhead costs at their 14^th street location.  Hegazy explains that, “…inside store items will cost more but because it will have a different menu.”

Halal has been a long been a favorite of New York’s college students who often trek miles for its cuisine. College students often eat on a budget with very little time and for $6 students have the option to buy food and eat quickly.  The owners chose the 14^th street location to cater to this college crowd.  According to Hegazy, “Most students need to take a cab to our location, eat and the go back.  We wanted something within walking distance for them.”  This is perfect for the hundreds of college students who trek from across the city to 53^rd and 6^th for their lunch fix.  The 14^th street location is close to college campuses such as New York University, The New School and Baruch College.  All are within walking distance form the storefront.

David Lopez , a sophomore at Baruch College is excited for the opening of this new location, “It was pretty welcoming to have a closer cart to home and school. 14th street is well within walking distance from school if one had the urge to got for a $6 lunch”

Izak Held
Coffee & Cheese Is All It Takes.

When one walks down the scenic block of Central Avenue of Cedarhurst in Long Island, they may be looking for a coffee shop and may ask a recommendation from someone walking by. After asking a local, her recommendation may just be a surprise when she says, “check out the cheese store.” You see Central Avenue, also known as “The Avenue” is a magnificent 1 mile strip in the Heart of the 5 towns area that is home to dozens of small businesses and a great tourist area.

With a wide selection of coffee and cheese, The Cheese Store of Cedarhurst is quality that is hard to find in today’s highly recognized brand named food places, such as Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts. The store sells a variety of coffee, cheese and crackers, but you may notice that what you are getting is more than your average cup of joe, it’s the experience. Great quality coffee with a cheese that is just cut right, and the familiar faces of a dedicated long serving staff is a big win for the cheese store, one of the employees said “I love working here and It says a lot when you know almost 90% of your customers names”. It is a common thing to understand, that people want something different, like a coffee shop named the cheese store, that sells a peanut butter flavored iced drink.

The store’s clientele is mostly women, according to the staff, most of them ordered the detailed coffee flavors that the store does a great advertising of and would naturally attract customers with. Being in a great location such as central avenue that hosts dozens of food stores and restaurants, and attracts plenty of close by New York state tourists, can be quite the edge. A dozen flavors of cheese cake may be a little too much, but ranging from chocolate to lime doesn’t hurt. The coffee can also be a little to detailed with flavor after flavor posted on the front menu.

As customers walk into the store, they are quickly greeted by the staff, and most of the time by the proprietor of the store, Mr. Mitch Rakita. Rakita has been the owner and operator of the establishment for over 35 years, a family business that is beyond the immediate family. For many of the workers have been at the store for decades. The stores look is quite original, with photos of their past and many of their customers and workers postered all over the walls.

“The key is to keep up with what’s popular, and a mix of what I find attractive” said Rakita. “Being that I operate the store and am here throughout the day, one of the benefits is the quick additions of new products. If something is hot and the customers want it, it is on the shelf the next day,” explained Rakita, which is one of the major advantages of a sole proprietorship, and being on the floor of the action. “We can change direction in a minute…If it’s a hot item I’ll go out and buy it,” he continued. This is a major benefit as well, but also shows a lot in a store like this for some stores may say that they will never change anything, or what they believe is the catch of the business they want to remain the same, you see reputations like these are known in this area. But Rakita and his staff know it’s more than that, it’s the customers. “I come here almost everyday and it feels like home” said Chava M., a daily customer of the store.

Rakita and his staff’s schedule is like a roller coaster as any store that has a specific target market. The morning starts off the day and is the business’s busiest time, not hard to believe considering coffee is best in the morning in this store because of the freshness of the beans and ingredients. But as the day goes along the business picks up again by lunch time, clear to see that customers like the product mostly any part of the day.

When asked what the busiest season was, the answer lead to a complete new story. Years ago, according to Rakita, the busiest time of year was Christmas and the holiday season. But over the years, the demographics changed dramatically from a Christian neighborhood to an Orthodox Jewish one. Being kosher, lead to no pork and a different customer base emerging that the store had to overcome. But as Rakita put it “Things change, and as an owner you have to be able to recognize it and change it.” The store that started with a mix of meats and cheeses, soon found its menu to be strictly dairy with their new Coffee and Cheese mix catching the attention of the crowd. And more importantly seeing it paying off.

But the most challenging thing that this store  finds, is it’s staffing. “The staff is an extension of you, a customers problem with a staffer, is evidently your problem,” said Rakita. And watching the staff and their behavior through different methods and technological ways, is something that was never thought about 35 years ago when the store opened. “I would have never imagined that we would need cameras in a store,” something that business owners may have overlooked years ago, but now is an expense that is naturally on the top of the menu so to say.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1CBIF4LlCdk4zHTo3kAlaP4b-nlTLvsyMHHj6eYloVHw/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000