Category Archives: business

Aloft Hotel plans to offer Harlem-made or themed items in cul-de-sac type shop

Posted on July 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

Oct 13, 2010 @ 15:11


By HarlemGal
While The Aloft Hotel, located at 2296 Frederick Douglass Blvd., is receiving a ton of news coverage at the moment from the traditional media as the first hotel to open in Harlem since 1967 (darn that’s a long time ago), we want to share one detail we’ve heard about the hotel, which will open in Harlem October 21!

Apparently the Hotel will have some sort of cul-de-sac type gift shop where they plan to only sell Harlem-made or themed items. Harlem watercolorist Lynn Lieberman announced recently that her Harlem watercolor notecards will soon be available at The Aloft Hotel. Congrats to Lynn and we look forward to hearing who else strikes a product agreement with the Harlem hotel. And looking forward to checking out The Aloft!

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Posted in art and culture, business, Harlem

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Harlem is booming says NY Times supplement

Posted on July 5, 2011 | 1 comment

Oct 13, 2010 @ 13:45


By HarlemGal
Did anyone see the supplement in The New York Times last week featuring the new condo developments in Harlem? It mentions The Livmor, Ellington on the Park, 2280 Frederick Douglass, and The Apex inside The Aloft Hotel.
I know these supplements can be a bit cheesy and there is no editorial involvement. However, in this particular case I want to say the banner rings true for me as well as the quote from Arthur Barnes of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. "I think it is better to define the current phase of development in Harlem as a reawakening." Nicely said Mr. Barnes!
I have only seen hardcopies of this supplement. No luck finding an electronic version. If anyone has an electronic copy, feel free to share!

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Posted in art and culture, business, Community, Harlem, New York, New York City, NYC, real estate

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Three Harlem restaurants make Michelin ‘Bib Gourmand’ best places under $40 list

Posted on July 5, 2011 | 2 comments

Sep 29, 2010 @ 16:24

By HarlemGal
Michelin “Bib Gourmand” restaurant picks under $40 for New York City were recently announced. Two Harlem restaurants made the list again and one new Harlem restaurant was added. El Paso Taqueria, located at 1642 Lexington Avenue or 237 E. 116th Street or 64 E. 97th Street, made the list for the very first time! Congrats to the Spanish Harlem restaurant known for cooking and serving good Mexican food!
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, located in the West Harlem area and Zoma, located on the southeast corner of 113th Street and Frederick Douglass Blvd. made the list again! Good for them!
In total three restaurants made the list. Click here to see the complete list. Who else from Harlem do you think should have made the list of best restaurants under $40?

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Posted in business, Harlem, restaurants

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Harlem rezoning plus Frederick Douglass Boulevard equals restaurant row

Posted on July 5, 2011 | 1 comment

Sep 24, 2010 @ 6:00

Frederick Douglass Blvd. street sign

By HarlemGal
Frederick Douglass Blvd is in the news again! Some entities are clearly getting it that FDB from 110th Street to 125th Street is the place to be! DNAinfo.com and The New York Times have recently filed stories about FDB and how it’s experiencing a boom in drinking and eating establishments. These articles even mention the buzz words “restaurant row.” Hmm…sounds familiar?

Frederick Douglass Blvd. (Circa 2008)

On September 23, DNAinfo wrote about the booming restaurant and bar business along FDB.  It was a good story. They introduced us to new information about what the Livmor is up to with their commercial space. However, I was wondering why they left out other notable places, such as Mojo, Billie’s Black Bar, Questan’s and Cafe Amrita? Amrita is at the base of 110th and FDB. Mojo and Billie’s are technically on 119th Street, they are less than a block away from FDB and Mojo and Questan’s opened for business in the last five years. I think all these venues deserved a mention in DNAinfo and The Times. Also, why not mention the proposed Cupcake Suite opening on FDB, Aloft Hotel or the rumored Busboys and Poets coming to Harlem? I guess there is so much action happening on or near FDB, it is a challenge for these news outlets to keep track!

Frederick Douglass Blvd. today

In addition, I noticed that both publications did not mention much about vacant commercial space. What are The Douglass and Gateway Condominiums planning for their commercial space? I would bet that they are aggressively trying to sell their space. I hear Society Cafe is interested in expanding their space right next door once Gateway finishes their construction. If that ends up being true, that would be great for them. They appear to have outgrown their current space.

Overall, it is awesome media coverage for Harlem once again. I love it! Out of the two articles, I will end with my favorite quote from Chris Pollok, co-owner of bier international. “My sense is that this [Frederick Douglass Blvd.] is going to be the Restaurant Row of Harlem.” I will drink to that, Chris! Strawberry beer, please!

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Posted in business, Community, Harlem, restaurant row, restaurants

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Another Subway sandwich shop and dry cleaner coming to Harlem

Posted on July 5, 2011 | 1 comment

Sep 9, 2010 @ 22:27

By HarlemGal
Walking home this evening (Thursday night), I noticed two new shops getting ready to open on Frederick Douglass Blvd. At 301 Cathedral Parkway, right next to the State Farm Insurance office and near Frederick Douglass Circle, there is a Subway shop opening. The sign is up! Then at 2098 FDB, I noticed neon lights and signage were up saying Express Dry Cleaners.

