Overbearing Traffic? MTA got you down? We Have Two Words for You: Pedal Power

Remember going to your local bicycle shop as a kid.  Getting that first bike with the banana seat.  Putting baseball cards in the spokes for what seemed like the coolest sound around!  Well, local bike shops are back.  Whether it’s nostalgia for simpler days of yore or the greening of our collective conscience, it’s cool to see that bikes are back.

In the Prospect Park/Lefferts section of Brooklyn, Bike Life signed a lease for 229 SF at 50 Lincoln Road.  A real mom and pop bike shop, Bike Life caters to the kid in all of us, as well as to health-conscious and green-conscious consumers.  Besen Retail represented both owner and tenant in this deal.  According to Senior Retail Specialist Elliott Dweck, who represented Bike Life, retail in this neighborhood is making a move away from the ubiquitous deli and nail salon, and trending more towards boutiques, organics, health/health food and, of course, cycling.  Take it from Elliott, the proud owner of a Trek Beach Cruiser bicycle!

In Williamsburg, in another deal negotiated by Besen Retail, BicyclePlus.Net signed a lease to open a 1,500 SF bicycle showroom at 145 Borinquen Place.  Stop in to check out the bikes, both new and used, and you just might find Elliott loading up on the latest gear.

Stay on your bike and take a ride over the bridge into Manhattan to Echelon Cycles and its 1,200 SF showroom of performance bicycles at 24 Horatio Street.  Besen Retail negotiated this deal too.  Could Lance Armstrong (or Elliott Dweck) be riding for the Besen Retail Cycle Team in the next Tour de France?

While we’ve blogged about these openings in previous posts, we’re just excited to see this trend.  So, if you want to get back into biking, check out one of these new bike shops.  Happy biking!

 

They buy used bike!

 

If you’re interested in selling a used or new bike, head over to BicyclePlus.Net (The brick-and-mortar store, because the website happens to be down, ironically).

BicyclePlus.Net

145 Borinquen Place

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

(G Train to Metropolitan Ave. or L Train to Lorimer St.)

-Matt

The Blue Roost Petite Cafe is Open for Business !!!

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We wish Billy and Linda the absolute best of luck with the opening of their brand new cafe.

The Blue Roost Petit Cafe

539 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn

Q Train to Prospect Park

P.S.- You have to try the cupcakes.

-Jerry

224 Atlantic Avenue LEASED (you can stop calling now)

The former Cartridge World at 224 Atlantic Avenue has officially been leased to the good folks at Metro PCS.  The space is down the block from Trader Joe’s, and a soon to be Barney’s NYC Co-op, which basically means that there will be a ridiculous amount of foot traffic, all the time.

Although our For Lease signs are still up, they will be taken down very soon and  I can assure you that the space is in fact off the market.

Please stop calling.

-Jerry

 

Checking in with… The Blue Roost Petite Cafe in Prospect Lefferts Gardens

Recently, we caught up with our friends Linda Billings and William “Billy” Clark to check out their progress in the transformation of the newly acquired Prospect Park location at 539 Flatbush, into the future site of The Blue Roost Petite Cafe (formerly known as the Homesick Cafe, more on that later).

Linda and Billy have been working on the space for a little over a month now, and when we went to visit, we were utterly astounded by the progress they’ve made over such a short period of time (check the pics below).

They’ve admirably decided to renovate, design and decorate the space themselves, with  little to no outside help. They each have final say on anything and everything,  from the large-scale decisions such as what to name the place, to the smaller nitty-gritty stuff like the color of the tiles on the bathroom floor. Linda and Billy have their hands in every aspect that goes in to creating and opening a cafe from the ground up (which is exactly what they’re doing).

If there’s one thing we absolutely love and appreciate here at Besen Retail, it’s to see the passion and care that a tenant has for their space. In the ever-growing world of corporate America, mom-and-pop start-ups are a dying breed, but our dear friends at the Blue Roost Petite Cafe are doing their part in keeping that spirit going.

As far as the name change goes, some of you may be wondering why the owners have decided to leave the Homesick Cafe behind. The reason for change was simple, people who have heard the name just didn’t like the word “sick” in the name of a restaurant. However, the change is merely cosmetic, and the owners have left the  menu and overall concept of the cafe fully intact. So you can expect the same home-style comfort food to be served, just under a different title.

As always, we wish the best of luck to Linda and Billy, and we absolutely cannot wait for them to open up their doors this fall.

The people of Prospect-Lefferts Gardens will not know what hit them (in a good way).

More updates on The Blue Roost Petite Café will be coming, so stay tuned.

