Applebee’s downtown Brooklyn by Mikkel Elbech/Flickr
The rumors have been circulating for a couple of years now that Harlem is expecting an Applebee’s restaurant. And why not since downtown Brooklyn has two and The Bronx has a couple as well?
I received a message today that a sign has gone up at 125th and 5th Avenue announcing the arrival of a new Applebee’s in Harlem.
Is this a continuation of the suburbanization of 125th Street or a needed service in the community?
I also know that some people have issues with Applebee’s as a business model – the lack of quality food and service. What do you think Applebee’s will bring to Harlem?
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Posted in: New/Openings, Restaurants
researcher
July 7, 2009
i was referring to this comment: You would never see an Applebee’s in Gramercy Park…
he didnt say “downtown” he said “gramercy park” which i enterpreted to mean “white areas of manhattan” becasue his “educate yourself” link was clearly about how fast food is marketd as an institutional genocide against black people.
one of the existing applebees is in battery park. pretty white last time i checked.
researcher
July 6, 2009
to whoever wrote there would never be an applebee’s downtown—there are three arleady. do some research people!!!!
D. Bell
July 6, 2009
Reader, I think you misread the comment.
Gwin
July 5, 2009
I wouldn’t go to an Applebee’s downtown, and I certainly won’t go to one on 125th Street either. That being said, I’m sure it will be packed as soon as it opens.
anon
July 3, 2009
well at the very least, applebee’s is very family friendly. a good place to take kids for a special occasion. plus they do take out pretty well. and there are healthy options (they put calories content on their menus) if you are committed to trying to be healthy.
HarlemMurda
July 3, 2009
complete waste. i would’ve preferred a redeveloped low rise modern office building or a dallas bbq, in that spot. how can harlem “arrive” if these developers keep constructing the wrong amenities in decent areas? i know i might be chastised because i said dallas bbq, but the chain would make hand over fist buckets of money. i don’t feel applebee’s is gonna go over well in the community, but we’ll have to wait and see.
liz
July 2, 2009
Valarie, Good point, people are shot and killed all over this city, and most of us leade a peacable life. Where Harlem seems to excel for example earlier this year, when at a BBQ of hundreds of people, a youth shoots into the crowd, a child dies days later and get this, NOBODY SAW ANYTHING, zero help for the police. Now that deserves outrage. That does not deserve sweeping under the rug. That is more important than applebees and transfat.
Valerie Graves Bessent
July 2, 2009
Jl7 and al, of course, we should all be concerned about anyone shooting/killing anyone. However, having lived in the “exclusive” enclaves of Battery Park City ( where a cab driver was murdered outside my building ) and Greenwich Village (where multiple murders, including a deli owner and neighborhood watch volunteers, occurred over the years i owned a home there ) I must say your racism and fear are showing. Almost everyone in Harlem had a safe and uneventful night last night and most nights. Why are you so focused on the negative that you bring it into a discussion about a restaurant opening?
spud
July 2, 2009
Anon above – I agree with some of your points, but I take issue with this statement that’s you see a lot of:
“…while providing low wage low skilled jobs.”
What would you rather see put in on 125th St. then – some biotech research labs? A supercollider?
There are a whole lot more barely-literate people in this world than Ph.D.s. Unless you want massive unemployment and no service economy for some reason, there’s gotta be a lot of “low wage, low skilled jobs.” It’s like a pyramid. Lots of EZ, low-paid jobs at the bottom and a few hard, high-paying ones at the top.
Of course you’ll wreck your body if you eat out all the time, but you’d have to be a lunatic to do that. I’ve lived in Harlem for ten years and get 98% of my food from a five-block radius, and my health has only improved in that time. You only have to make a litte effort to learn how to eat well, and you can do just fine anywhere.
Anonymous
July 1, 2009
Pro: Too many underfunded Harlem restaurants open, like South Beach for example, or restaurants that simply have poor Business plans. With the first wave of ownership at Native, I would go there on a Sunday for Brunch and order a Spinach omlette – only to be told they don’t happen to have Spinach at the moment, or tomatos, etc. At least an Applebee’s well be well funded, have order & structure – as a business. Americans like predictability, going to a eatery and knowing what they are going to get and what it will taste like as a BigMac taste the same everywherein the U.S. Applebee’s same thing. That’s a place for familiarity with a lot of people.
Con: I’m down on franchises, all of them, as they basically are bridges to take money that’s in a community OUT of the community while providing low wage low skilled jobs. (Magic Johnson Theaters, iHop, etc.) The money they make circulates minimally in wages – the majority of a $1 spent in Applebees makes it’s way to Overland Park, KS. Franchises like this are bad because they are “enablers to detroying the health of a community” without paying the consequences of their product. An Examples is Quiznos, which this web site applauded when it arrived to Harlem, however the truth is their hot sandwiches are so fatty and unhealthy, as a matter of corporate policy Quiznos refuses to disclose the nutritional data on many of their products, this is well documented and broadly reported, just google it.
