With the opening of Williamsburg’s first Starbucks this week, we turned to other recent takeovers by the coffee chain and cultural signifier, which already has more than 280 outposts1 in the city.
Grub Street first reported in April that the coffee chain would move into the retail space at 239 Bleecker Street, the long-time home of independent vinyl store Bleecker Street Records. After more than two decades at the location, the record shop was forced to decamp in April 2013 by increasing rents, which landlord Good Property Company reportedly raised to $27,000 per month (Bleecker Street Records managed to relocate to 188 West 4th Street).
The new Frappuccino-slinging outpost will open this summer. Permits were filed for the renovation of the retail space in January, and a quick gander by the building yesterday showed that the storefront is almost finished. The round Bleecker Street Records sign is blank now; all it needs is the wet, derisive slap of the mermaid.
1 According to the Center for an Urban Future’s “State of the Chains” report, there were 283 Starbucks stores in New York City in 2013. Starbucks had more stores in Manhattan than any other national retailer, with 212 locations.