Yet Another Besen Retail Celebrity Sighting…

Me in 20 years?

• Name of Celebrity: Chuck Klosterman
• Claim to Fame: Author of several best sellers, including Sex Drugs and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto, avid sports columnist, contributor to The Washington Post, The NY Times Magazine, and GQ .
• Location of Sighting: 8th Avenue L Train, and a transfer to the Uptown 6.
• Coming from: Newly leased Besen Retail spaces in Brooklyn, including 145 Borinquen Place, and 539 Flatbush Avenue.
• En route to: Besen Retail offices on 27th and Park Avenue.
• Who Cares?: Funny you should ask. Coincidentally enough, I actually studied Klosterman’s work during my years at Binghamton University, in a class on American Humor and Pop Culture. It was a tremendous opportunity for me to actually be able to meet Chuck, and share my thoughts about his work on the profundity of a timeless American classic such as Saved By the Bell, as well as our mutual love for parentheses and footnotes in writing (you know exactly what I’m talking about).
• And the Moral of the Story is… Everyone rides the subway in New York City.

539 Flatbush Avenue Leased!

(It's the one on the right)

This morning I acted as witness to the lease signing for  539 Flatbush Avenue, just a short walk away from Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. The property is located right in the middle of the up-and-coming Brooklyn hot spot, a neighborhood that we paid a  visit not too long ago. The 300 square foot space was leased to Linda Billings and William “Billy” Clark, who plan to open The Homesick Cafe, specializing in “comfort food from all different cultures.” Sounds tasty… stay tuned for lots more details.

145 Borinquen Place Fully Leased!

145 Borinquen Place in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

We’re extremely proud to announce that all three spaces at 145 Borinquen Place are fully leased! Located on a triangle corner at the intersection of Grand Street, South 1st Street, and Keap Street, this Williamsburg centerpiece is part of one of Brooklyn’s most trendy neighborhoods, including the Victor Osborne Hat Shop,  Bustin Boards Flagship Store, and a Paul Smith Sale Shop. Along with the Green Olive Church, and “Lighthouse” Restaurant (Macao), the Borinquen Street storefront will soon be transformed into an old-fashioned bike shop with more than 50 feet of frontage to display bicycles (this was our third bike shop this year!). As we’ve mentioned before, none of this could have happened without the help from our friends at Dermot Realty Management Company, with special thanks to Raj Maret. It was a great team effort.

We wish much success to all of the tenants. Be sure to check back for posts and updates on the leased spaces.

-Jerry

How to Fit a Bike Shop in a Mere 200 Square Foot Space

I recently took a trip into Brooklyn with Senior Retail Specialist Elliott Dweck to show  retail  space at 552 and 537 Flatbush Avenue, and we decided to visit Bike Life, a newly opened bicycle shop at 50 Lincoln Road leased by Besen Retail.  With an area of approximately 200 square feet, this is the kind of space that would be referred to as “cozy” by a real estate agent. That didn’t stop the owners from setting up a full fledged bike shop to service cyclists all over Prospect Park. It looks great, and they are off to a great start.  We wish them continued success. Father’s Day is this Sunday – go on in and get your old man a bike!

-Jerry

Limelight Adds Jewelry!

(picture via Brooklyn Flea)

Greenpoint jewelry store Old Hollywood is the latest addition to the highly anticipated Limelight Marketplace. The only jewelry vendor in the shopping center so far, Old Hollywood will share a 12,000 SF space with J. Sisters Salon, a sneaker gallery, a gourmet market, LeSportsac, and Brocade Home.

The Greenpoint neighborhood shop plans to stay open, but the Limelight store will include 15 new designers like Tom Tom Jewelry, Elizabeth Street, and In God We Trust. Old Hollywood’s owner says she loves the new location, and that it looks like something “Tim Burton would have designed.”

Limelight is expected to open April 29th, and I can’t wait!

-Caitlin

Become Brunch Royalty (or just eat)

Sick of waiting in line for your Sunday brunch? Me too! This Sunday head to The Bell House for an extreme brunch competition. Participants will have the opportunity to sample dishes from 20 different chefs hoping to be the king or queen of this coveted meal. Brunch will be judged by Bon Apetit’s Andrew Knowlton, Chef from Diner/Marlow and Sons Sean Rembold, and Emile Castillo, the Executive Chef at Norma’s. 

Think you have what it takes to compete for the crown? Or do you just want to taste? Get your tickets at www.thefoodexperiements.com. Tickets are $20, and a portion of sales helps support Ovarian Cancer Research. The competition lasts from noon to 4pm. The Bell House is located at 149 7th in Gowanus Brooklyn.

-Caitlin