Chain Gang Thrives in Brooklyn

National retailers are increasingly sweet on Brooklyn, according to an article in today’s Post, and Brooklyn is apparently sold on chain stores. Since opening in December, the new IHOP on Livingston Street has ranked first in sales among the breakfast restaurant’s 1,300 locations, and the Downtown IHOP’s owner plans to open eateries in Bed-Stuy, East New York and Williamsburg. Other evidence of chain stores’ willingness to give Brooklyn a try includes the Target opening at Flatbush Junction and the one planned for the new building at Albee Square; Apple, JC Penney and Nordstrom are all said to be considering adding Brooklyn outposts. Marty Markowitz has been trying to woo Apple to a number of locations, including the new Albee Square building, the ground-floor space at One Hanson and the lower level of the Municipal Building on Joralemon Street. Although Downtown—with its existing foot traffic, reputation as a shopping district, and thousands of residential units in the pipeline—seems like a reasonable location for national chains, the influx of new stores is also detrimentally affecting independent retailers. “You can go anywhere to shop at a big chain store—people come to Downtown Brooklyn for Downtown Brooklyn and its uniqueness,” says Randy Leigh, a board member for Families United for Racial and Economic Equality, who notes that more than 100 small businesses have been pushed out of Downtown in the past year.
B’klyn is Making Chain-ge [NY Post]
Flatbush Junction Target Coming Soon [Brownstoner]
Downtown Brooklyn in Transition [Brownstoner]
Photo by milkshakepants.