A mustard emporium is closing, as a new Asian restaurant is opening. See more Upper West Side openings and closings below.
High-end French mustard shop Maille on Columbus and 68th Street is set to close this Saturday, according to an employee and shoppers there. The employee said the shop would be consolidating with the company’s larger Flatiron location. They are offering 20% off on items this week. The store, which opened late in 2014, had just completed a renovation last year. Thanks to Maya for the tip.
Toast, the bar and restaurant at 105th Street and Broadway has closed. It had been closed temporarily by health inspectors late last year. Thanks to Daniel, Diane, Jesse and Nancy for the tips.
Zen Nails and Spa on 72nd between West End and Broadway closed a few days ago after being open for 17 years. Thanks to Elisa and Melissa for the tips.
The Lite Choice ice cream and froyo spot on 72nd Street between Columbus and Broadway (a personal favorite for many years) has closed. Thanks to Karen for the tip.
A T-Mobile store is opening on 111th and Broadway in the former home of Banco Popular. Thanks to Diane for the photo.
A new hotpot restaurant (maybe called 108 Food?) is getting closer to opening at the corner of 108th Street and Broadway, a spot that housed Irish taverns for decades. The “dry pot” cooking style allows people to choose (often spicy) ingredients and then eat them in communal fashion. Thanks to Tsadik and others for the tips.
Maille is closing….YOUVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!!!
LOL… Who saw this coming?
I’ve never been to Maille — any recommendations?
Recommendations on Maille – which is F-ing amazing – ALL OF IT. I particularly love the Basil Mustard. I use that, butter and vermouth as a sauce for fish and it is INCREDIBLE. People have literally licked the plate. I was worried this location wouldn’t last. I was never particularly interested in Mustard until I was dragged to the Maille store in Paris by a friend, and am now fully obsessed with their products.
Thanks for the recipe. What kind of fish do you use with this?
Re: “What kind of fish do you use with this?”
Well, since the UWS is now the GUWS (Gentrified Upper West Side) it would be appropriate to use the pricier types of fish, including:
1. GOLDfish, available at PetSmart; or
2. SILVERfish, available in many UWS walls.
😱
Such a bad precedent that all these store are closing on the UWS. I think is a function of greedy landlords than lack of business. Same thing happening on 8th avenue in Hells Kitchen. These are very populated for traffic area. Greedy landlords and forcing these businesses to close and the only one who seem to me moving in are Starbucks and major Drug chains.
There’s no such thing as a “greedy landlord”.
Landlords can only charge whatever a tenant is willing to pay – not a penny more.
If you’re so upset about this arrangement perhaps you should invest in commercial real estate and lease your space to the business willing to pay you the least in rent.
Furthermore, did it ever occur to you that a faulty business model – rather than ” greedy landlords” is the reason these stores went out of business?
I mean, does the neighborhood really need a store that sells nothing but overpriced mustard?
Waking along Broadway it seems a lot of landlords aren’t even making a penny with all of the vacant storefronts. That means there is greed as they could charge a less for rent but they don’t because they are waiting to get one of the few businesses willing to pay the price they want. Not stating they are wrong to do that but to state absolutely that landlords are not being greedy is a bit obtuse.
So, they are losing money by willingly not having a tenant and that’s ‘greedy’ to you?
Commercial leases are for 10 years around here. I’d want to maximize the amount of rent I was getting as well considering I couldn’t renegotiate for 10 years. Especially when the city just keeps raising your tax rate.
You may only see an empty storefront, but you don’t see what is going on behind the scenes. You are not seeing the negotiations first between the landlord and the tenant, but then between two sets of lawyers. One or two years may not be unreasonable depending on the circumstances that you know nothing about.
I don’t expect landlords to act any differently than anyone else who owns property and wants to sell it. You seem to expect that and I think your expectations would change very quickly if you had a valuable piece of property you were looking to sell.
Losing money in the short-term (if they really are as I’m sure there are tax write-offs of some kind that are used to mitigate losses) in order to get a tenant (bank, major brand or franchise) that will pay large rents. So sitting on it for a year or two when they could still make money and while also helping to build a better community which would help everyone. So yes greed! I’m sure there are some landlords that may have overpaid for their properties with the illusion of grandeur and now have to raise rents double and triple to make that a reality.
