I went to O’Connell’s today

[WA]

The niece could have, I suppose, bought the name and equipment and start somewhere else, because the quality of the food is already established as very good. The grandparents didn't start in an expensive estate location. Therefore, she doesn't need to, either.

 

[eagle2250]

Fading Fast and Flanderian, I found your post(s) #29 and 30, respectively, both interesting and very informative. You both are very thoughtful and well read gentlemen! Thank you for enlightening me regarding the financial dynamics impacting the potential closure of our favored men's shops.

 

[Fading Fast]

The niece could have, I suppose, bought the name and equipment and start somewhere else, because the quality of the food is already established as very good. The grandparents didn't start in an expensive estate location. Therefore, she doesn't need to, either.

I think that's a smart idea, but the challenge - just my guess - is that there would be no location anywhere nearby that didn't have insanely high rent for a bakery. Also, they not only had an avenue-facing location (much more valuable than a side street), but a lot of square footage as they had a both a good-sized retail area and a full bakery in the back (and extensive basement storage).

I hear your thought, but in a way, no matter where the niece looked, the real-estate issue would still be a big challenge. She could have tried to separate the two, as many bakeries in NYC do, and put the actual baking equipment off sight in a cheaper area and then rent a smaller retail location in NYC. Again, just my guess, but she probably wanted to take over the existing location - it was very cool - and run it as it had been run; doing some of the other things might not have felt like she was really keeping the business going.

To that point - see these pics of the bakery. In a way, Glaser's wouldn't be Glaser's in any other location and building.

 

[Matt S]

The niece could have, I suppose, bought the name and equipment and start somewhere else, because the quality of the food is already established as very good. The grandparents didn't start in an expensive estate location. Therefore, she doesn't need to, either.

The bakery wasn’t in the most expensive part of New York City, so she’d need to leave New York to continue, and the reputation was a local one. The only way for it to have continued would have been for a larger company to buy them out and create a chain out of it.

 

[mlenecare]

Every time I go back to NYC I find more of my favorite little places have closed. Like Glaser's many of them are old and have become local institutions. Things change and I accept that but what makes it so depressing is there are not new places like this opening. "The rent is too damn high."
It really saddens me to see New York lose so much of its character but what can one do?

 

[Flanderian]

I think that's a smart idea, but the challenge - just my guess - is that there would be no location anywhere nearby that didn't have insanely high rent for a bakery. Also, they not only had an avenue-facing location (much more valuable than a side street), but a lot of square footage as they had a both a good-sized retail area and a full bakery in the back (and extensive basement storage).

I hear your thought, but in a way, no matter where the niece looked, the real-estate issue would still be a big challenge. She could have tried to separate the two, as many bakeries in NYC do, and put the actual baking equipment off sight in a cheaper area and then rent a smaller retail location in NYC. Again, just my guess, but she probably wanted to take over the existing location - it was very cool - and run it as it had been run; doing some of the other things might not have felt like she was really keeping the business going.

To that point - see these pics of the bakery. In a way, Glaser's wouldn't be Glaser's in any other location and building.
View attachment 31565 View attachment 31566

Thanks for the great photos!

What a shame! 1902! A hundred and seventeen years down the c*****r!

Not that it's in any way comparable, but independent bakeries everywhere are dying. The few that have subsisted around here have fallen victim to supermarket bakeries. 20 years ago there was an authentic French bakery in a nearby town run by French natives. Gone 15 years! And the stuff the supermarkets sell is dreck! Looks great, tastes like BLAH!

 

[WA]

Well, a new location would require all new customers.
Maybe we need a democrat president to bring the prices down by high taxes that brings a recession. That will bring prices down as companies go bust and employees are let go.
Well, so much for the humor.

 

[Fading Fast]

Thanks for the great photos!

What a shame! 1902! A hundred and seventeen years down the c*****r!

Not that it's in any way comparable, but independent bakeries everywhere are dying. The few that have subsisted around here have fallen victim to supermarket bakeries. 20 years ago there was an authentic French bakery in a nearby town run by French natives. Gone 15 years! And the stuff the supermarkets sell is dreck! Looks great, tastes like BLAH!

Most supermarket bakeries are awful - as you note, stuff looks okay, but it tastes like 1970s cafeteria food.

As we've been talking about, in NYC, the old-school stand-alone bakeries are closing and the only ones that open are chains (some are good) or one-off "foodie" places with some sort of "artisanal" this or that "hook -" but either style is always very expensive.

I understand, in this city, they have high rent, a lot of rules and regulation to follow and now increased minimum wages to cover, so the result is that instead of going in and buying a bunch of stuff regularly (like we did at Glaser's), we go occasionally to buy a few things as a treat.

 

[eagle2250]

Every time I go back to NYC I find more of my favorite little places have closed. Like Glaser's many of them are old and have become local institutions. Things change and I accept that but what makes it so depressing is there are not new places like this opening. "The rent is too damn high."
It really saddens me to see New York lose so much of its character but what can one do?

The solution is somewhat simpler than we care to admit. If we want to keep our favored niche stores profitable and in business, stop shopping at Amazon and those other "Oh-So-Convenient" online sources.

 

[TKI67]

Eagle, I agree that we ought to do what we can to preserve locally owned businesses, but there is a change afoot that will eventually bring much we treasure to an end. Downtown Austin has had its share of iconic locally owned businesses. Las Manitas, a beloved restaurant, was packed every day. If they had jacked up theirs prices, it would still have been full. It was populated regularly by the full array of Austin from the most liberal to the most conservative, from hippies to investment bankers. It is now a small bit of a very large Marriott. That’s just one of many such sagas. The world seems to gravitate to new things. While I’m no fan of large hotels, some of the new Austin businesses are pretty nice and get my business. The list of TNSIL sources has grown quite short. So yeah...support places like O’Connell’s, Hunter and Coggins, Eljo’s, Cable Car Clothiers, etc. when you can and buy quality that will carry you through! Now I’ll be quiet, lest I be flogged for hand wringing.