Besen Retail is Hiring!

Besen Retail is expanding and  looking for a new addition to our retail leasing team. This is a great opportunity to start your career in real estate and learn from some of the best in retail! With business booming in the Bronx, we need a Junior Retail Leasing Broker who is resourceful, hard working, and highly motivated.

As a broker, you would have the opportunity to work with us in our Park Avenue office, but also learn every neighborhood in the city. The job consists of assisting our Executive Director with day to day responsibilities like showing retail space to potential tenants, making phone calls and sending emails, preparing information sheets on available spaces, and researching space and potential clients.

Qualifications:

- Must have a college degree or working on a college degree

- Strong computer skills, specifically Microsoft Office

- Excellent interpersonal skills, a friendly and upbeat personality

- Attention to detail

- An entrepreneurial spirit and the want to get a start in a fast paced business

-Creativity, an ability to think “outside the box”

The compensation is commission based, but with high levels of opportunity! Are you a good fit for our team? Send your resume and cover letter to caitlin@besenretail.com.

-Caitlin

Besen Retail Line of the Week! 1/29/10

Retail Specialist Evan Silver can talk about any subject, overflowing with facts and information. He’s our resident computer genius, and we often wonder how he knows so much about everything and anything. Executive Director Matt Mager asked him how he acquired all of his information. His answer?

“ADD. I used to read information on my computer while I was in class all the time.”

I guess ADD isn’t a hindrance in his case.

-Caitlin

Warm up at the Annual Hot Chocolate Festival!

It’s freezing. Despite my Syracuse University roots, I still can’t handle the cold weather. Luckily the 18th Annual City Bakery Hot Chocolate Festival kicks off Monday, with a whole month of fabulous hot cocoa flavors to try. With varieties like lemon, Chinese cinnamon, banana peel, and even beer and brown sugar, the fest is likely to impress cocoa connoisseurs everywhere. Take a look at the complete list of flavors and stop by the City Bakery at 3 West 18th Street.

-Caitlin

Can’t Stop Huynh

Michael Bao Huynh and his wife with two of our retail specialists

Restaurant opener extraordinaire, Michael Bao Huynh is continuing to sign leases in every neighborhood of NYC. He just signed yet another location at 239 Third Avenue between 19th and 20th Streets, right next to his other restaurant Baoguette. Eater NY reports that it will be a bar and restaurant, a gastropub. While he gave up a spot on 6 Clinton Street, he is still eyeing some spots in the Lower East Side.

Could space for lease 88 7th Avenue be Huynh’s next location? The 1,200 SF space with a sprial staircase leading to the 2,000 SF dining room and kitchen below, this Chelsea property would be perfect for the next Bao endeavor.

-Caitlin

Bread & Butter Conquering Park Avenue South

A soon-to-open Bread & Butter on Park Avenue South.

I was intrigued when I saw new lunch spot Bread & Butter open at 315 Park Avenue South just a few months ago. Offering every sandwich, soup, and salad combo possible, the eatery soon became a lunch break destination for nearby offices. But today as I ran to fill up on my water and food supply, I saw yet ANOTHER Bread & Butter soon to open just a few blocks north near 29th Street. I apologize for the unclear picture; the wind is blowing this morning’s snow all over the place!

-Caitlin

Eat while you exercise

(pictures via NY Times)

You’ve heard about other yoga combinations, yoga and hot temperatures, yoga and meditation, but have you heard about the latest combo? Yoga and… food? David Romanelli from Exhale Spa has created the “Yoga for Foodies” program combining an hour of vigorous yoga and then a multicourse dinner of pasta, red wine, and chocolate.

The New York Times sat in on a session, interviewing one of Romanelli’s students. “It’s a little weird to sit on a sweaty yoga mat and eat soup.” she said. Romanelli calls the class “yoga for the everyman.” While some enjoy the food and yoga combination, others disagree with the practice, noting that meat should be off limits. Ready to try Yoga for Foodies? Visit the Exhale Spa at 980 Madison Avenue.