Sherman’s world is all about who is willing pay more. Literally nothing else matters, life is all about making a cool buck regardless the means. Following his logic, people should bid on life-saving surgeries to see who would win a chance to live by paying the highest price.
Regarding “over priced mustard” – does this neighborhood need yet another bank charging overpriced fees? Stores
Like Maille at least add character.
What is overpriced about bank fees? No one is forcing you to overdraw your account, make an infinite numbers of withdrawals, or use other banks’ ATMs. Banks don’t exist in a vacuum in which they can provide you with free stuff.
The flaw in your poorly constructed logic is that not all business have the same economics (i.e. profit margins, sales volumes, etc.) So you are insinuating that only certain types of businesses can exist. Just because a mustard store can’t compete with the high volume and margins of say a Starbucks (who by the way doesn’t have to earn much of a profit on an individual store to justify it) means it doesn’t belong on the upper west side? How preposterous! The landlords are greedy because they want to extract that maximum from a location which means certain types of stores can’t exist. While I understand that is simply market forces and capitalism at work, it also means the landlords have no incentive to improve, the community in which they do business. This is the real problem legislation should fix. While I wouldn’t be willing to invest in commercial real estate and charge the lowest rent possible, what’s wrong with something where both store and landlord could co-exist? Some reasonable rent, and then a profit share on anything above that. Then both have an incentive to do well. I would be willing to invest in that. Otherwise we will just be stuck with Starbucks, Duane Reade, and banks. What kind of neighborhood is that? One where landlords wins and the residents suffer.
Talk about poorly constructed logic….
I don’t even have the time to pick this argument apart even though it would quite simple. This person has never owned or operated a business.
They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Don’t have the time? OR don’t have the knowledge?? I went to a top 10 school, twice, and am a senior executive at a 20B publicly traded company. Sorry your creativity with structuring a deal between landlord and business owner is so limited. Do you really think that in no place does a deal exist where a landlord and a business owner can find a mutually agreeable path for both to exist? Small minds as they say….
So you want a private entity to invest capital in real estate and bear all the financial risks of ownership just so it can limit its return for the benefit of tenants who have no risk?
In your dreamworld, who shares the landlord’s losses during times of economic downturn or financial shocks to the real estate market?
Richard,
When there is an economic downturn, those businesses file bankruptcy and nulls their lease contract. Then the landlord is then stuck with an empty storefront and no guaranteed money coming in when the economy is at its worst.
Commercial real estate is a commodity just like any thing else and the owner has every right to get as much as the market will bear. Just like if you were to sell your apartment or car.
If you have a rental rate locked in for the term of the lease (10-20 years) how exactly does an economic downturn affect the landlord? I am not suggesting they don’t earn something reasonable, but there is certainly a model whereby both parties can share the profits with the business owner taking the risk, not he the landlord.
Greedy landlords is right! When Starbucks says “too much” you know rents and incentives for landlords to keep stores vacant are way too high. It’s time for the CITY COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR to get out of international relations and focus on the needs of the city!
There is nothing wrong with local politicians having a position on Donald Trump or national issues but it seems that is all the Mayor is interested in except for fundraising for his next campaign.
108 is lucky number !. The T mobile store is an eyesore
When Maille ran out of candy on Halloween, they were giving out mini jars of mustard. The kids didn’t know what to make of it, but the parents liked it.
The neighborhood can’t support a store devoted to mustard? Sad.
Very sad, indeed.
I cried.
A store selling mustard was absurd to start with… like a SNL skit.
But speaking of vacant storefronts: The City Council should pass a law charging landlords a monthly fine who keep their premises vacant for longer than, say, a year. It brings down property values and diminishes a neighborhood. The most glaring example on the UWS is the empty-for-years-now former Jennifer Convertibles sofabed store on the east side of Broadway between 89th and 90th. And now to join it, the Food Emporium has been shuttered since November.
FE has been shuttered since November 2015, so well over a year. They keep reporting here that a furniture store is rumored to be going in there, but there’s no motion at that store at all. It’s in the same state it was in since it closed.
The other issue with empty storefronts is maintaining a decent sidewalk – in winter the snow and ice build up and year round the trash.
Total non-issue. The owner still has to maintain the sidewalk regardless of the number of vacancies.
But they kind of don’t so it is an issue.