I am happy to see the retail space is filling up along FDB. However, I was really hoping something else new and different for these type of commercial spaces, such as a 24-hour diner or an Asian restaurant (Thai, Japanese or Korean) or another vegetarian restaurant. Definitely not another Subway shop. What do you think? What would you like to see in some of these commercial spaces in Harlem?

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Posted in business, Harlem

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UPDATE: Harlem Rx Inc. coming soon to Lenox Avenue

Posted on July 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

Sep 8, 2010 @ 13:06

By HarlemGal

On August 11, we told you about a new pharmacy going up on the southwest corner of Lenox Avenue and 116th Street. Some of you commented on how close this pharmacy was to the CVS pharmacy located on the northeast corner of Lenox Ave and 116th. We now know the exact name of the business at 102 Lenox Avenue. Harlem Rx Inc. will soon be opening in that space in Harlem. They have a coming soon sign and a phone number for the public to see. However, there is no exact date of opening for business?

From the exterior looks of the place, this pharmacy looks like a locally owned business, which is a nice surprise and definitely a good thing for the community!

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Red Rooster in Harlem named restaurant to watch this Fall

Posted on July 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

Sep 1, 2010 @ 17:30
By HarlemGal
Harlem’s Red Rooster, owned by celebrity chef and Harlemite Marcus Samuelsson, was named one of 15 new restaurants to watch this Fall by The Wall Street Journal.
Red Rooster, which is scheduled to open in October at 310 Lenox Ave, was the only uptown restaurant that made list. What’s interesting in the article is the restaurant description. It says the place will seat 90 and hours will be from breakfast to late night, with no menu costing more than $25. Does that mean starters could be $24.50 or plates at $24.75? I hope not! Also, Samuelsson could be aiming to be cheaper than 5 and Diamond, which is a pricey place for Harlem, but the food lives up to those prices in my view. Who knows what’s Samuelsson’s price point strategy? At some point will find out.
See below who made the list of places to watch this fall!

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Posted in Bars, business, Harlem, restaurants

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Bibi Salon coming to Harlem

Posted on July 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

Sep 1, 2010 @ 13:36
By HarlemGal
Back in July, we told how 2220 Frederick Douglass Blvd was being prepped as a beauty salon. We have now learned of the exact name of the business going into that space. Bibi Salon is moving in! Date of opening is still TBD.
Based on their rate sheet, they will be offering a full line of services, such as a lash bar, facial hair removal, make-up, hair styling/extensions/treatments, and mani/pedis. Bibi’s price point ranges from $30 to $250 depending on the service.
My guess is Bibi Salon will be doing pretty good given their location. They’re gonna be surrounded by plenty of condos that are slowly filling up! However, they’re gonna have to compete with Polished Finger Tips and Z Nail Salon who both offer mani/pedis for reasonable prices.
Welcome to the Harlem neighborhood Bibi! And good luck with the opening!

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UPDATE: Busboys and Poets owner visits Harlem

Posted on July 5, 2011 | 1 comment

Aug 28, 2010 @ 1:04

By HarlemGal
The possibility of Busboys and Poets opening up a restaurant in Harlem is alive and well. How do we know this? Anas “Andy” Shallal, the owner of Busboys and Poets, has finally commented on the subject.

Through his Twitter account, Shallal said on August 27 that he is “visiting New York City…had a great tour of Harlem…still looking at New York…” Yes! That is good news! And Shallal even tweeted he went by Make My Cake. Sounds like he is saying hello to his future business neighbors? Also, based on the tweets the Busboys and Poets owner was touring around West 116th Street, not too far from the location where they are rumored to open, which is in the commercial space at 2280 Frederick Douglass Blvd. Recently, we told you about Busboys and Poets plan to expand outside the beltway and into Harlem.

This recent development of Andy Shallal confirming he was in Harlem definitely feeds into all the excitement. And it is keeping me on my blogging toes! Stay tuned Harlemites!

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Harlem Flo potentially 2280 FBD bound

Posted on July 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

Aug 22, 2010 @ 16:57

By HarlemGal

I’ve received comments on and offline about the florist/flower shop I referenced, in my exclusive blog post on ‘Busboys and Poets plan to expand into Harlem,’ asking: which florist was I talking about?  Some of you guessed it right off the top! I was referring to Harlem Flo, a local business HarlemHouse introduced to HCL readers back in 2008. It’s a cute flower and plant shop located at  2292 Frederick Douglass Boulevard-not too far from the place their eyeing as their next home, the 2280 FDB condo building. When you ask the staff at Harlem Flo, they tell customers they’re working on it, but nothing is a done deal.

If you walk into the Frederick Douglass florist, you will see it is a small space and more square footage is needed. They have a nice selection of plants and flowers. However, they’re sort of cramped in there and it’s hard to move around without feeling like you might knock something over. As one of our reader states, they hope “it is Harlem Flo [moving to 2280 FDB] saying two florists so close together would not be ideal.”

So if all works out, the commercial space at 2280 FDB, which runs from 122nd to 123rd Street on the eastside of the boulevard, will have two distinct businesses, Busboys and Poets and Harlem Flo!

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Posted in business, Harlem

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