Williamsburg Franchise Watch: Subway, 1; Starbucks, 0
For those of you not intimately familiar with the struggles over development and gentrification in Williamsburg, let me assure you, the battle is fraught. In short:
- Hipsters hate Yuppies
- Artists hate Hipsters
- Artists and Hipsters hate Tall Buildings
- Old People hate Everybody
- Franchises want Storefronts
Well, today the franchises made a healthy noteworthy gain, with the very first national chain entry being a Subway sandwich shop on the corner of Bedford and North 5th (two doors down from the Northside car service). According to the nervous guys inside, it will open in "about three weeks". This should just beat the second franchise that is apparently moving into the Northside: a UPS Store on North 7th Street.
Rumors here always swirled around the imminent arrival of a Starbucks (that's how it went down in Park Slope), but this is a new century, in which multi-grain rolls, reheated meatballs, and low-carb wraps take precedence over the cult of caffeine. I predict this will be one of the busiest storefronts on Bedford within a year, no matter what the rolled eyes say. Anytime had better step up their game.
Postscript: A reader points out that I am forgetting two things--first, Williamsburg includes streets other than Bedford Avenue, which means McDonald's on Broadway and White Castle on Metro both beat Subway to the punch; and second, I neglected to note the presence of a Tasti D-Lite one block away on Bedford, which appears recently to have become a franchise opportunity. I stand corrected, but still shudder at the thought of Subway's bready, franchised aroma.
Posted by tangentialist at July 22, 2005 03:36 PM | more tangentialism
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