So true! Not that I’m a fan of this endless condo developing, but their sales pitches included phrases like “in the heart of the historic upper west side” and they show pictures of cute little bistros and mom and pops. We have so little of that left now! There is no neighborhood without small business. Who wants to live near banks and mobile stores. And how does a greedy landlord make money with an empty space? Seems better to keep a tenant in there so have some revenue.
I agree! There used to be a law (is it still in effect?) which limited the amount of money a co-op could collect from commercial spaces in their building based upon the amount of maintenance collected from their tenants. The co-op would then rent the commercial space to a third party who would guarantee regular payments to the co-ops while subletting the spaces for whatever the market would bear. Since so many storefronts are empty for years, I would think that these third parties are not paying much to the co-ops and can just wait forever for a big paying lessee while the neighborhood suffers. Maybe we need to get these third party transactions outlawed.
Makes perfect sense, fine a landlord for not being able to find a suitable tenant. What’s next, fining people for not being able to afford health coverage?? Wait a second. . .
…because what the Morningside Heights neighborhood REALLLLLY needs is a T-Mobile store.
Given that the nearest T-Mobile Store is at 96th Street, Morningside Heights could benefit from having a more convenient location.
Maille is part of a chain and is owned by the global food & home and personal care conglomerate, Unilever. Why buy chain store mustard!?
Because the store employs local people who will now be out of work?
Maille closing is very sad. What is going on with good stores closing on UWS..especially on Amsterdam and Columbus between 66th and 86th? Enough with drugstores, Starbucks and small restaurants that will eventually close within a year.
I agree, I don’t get the economics of all the vacant storefronts on the UWS. I am sure Toast will sit empty for awhile as well, I don’t think there is that much demand for space on 105/Bway. Though I doubt the city can lawfully impose a vacancy tax on someone for keeping commercial space empty…after all, the LL is paying property tax whether or not the stores are occupied.
It came down to the ridiculous rent. It isn’t ridiculous to sell mustard, it’s not frenches yellow mustard, maille has been around for over 100 years, there downfall happened when unilever bought them.
Noooooo…I am sad about Maille. That was a great place to have. I can’t believe it. Also a bit sad about Zen — they were very nice and it’s been there a long time. So much nail salon competition though…
The worst “empty” spot is the Citibank building on Broadway and 111th street although it looks as if something is finally happening. It has been an eyesore for over 3 years, and has affected other stores on the block which have also been empty for quite some time, including the old Bank Street Book Store location.
Wrong – worst empty spot is the former Rite Aid on 96th/Broadway, Got to be getting close to ten years as an empty shell.
Maille store is owned by global powerhouse Unilver. Surely they could have afforded to keep it open longer.
What’s also interesting is UL also owns T2 which just opened across the street from Maille.
With this logic, it’s probably good for their shareholders that you’re not in a decision-making capacity at Unilever.
I think Amaryllis Florist (Amsterdam 72-73) will be closing soon. Another case of the landlord raising the rent.
I totally agree about our “mom & pops” – as well as local chains like stationers, pet supplies, independent bookstores, etc. – facing ruinous rent increases. I would add that declining patronage is also a factor. People understandably buy online for better prices, but it cuts into the business these stores rely on.
I doubt many of you critics were crying for the landlords back in the days when coops couldn’t realize the full potential of their retail spaces because of the 80-20 law that was repealed within the last 10 years. This change paved the way for coops to finally make some profit on those spaces reducing tenant/shareholder living expenses.
Anyone who thinks it’s ok to fine landlords for not renting their space should have their head examined.
Many (although not all) conversions were “condops.” Sponsor / landlord retained and continues to rent out the commercial space. Coop has no control over it.
I love it when people actually know what they are talking about and share accurate information.
This is 100% correct. Great comment. thanks
Honestly, who in the world actually shopped at Maille? It was the illustration of the dictionary definition of “pretentious,” even for Columbus and 68th.
It was a matter of time for Toast. We were frequent customers who enjoyed sidewalk dining in warmer weather. I always felt the cleanliness was dubious at best, and the interior sorely needed some attention. They did however make a delicious burger, and all of the waitstaff knew us (well enough to bring my glass of Tempranillo as soon as we sat down).
As a retail broker I have to say – Retail is a mugs game for the store. The Landlord always wins.