Especially in a community like Harlem where so many don’t have insurance, and rely on the public tax dollar to pay for their triple bi-pass, their health costs for a dozen years of eating at McDonald’s, or these other Chains that destroy health.
Big Tobacco has had to pay for the damage their products make, Quiznos, McDonald’s, Applebees, all of the should be tax’ed like crazy. Governor David Patterson did try and tax sugar drinks…remember.
Dateline June 2, 2009, Daily News – “There’s a supersized secret about what chain restaurants are the worst for your waistline. A new report finds you’ll really pack on the pounds if you’re a regular at popular chains like T.G.I. Friday’s, Chili’s, Applebee’s and The Cheesecake Factory”.
http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/food/2009/06/02/2009-06-02_popular_slow_food_chains_worst_for_waistline.html
I predict this new Applebee’s will be a big hit. I gotta be honest, when my parents from Cleveland, OH vist me, the wife, and our 2 kids here in Harlem, we will dine at Applebee’s, the parents will love it, it will feel “just like home”, and I’ll get out of having dinner for 4 + 2 kids for less than $75 including tip. Of course I’ll have to pay down the line in alka seltzer, pepto bismol, etc. and might have the runs for a few days…
Jeffrey
July 1, 2009
I hate this, and what is happening to Harlem. Corporations: get the hell out and stop diluting one of the City’s greatest neighborhoods!
Patrick
July 1, 2009
While a nationwide chain, most Applebee’s are franchised by independent business people. I believe this new location will also be a franchisee. So a small businessperson is creating jobs.
al
July 1, 2009
Jl70, I concur, Harlem needs to get upset about blacks shooting each other, where is the outrage?
al
July 1, 2009
Cjt, There’s a reason why minority populations and people in lower-income neighborhoods have much higher rates of these diseases. The reason is a lot of minorities like to eat junk food.
There’s a reason why Harlem has a lot of unhealthy fast food eateries. The reason is a lot of Harlemites like to eat unhealthy fast food, aka supply and demand.
The conspiracy theories are getting old, these conspiracy theories may carry weight on the stoops and hangout corners of Harlem but not on the internet.
anon
July 1, 2009
There will never be an applebees in gramercy park because rents are too expensive and most spaces are small so it doesnt make sense as a business model for an applebees. on the other hand, there is a california pizza kitchen on 29th and park. there’s a ruby tuesdays in times square (along with every other chain on the planet – chilli’s, friday’s, olive garden). there’s an outback steakhouse on 23d street. i could keep going…
but i guess it’s easier for you to ignore the facts so you can wrap yourself in conspiracy theories to keep you warm at night.
my take – a year ago i would have been really upset about this. but these days, with so many empty store fronts along 125th, i guess im happy something is opening up. in these economic times, it’s better to have jobs in the community, no matter where they are coming from, and these corporate restaurants pay their employees better than small independently owned places, and in many cases offer health care.
spud
July 1, 2009
>”fresh and affordable produce is almost impossible to come by.”
Except for the produce carts on the sidewalk. And, ya know, the grocery store (?!).
People aren’t fat ‘cuz there’s some huge lack of “good food” (despite what the Mayor says) – they’re fat because they don’t care about being fat.
Anyways, I’m all for sit-down restaurants that don’t cram the tables together like most NYC places. If it’s gonna be like the Applebee’s up in the Bronx just over the river, it’ll be a good thing.
harlemite
June 30, 2009
I am torn. Would love to see a cool independent restaurant like Covo open up, but more businesses in Harlem the better. Employment opportunities for the community too.
jl70
June 30, 2009
“continuation of the suburbanization of 125th Street “??
Seeing that a man was shot in the deli next door to where I live with my wife and daughter I truly hope so. I hope it continues in a big way.
When a man.. a father.. is shot down dead in the street the day before fathers day I think everyone in Harlem should want this “suburbanization” to continue.
HBB
June 30, 2009
nothing but bad food!
Lenox Ave
June 30, 2009
It would be nice to NOT see another chain, but I guess you can’t fight “progress.”
zlister
June 30, 2009
cjt
June 30, 2009
What do I think Applebee’s will bring to Harlem? Even higher rates of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. There’s a reason why minority populations and people in lower-income neighborhoods have much higher rates of these diseases. Our neighborhood is packed with these junk food chains, while fresh and affordable produce is almost impossible to come by.
You would never see an Applebee’s in Gramercy Park…
Educate yourself: http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:fmuaaTlFhFgJ:www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_81403.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/nyregion/24fast.html?_r=1
still
June 30, 2009
totally irrelevant. we’ll continue to (mostly) go downtown to eat.
afmmom
June 30, 2009
When can we get a restaurant on 145th? We’re hungry too.
Pete
June 29, 2009
At this point I would say the more new businesses, the better.