On a stretch of Merrick Road in the Mandalay area of Wantagh, there is a small strip of stores. Ever since I can remember, two of the storefronts have been in nearly constant flux- at different times they have been an antique shop and an aquarium, a yoga studio and a music lesson center, a real estate office and a pizza joint. The others on the block are fairly stable, however: the standard mani-pedi place, the convenience store, the lawnmower store, the deli, the bagel place, the dry cleaners, the bar and the cell phone store ironically called ‘Beeper Doctor'(they really do need to remove that from the sign) have lasted through the rotation of neighbors at the end of the block.
Perhaps it has something to do with the location. The two storefronts in question are on the corner, at the edge of a residential neighborhood. There is no parking lot close to either place (though this doesn’t seem to affect the other shops’ livelihood). Interestingly enough, the yoga studio that now occupies a small storefront down the block a bit was originally in the corner space, but moved down soon after it opened. It seems to do business and is surviving well enough, but why the move? Is it just a bad luck space, or is there some other explanation for the constant and consistent changes in occupants?
I’d like to talk to some of the store owners in the area about the reasons for the quick opening and shuttering of the unlucky stores, and some residents about conceptions of the types of businesses that have opened in the spaces.