We might start you with a reasonable rent – but if your store is a hit we’ll know it and start to jack up your rent figuring “they’re making bank – I’ll have a piece”
in fact – the landlords pre-eminent strategy most of the time is to raise the rent to just under a level where the tenant would find it economically advantageous to move.’
The upshot is that you can never make outsized profits while you have a landlord as they’ll permanently squeeze your margins.
Large chains can survive because they can spread the risk, negotiate long leases with advantageous rates and understand the game.
Small store owners have no hope which is why areas like the UWS end up defaulting to chains / banks / pharmacies etc eventually.
Please explain how the landlord “wins” with an empty storefront for years?? Just curious to hear your so-called professional analysis.
Sounds like your version has a lot of owners overplaying their hands….and then everyone loses, including the neighborhood.
The reality is skyrocketing taxes, regulations, and shady banking practices. And you brokers aren’t blameless either and you know exactly what I mean.
And. The Metro Theater property continues to fall into decay despite two health clubs that were supposedly going into that space! Still no action! What’s going on?
I’m a local business owner so I have dealt with the landlords and visited MANY of the empty store fronts that litter the UWS these days. From a business owner’s point of view, it is not always us who are mismanaging our shops but, rather, the landlords who decide to double or sometimes even triple a store’s rent with no intention of negotiating. While I agree that the empty spaces are en eye sore, it suits the landlords just fine because, even if they do not find a tenant willing to pay that ridiculous amount for rent, they can still write off that new higher price as a loss and deduct it from their taxes. There needs to be some sort of measure put in place to cap the amount of lost income they can claim so that it is in THEIR best interest to fill the vacancy. I have been an UWS resident for 15 years and the thing that drew me to the neighborhood was the diversity of locally owned shops that you found here. Now it is just becoming like Hell’s Kitchen and all the other busy neighborhoods where all you find are Duane Reades and big name banks and chain stores. There needs to be a more transparent process for renewing leases for small business owners or else sooner or later we will resemble midtown and lose the charm and appeal that we all love about this ‘hood.
“it suits the landlords just fine because, even if they do not find a tenant willing to pay that ridiculous amount for rent, they can still write off that new higher price as a loss and deduct it from their taxes. There needs to be some sort of measure put in place to cap the amount of lost income they can claim”
This is totally bogus. Landlords cannot deduct any amount of ‘lost’ potential income from their taxes. It’s mind-boggling that as a business owner, you lack this most basic knowledge of how taxes work. No landlord benefits from having vacant retail space.
Oh no! Calling Gil Faizon and George St. Geegland: there will be no more Too Much Mustard! Well, you’re still safe with Too Much Tuna. Why does Columbus Ave. always come up with these weird single-item boutiques? What’s next? Death n’ Things selling cute funeral mugs and tote bags?
A major problem for landlords is that Real Estate taxes have gone through the roof. I own a small building and my RE taxes have gone up to 90k from 50k not that long ago. And that pushes up prices as the retail tenant absorbs part of the RE tax increase so each year prices rise in NYC by this artifical inflation caused by the city. And thats a good part of the reason rents keep going up.
Also I have never seen so much turnover of stores on 72nd St. Usually there is perhaps one store available a year but this year at least 8 stores have gone out of business.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Finally someone who actually knows what they are talking about. Landlords are an easy target for people who know very little about real estate or business or government…or life for that matter. Sure, some are bad or greedy but come on…this cartoonish trope of the evil (often Jewish) landlord? really?
Property taxes up = rent goes up
It’s pretty simple math. This is the struggle that actual property owners deal with. Someone has to pay for everything and landlords and property owners are deemed some endless deep pocket to dig in.
Blame the politicians not the business community. When the costs of doing small business doesn’t add up guess what happens?
Enjoy your empty storefronts and big boxes.
Not the UWS, tho UWS peeps shop there, Pier 1 Imports on 15th and 5th Ave is closing, will be closed by 4/10.
Any news on Broadway bagel on 101st and Broadway?! I miss it a lot!
I’m sad about Lite Choice closing.
try the sesame bagel at Orwashers — it will change your life.
So I guess I’m the second person to mourn TOAST. May have been borderline, but the wait staff were lovely and it was always a comfortable place to hangout, sit and read, on my own or with others, indoors or out. PicNic was another place like that, though more expensive, 3 blxs south of TOAST. Where will I go now?