-Caitlin

Coffee Gets Technical

The Slayer Espresso Machine

Probably the most high-tech coffee shop in the city, RBC Coffee NYC opened last week in Tribeca. The cafe serves your cup straight from the “Slayer Espresso Machine,” an $18,000 machine that is one of fewer than 20 in the world! What makes it so special? The Slayer offers variable pressure brewing or “pressure profiling” to get the best out of the coffee beans.

RBC Coffee NYC only serves fair trade selections from Dallis Coffee and The Brown Coffee Company. Stop by and try it at 71 Worth Street, not far from featured space for lease 50 Hudson Street.

-Caitlin

New Chinese Restaurant Green and Healthy

Chinese food is easy to find in New York, with restaurants serving up pork fried rice and sesame chicken around every corner, but it’s rarely considered healthy or eco-friendly. Restauranteur Michael Bruno is changing its reputation with “Michael and Ping’s Modern Chinese Take-Out” in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Dedicated to creating a healthier version of the fare, Bruno is using higher quality ingredients, and steaming, roasting, and grilling instead of frying.

“I love Chinese food, but I always found myself not feeling great after I ate it,” Bruno told the Brooklyn Paper. Not only is his restaurant healthier, but it’s also the first Brooklyn restaurant to be certified as “green” by the Green Restaurant Association. Just don’t associate green with higher prices; entrees will only run you about $7-$10 each.

Visit Michael and Ping’s Modern Chinese Take-Out  at 437 Third Ave between Seventh and Eighth Streets, and make sure to order the black pepper calamari salad!

-Caitlin

A Day in Astoria

Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden in Astoria, Queens

For those of you who refuse to leave Manhattan, or even venture outside of Brooklyn, I have a neighborhood you must try: Astoria, Queens. I know, you probably have no idea where to begin, or even how to get there! No worries, I’ve planned out a day for you. I’ve provided you with three must-stop locations in this neighborhood.

Housing artifacts from every stage of producing, promoting, and exhibiting motion pictures, the Museum of the Moving Image is the perfect spot for movie lovers, and is even kid friendly. The museum is filled with old costumes, technical equipement, publicity materials, and videos. Visitors can view screenings, participate in workshops, and even play classic video arcade games. Suggested admission is only $7!

Hungry? Visit S’Agapo Restaurant at 34th Street and 34th Avenue. Greek for “I Love You,” S’Agapo’s delicious food is easy to fall in love with. Try the hummus, zucchini fries, or homemade sausage in the cozy dining room, filled with fresh flowers and Greek music. Accompany your meal with a bottle from the extensive wine list, and make sure to top it off with a baklavah or halva from the dessert menu.

Finish off your day at the Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden where you can sit outside and sip on eastern European beers for cheap prices. The spot used to be a Czech and Slovak social club, but now is a popular hangout for beer drinkers. Patrons can sit in the giant garden at one of the wooden picnic tables, or (better for the winter months) stay indoors. Another benefit: live music and festivals all summer long!

Now that you have a plan, make sure to stop by space for lease 38-01 Ditmars Boulevard. With 1175 square feet in a high traffic area, it’s the perfect location for your retail use! Call 212-213-6480 for leasing information.

-Caitlin

Growlers: The Hottest Beer Accessory?

Two summers ago I was introduced to a new word, “growler.” Picturing an angry dog, I found out its a 64-ounce giant jug filled with beer. Brewers often carry them for patrons who would like a much larger serving than the 16-ounce pint. Customers can take their growler, fill ‘em up, and bring ‘em home to consume local craft beers.

Since that summer in Upstate New York, I haven’t used a growler, but the New York Times is reporting that it’s “the beer accessory of the moment.” Not only are growlers economically smart running you $8-$20 for a refill, but it’s also ecologically smart as it doesn’t waste bottles. Rolling Stone journalist Michael Endelman who is a new father and a big fan of the growler told The Times, “I don’t go to bars much anymore. It just seems like a great way to be a beer geek without going out.”

Even supermarkets are jumping on the growler bandwagon, as Gristedes grocery is selling their own at the University Place location. Want one? Some local carriers include Bierkraft, The Brazen Head, The Ginger Man, Whole Foods on The Bowery, and my personal favorite, Rattle ‘N’ Hum.

-Caitlin