Merchants Cling to Their Stores,
But Some Lose Half Their Business
By Igor Kossov
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
KINGS HIGHWAY — When Victor Ricardi opened the Sports Page bar in Gravesend eight years ago, he did not anticipate the collapse of the U.S. economy.
The 2003 smoking ban whittled away at his customer base. More recently, people’s tendency to shop at local liquor stores because of the recession all but eliminated his clientele.
Instead of closing permanently, Ricardi dismantled the bar’s interior and turned the storefront into a coffee and sandwich shop last fall.
“The bar wasn’t making any money,” he said. “I see all sorts of people walking around with coffee, sandwiches. Why not?”
The recession has taken a toll on Kings Highway, the commercial main drag that spans parts of Midwood, Gravesend and Bensonhurst. Shuttered storefronts dot many blocks.
But the survivors cling to life, many of them coming up with creative ways of staying in business.
Meanwhile, some new merchants are setting up shop, confident in their ability to cater to niche markets.
A few blocks from Ricardi’s sandwich shop, Alex Narchuk, the owner of the Russian food store Slavyansky, dealt with the downturn by cutting his shop in half. A restaurant owned by someone else now occupies the other section. Narchuk is still in business, though money is tight.
“What are the biggest things?” said Narchuk. “Rent and [the] electricity bill.”
Some stores are ordering less from their suppliers than in the past. Sammy, who manages a grocery store near Ocean Parkway, packs all of his supplies into the front section of the shop, so it appears full. The back of the store is a lot emptier.
“I used to shop once a week,” said Sammy, who didn’t want his last name used. “Now if I do once a month, I am more than happy.”
When cutting supplies and workspace is impossible, businesses cut workers. The restaurant Cupola Samarkanda often gets by on only one waiter — sometimes two if things get very busy. This means that customers must wait 20 minutes to receive their shish kebab with rice. Still, owner Mumin Makhmoudin believes he will survive the recession because he provides food tailored for a specific ethnic customer base.
Some entrepreneurs see Kings Highway as a street of opportunity for niche products and services that can’t be found elsewhere in the community.
With its green interior made from recycled and organic materials, Health-E, a three-month-old vegan café feels like it should in Park Slope or Williamsburg. The menu is filled with vegan, eco-friendly, organic products. Anna Dayan, the manager, believes the market on Kings Highway is ripe for this kind of business.
“People want to go green,” said Dayan. “There’s a whole organic movement. We cater to things that people need.”
Super Nuts, a neighboring store, sells nothing but nuts and dry fruit in bags. Super Nuts employee Ovi Moshe said business has declined 10 to 15 percent since the fall, compared to 50 percent drops reported by several area grocery stores.
“We need something new and different here,” said Moshe. “We have a lot of clothing stores and supermarkets.”
Not all new businesses make it. Chiles & Chocolate, a Mexican grill, closed less than a year after opening. But the consensus among survivors is that Kings Highway is far from doomed.
“Some people run into trouble and they close right away,” said Gus Tellez, manager of the Mexican restaurant El Encanto. “You need to keep at it, you need to work harder to stay in business.”
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