I am lifelong Maille customer, but can get it elsewhere. My tragedy is Zen Nails. Can anyone recommend a chair massage with a very strong man?
The comment about building owners of a vacant storefront still having to clean/maintain sidewalks was fascinating, since many of us who walk up & down Bway multiple times every day for school drop-off, pick-up, grocery shopping, etc. were bemoaning the particularly horrendous condition of the sidewalk outside of 108West or whatever it’s to be called on that Friday after the snow day. The word treacherous doesn’t even begin to describe the thick layer of ice that stayed there for I don’t know how many hours, with people literally wiping out over and over. It was so bad that some of us started telling people we encountered a block away to please be careful. Really terrible, and so frustrating to watch injuries that could be prevented! How does one report such an owner? For that matter, how does one even find out who the owner is to report? Still feeling for those falling people as I write this!
Just call 311 or report it online. I’ve reported 5 hazards and the response time was extremely quick. You don’t need to know who owns the building, just enter the address and other requested info. https://www1.nyc.gov/
Thank you Cat!
I guess it didn’t cut mustard in the neighborhood. Ha! Oh well!
Brick and mortar retail is dying a slow and painful death. Not just in NYC but elsewhere as recent announcements from J.C. Penny’s, Macys, Sears, H&M and yes even Tiffany’s and Nordstrom’s attest. Though higher end and or luxury are faring slightly better all are in the same boat; facing down the rapid and growing advance of online retail.
https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20170129/BLOGS01/170129872/brokers-say-nyc-retail-will-bounce-back-dont-buy-it
Amazon.com is killing even Walmart who has had to adapt their business models.
Our building like almost every other residential multi-family in NYC (especially Manhattan) has a lobby or mail/package room full daily of deliveries. UPS, FedEx, USPS, Amazon Prime, etc… they keep coming nearly every day of the week.
https://therealdeal.com/2017/02/17/boxed-in-nyc-landlords-struggling-to-deal-with-residents-online-shopping-addiction/
As such you either have to be a fool or bored housewife, mistress, boy toy or whatever with a wealthy backer to open any sort of retail that goes up against online.
This is why you are seeing really nothing but chain stores, food, beverage, national or worldwide brands and perhaps places that sell “quirky” and or difficult to find things opening.
Even the later didn’t work for Gracious Home who now has shrunk from four (or was it five?) stores down to a small space barely occupying one quarter of their 1220 Third Avenue space.
Years ago you could open a store selling tchotchkes and what not like Flying Tiger. But today only a national/worldwide brand has the money and resources to make it work.
Long story short all the businesses you see vanishing from NYC operate on small margins. As such they are extremely sensitive to rent, wage and other costs; all of which are going up in NYC.
Laundromats, diners, small restaurants, hardware stores, small stores in general, etc… all are places run on tight margins. Where at some point owners simply cannot make a profit nor see things changing.
Ironically (and again) many of the things people are complaining about “vanishing” from NYC are still out there; they are just online/via Apps. There are tons of laundry services for instance that operate strictly on pick-up and delivery. You can find tchotchkes on eBay, Esty and other online sites.
I always appreciate reading your well-written, logical, factual (and even sourced) comments. Very informative, thoughtful and most importantly, Non-controversial.
I suspect you have a background in writing or journalism or something along those lines.
Thanks for taking the time to write it. You should post here more often.
Side Note to West Side Rag: Offer this guy a job!:)
*Thank you*
No, background not in English nor journalism; just tend to go on now and then. *LOL*
I’m so happy Maille is closing. What a waste of space and a ridiculous concept since day 1. I can’t wait till a truly necessary neighborhood vendor opens there. You know, like one selling overpriced mayonnaise, on tap, in 6 flavors.
Perhaps “ridiculous” to Americans, but Maille started out in Paris as a stand alone boutique, and still has such an outpost.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maille_(company)
https://www.travel-images.com/photo/photo-france492.html
https://eurolinguiste.com/maille-mustard-in-paris-france/
While the UWS shop may not have done well, elsewhere (London and Oz) Maille seems to be doing well. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3621002/Now-s-haute-dog-World-s-expensive-hot-dog-sells-100-comes-topped-1747-Dijon-mustard-truffles-comes-Australia.html