Goodbye Mike's International

Businesses in PLG open and close all the time but some places feel like they are part of the neighborhood. Even though I had yet to eat there, I was stunned to see that Mike's International closed without warning over the weekend.

I suppose that this shouldn't come as a big surprise - proprietor Michael Hylton passed away last October - and the restaurant probably took a huge hit when an apartment in its building caught fire. Also, though Mike and the restaurant had tons of supporters it always seemed empty. Like a very popular take-out restaurant that found itself attached to a banquet hall. Still, I regret that I never tried their lauded jerk chicken - I'm a Peppa's man.

In any event, as you can see from the sign, if you are willing to travel, Mike's isn't closed - it is moving to 4404 Avenue J, off of Troy Ave in Flatlands. When it opens, if someone let's me know, I'll post the news.

In other PLG business news, I'm worried about two stores in the neighborhood: First, Famous Seafood has had its gates down the last two times that I walked by. The bodega next door has a For Rent sign too, so that is some bad mojo. Second, NYC Swag had its windows papered over on Monday; either they are renovating (NB: the store just opened) ... or they're in trouble. If anyone has information about either place, please comment or send an email.

On the positive side, clothier L&L Stores opened this weekend in the space formerly occupied by Stones, next door to Hai Sun (or as I call it, The Chiner) on Flatbush between Hawthorne and Fenimore.

Comments

[babs]

This is so sad -- Mike's was a mainstay of this neighborhood, and always involved in community affairs, like the annual house tour, etc. I understand that they bought the building in their new location, so their landlord can't raise the rent to force them out. Someone told me a Starbucks is coming in its place -- what a travesty.

[Bob Marvin]

A Starbucks?
Around the corner from K-Dog?
They won't last a year!

[Bob Marvin]

Just to clarify, that's STARBUCK's I'm predicting to not last a year--they'd never be able to successfully compete with K-Dog.

Also, that's a shame about Mike's--I'll really miss the place.

[Ceelledee]

I was stunned when I saw the "moving" sign on Mike's this past Sunday. As you've noted, Mike's has been a neighborhood institution! Still, in this economy, you can't blame Phyllis and her son, Mike, Jr., for trying to keep Mike Sr.'s dream alive -- even if to do so, it means leaving PLG. Sigh.

I've also seen the gates down recently on Famous Seafood. Another ominous sign. Although, frankly, the last several times I was in there, they didn't have any of the seafood I would have wanted to order. I kept asking the various counter staff why they were having problems living up to their published menu. They would never give a response beyond apologies and shrugged shoulders but I definitely got the sense that the ownership was in some kind of overwhelm. (Another sigh.)

And what about Scoops? There, too, I've seen the gates down of late. An ice cream parlor closed in the midst of summer? As Marvin Gaye would say, "what's going on?" Are our local businesses just failing or are landlords going wild with rents? Or both?

OTOH, it's nice to see Veggie Hut and the new health food place looking like they're thriving.

[RaisedInBklyn]

Looks like the broker handling the Mike's store location is called Besen Retail LLC.

[babs]

That's the horror -- Besen Retail is the commercial arm of NYC Management, which (mis)manages 50 Lincoln Rd., 64 Lincoln Rd., 10 Midwood St., 2121 Beeckman Pl (a/k/a 552 Flatbush Ave., Mike's address), etc., and works for Praedium Group, a real estate investment company that, according to its own website, focusses on "middle-market, underperforming and undervalued assets" -- as in, buy buildings with long-term rent controlled and stabilized tenants, as well as established commercial business, and force them out to raise rents. They have made life a living hell for many residents of these buildings, with spurious lawsuits, spotty maintenance, and deliberate creation of unsafe conditions. Sorry Mike's was a victim of their unscrupulous techniques, and, as we all know, there is no form of rent stabilization for commercial tenants. I hope that the Hyltons didn't have too many unpleasant dealings with them.

[Ceelledee]

Wow, Babs. That IS horrible news about Besen.

On another note: I stopped by Scoops today -- which was open for business! The owner said he had been on vacation. So, apparently, some ice cream parlors do take a hiatus in peak season! Go get some scoops, though. He did confirm that he really could use more customer support.

[Jeanne]

We love ice cream (guilty admission); thanks for the scoop on Scoops. We'll certainly go there.

That's too bad about Famous Seafood. I was just thinking today how we hadn't been there in a while and we should go back soon. They do tend to run out of food. Their fried okra is good and we bought some 2 or 3 times from them then never again, always sold out.

[vontell]

I am so sorry about famous seafood. It was one of the few places that offered something different. Healthy salads, true seafood steamed and fried. If the closure is due to increasing rent that is truely sad. How many more chains stores can we have?