Will be long at the start but will drop as the months pass. The stores along Austin St will complain that their storefronts are being blocked. You can bet on it. Austin sidewalks are very narrow.
I'm not sure whether the stores along Austin Street will complain or not. But if they were smart, they would be thanking Shake Shack every single day for all of the additional foot traffic that Shake Shack will bring to Austin Street. More foot traffic will mean more business for the stores along Austin Street. And the additional foot traffic along Austin Street will also likely attract other upscale stores and restaurants to open locations in Forest Hills. All of this will only bring positive change to Austin Street and Forest Hills.
I don't understand this logic at all. "Hey, after we're done waiting on line for an hour for a hamburger, why don't we go buy a tacky gown, some gaudy costume jewelry or a hunk of cheese... or maybe buy some insurance, hit the dentist and have an eye exam since we're here?" Who thinks like that? People are going to show up, inexplicably wait forever for a chain restaurant food item they've been eating their entire lives, then leave. "Foot traffic" doesn't turn into sales if people are not shopping and don't want what you're selling. If anything, it will make customers who DO want to shop instead avoid the area and go somewhere else. And frankly, it's not like these stores are a "destination" to begin with. The only thing that will bring more business to the stores along Austin Street is BETTER STORES.
That's actually not how retail works, Laurie. Anchor tenants draw business to nearby tenants. It might not help the tacky gown store because that store sucks and shouldn't be here. But it certainly will help Banana Republic, Sephora, Victoria's Secret, Gap, and other stores that actually belong in the neighborhood.
I agree completely with the last comment and to be honest some of the posts on here are starting to seem a bit sad making it seem like the Shake Shack is the biggest thing we have going in our lives! It's good and all but how often can you really have that kind of food and again like the last poster said, thinking someone is suddenly going to discover this neighborhood because of a burger joint, is a bit far fetched too.
You're missing the most important point. When it comes to Shake Shack, the fact that a chain of its caliber would choose Forest Hills over hipper neighborhoods in Queens like Astoria and Long Island City is incredible, spectacular, amazing, surprising, and tremendously good for the neighborhood. Those who don't see that, are obviously unfamiliar with the Shake Shack chain and its innovative, super-quality, delicious vittles.
The biggest thing going on in our lives, that's ridiculous! It IS the biggest restaurant news in the neighborhood in the past 5 years, though. Bigger news than the potential demise of our pathetic "restaurant row", bigger news than the crappy bakery next to Dunkin Donuts being put out of business, bigger than whatever else you can think of. I'm not sure how often someone could or should eat that kind of fatty fast food, but I plan to be there most Fridays, in lieu of cooking a burger at home with my son like I currently do on Friday nights. And it is not so much about drawing new people to the neighborhood from far and wide, as much as drawing people already in the neighborhood off their couches and onto the retail strip.
Will be long at the start but will drop as the months pass. The stores along Austin St will complain that their storefronts are being blocked. You can bet on it. Austin sidewalks are very narrow.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure whether the stores along Austin Street will complain or not. But if they were smart, they would be thanking Shake Shack every single day for all of the additional foot traffic that Shake Shack will bring to Austin Street. More foot traffic will mean more business for the stores along Austin Street. And the additional foot traffic along Austin Street will also likely attract other upscale stores and restaurants to open locations in Forest Hills. All of this will only bring positive change to Austin Street and Forest Hills.
DeleteI don't understand this logic at all. "Hey, after we're done waiting on line for an hour for a hamburger, why don't we go buy a tacky gown, some gaudy costume jewelry or a hunk of cheese... or maybe buy some insurance, hit the dentist and have an eye exam since we're here?" Who thinks like that? People are going to show up, inexplicably wait forever for a chain restaurant food item they've been eating their entire lives, then leave. "Foot traffic" doesn't turn into sales if people are not shopping and don't want what you're selling. If anything, it will make customers who DO want to shop instead avoid the area and go somewhere else. And frankly, it's not like these stores are a "destination" to begin with. The only thing that will bring more business to the stores along Austin Street is BETTER STORES.
DeleteThat's actually not how retail works, Laurie. Anchor tenants draw business to nearby tenants. It might not help the tacky gown store because that store sucks and shouldn't be here. But it certainly will help Banana Republic, Sephora, Victoria's Secret, Gap, and other stores that actually belong in the neighborhood.
DeleteI agree completely with the last comment and to be honest some of the posts on here are starting to seem a bit sad making it seem like the Shake Shack is the biggest thing we have going in our lives! It's good and all but how often can you really have that kind of food and again like the last poster said, thinking someone is suddenly going to discover this neighborhood because of a burger joint, is a bit far fetched too.
ReplyDeleteYou're missing the most important point. When it comes to Shake Shack, the fact that a chain of its caliber would choose Forest Hills over hipper neighborhoods in Queens like Astoria and Long Island City is incredible, spectacular, amazing, surprising, and tremendously good for the neighborhood. Those who don't see that, are obviously unfamiliar with the Shake Shack chain and its innovative, super-quality, delicious vittles.
DeleteCompletely unrelated, but I just love it when you use the word "vittles", Drake. :)
DeleteThe biggest thing going on in our lives, that's ridiculous! It IS the biggest restaurant news in the neighborhood in the past 5 years, though. Bigger news than the potential demise of our pathetic "restaurant row", bigger news than the crappy bakery next to Dunkin Donuts being put out of business, bigger than whatever else you can think of. I'm not sure how often someone could or should eat that kind of fatty fast food, but I plan to be there most Fridays, in lieu of cooking a burger at home with my son like I currently do on Friday nights. And it is not so much about drawing new people to the neighborhood from far and wide, as much as drawing people already in the neighborhood off their couches and onto the retail strip.
DeleteAstoria will get a SS in no time. A cardiologist walkin clinic will be opening on Austin Street in July.
DeleteHipper? Have you stood on the corner of 71 Av and Queens Blvd lately? It's disgusting.
Delete