Quote:
Originally Posted by Crawford
A lot of higher end apartment buildings in NYC don't want cooking or food-related businesses. Perceived issues with smells, noise, off-hours traffic, garbage, vermin, etc. I think this has changed, somewhat, but it's still an issue. A higher end building would generally take a bank or medical retail over a nice restaurant.
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I could see that. Developers in my area have lately taken to promising to put in grocery stores in order to get approval by our local land use committees, though. It's a bit ironic since this area is far from a food desert... but that does help them get the votes for approval.
Another speculation I've heard is that landlords prefer chains for newer spaces so they are leaving retail spaces unoccupied, or lightly occupied, in hopes of landing a chain. Just before the pandemic, daycares also became popular in a lot of the newer commercial spaces, particularly the ones that sat empty for multiple years. But it's been rare for bars, restaurants, cafes, etc., to go into those spaces.