According to a commenter on LICtalk, the Crabhouse on Borden Avenue will hold a soft opening this Saturday. Through back channels, we didn’t get a denial of the rumor, which is enough for our less-than-esteemed publication to run with. From the look of the picture above, snapped today, it appears they’ve dropped the ‘Waterfront’ from the title and will call it the Crabhouse Restaurant. While they’re also maintaining the ‘Established’ date as 1976, the interior has undergone a complete renovation, and my guess is the menu has as well under its new management by Skinny of Skinny’s Cantina. Thus the only question that remains is, can you get soft-shell crabs at the soft opening?
//Bagels & Ice Cream – while we’re on the subject of local eateries, I can’t help but notice how crowded a pair of them are. ‘Something Sweet,’ the new ice cream shop on Vernon, has been packed at every time of the day since opening three weeks ago. Sure, they’ve gotten a big assist from the seasonality and the weather, but given that two other local ice cream parlors closed in the last three years, I attribute a large part of this one’s success to the old real estate adage “Location, location, location.”
Of course timing may have also played a role in the mobs flocking to ‘Something Sweet,’ as the number of people living in the immediate neighborhood has increased dramatically since the other two shuttered. That has become very apparent weekend mornings at Bricktown Bagels, where lines of more than one person – a previous measure of demand – now wait to order, and patrons vie to give their money to the cashier. No complaints though, as I have a lot of respect for those who put it all on the line to start a small business. Glad to see them prosper.
//LIC Glut? A Crain’s article out this morning highlighted the need for Avalon Bay, a big landlord here in LIC, to increase concessions (aka lower rents) to fill all their NYC apartments last quarter. This was followed by an article in the LIC Post this afternoon as to how new supply is pressuring local rents. None of this should come as a surprise to regular readers of LICtalk.
Avalon Bay Rent Breaks Jump in NYC – “Rent growth on new leases in New York has been “stubbornly low,” Breslin said. “There’s just not enough high-paying jobs being created to absorb all the new supply.”
Several New Rental Buildings Open Putting Pressure on Prices – per a report from Modern Spaces
Artists Work with Developers So Both Can Thrive in LIC – about an artists residency program called ‘Local Project’
Circus Warehouse in LIC Trains the Next Generation – despite the just-announced closing of Big Apple Circus, it seems that circus workers are in pretty high demand
Carolina says
July 29, 2016 at 6:19 pmHow do I get an invite?
Beagle says
July 30, 2016 at 8:18 amI think it’s open to all and no invite needed. From 6-10pm tonight.
Anonymous says
July 30, 2016 at 9:23 amThanks so much
Anonymous says
November 22, 2016 at 1:59 pmDefinitely not the Crabhouse! Sadly the prices are sky-high, the service is slow and mediocre and the food is just not as good as the original Crabhouse which was shabby looking but they had good food, great cuts of meat (PRIME USDA) and you couldn’t beat the prices. Now it looks good but that’s about it. Cleaned up doesn’t really give you the feeling of entering a space that has been here for decades and had an interesting ambiance. Jazz on Fridays and the bathtub of peanuts is gone. Things change, same name but clearly not the same restaurant.
This used to be an easy place to fall into for oysters, now a dozen costs $50. Absurd.