Atlantic Avenue west of Barclays Center – once known for Arab food shops, antiques discounters and too many empty storefronts – has become the hot new kid on the block in Brooklyn retail.
It isn’t nearly as pricey as Williamsburg’s Bedford Avenue and North Sixth Street, where global brands abound. But its growing mystique as a fashion-and-design nexus has put it on the map for neighborhood-focused merchants and shoppers alike.
“Atlantic has come a long way on the retail front, from new national tenants to well-designed cocktail lounges to upscale boutiques and now, health and beauty servcies have planted their flags, too,” said RIPCO vice-president Alex Beard.
Atlantic Avenue “has become Brooklyn’s version of Madison Avenue,” Jordan Barowitz, an Atlantic Avenue Business Improvement District board member, told Realty Check.
“Not a Brooklyn replication of Madison Avenue — Williamsburg has that covered with Chanel and Hermes — but a bastion of luxury retailers with a distinct Brooklyn identity.”
Part of the appeal for merchants is that rents on Atlantic Avenue between Barclays and the BQE barely touch $100 per square foot on the west end. Those rents ramp down into the mid-$70s per square foot between Court and Bond streets, and dip to as low as the $50s near Flatbush Avenue.
Even the highest rent is less than half of what landlords command in Williamsburg, Dumbo and sections of Flatbush Avenue.
The result has been a vacancy rate of 11.8%. down from 15.1% before the pandemic, according to the Atlantic Avenue BID, which covers the stretch west of Barclays.
That’s better than the current 15% vacancy rate on well-heeled Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights.
Atlantic Avenue has become the sweet spot between nascent trendiness and full-scale gentrification, according to Barowitz.
“What makes (the shop owners) unique is that not only are they ‘makers’ of their own lines, but many of them do manufacturing on site, creating an experiential retail experience.”
The wide, often windy avenue lined mostly by low-rise buildings and a few larger ones under construction isn’t scenic.
But one improvement promoted by the BID made it much more shopper-friendly. Four midblock traffic signals now break up the long blocks, making it easier to cross the avenue for an interesting-looking place on the other.
A stroller can find a few national chains such as Barnes & Noble and Anthropologie, but also Muslim libraries, Japanese ramen and Vietnamese pho cafes, kids’ clothing shop Gumbo and nonprofit literacy promoter Read 718.
The block between Hoyt and Bond streets is the glam heart of the avenue’s transformation, where more than a dozen fashion shops and design galleries are clustered.
Four new ones, including pottery purveyor East Fork and “beautiful things for beautiful homes” shop Porta, opened in November.
Jewelry designer Page Sargisson bravely opened at the corner of Hoyt and Atlantic in November 2020.
The block “draws shoppers who want a curated look but don’t want the big brands,” she told Realty Check. She enjoys interaction with customers. “I get goose bumps when I meet someone who says, ‘Hey, you made my engagement ring.’”
Mary Jo Pile has been on Atlantic for nearly two decades, launching her home-decor shop Collier West in 2008.
“When we first opened here, I thought, Oh, my God, what did we do? We were basically doing like $2 a day. It was a little scary, frankly,” she said — referring to both the scarce business and higher crime levels at the time.
“But we hung in there. The metamorphosis went from kind of scary to getting a little better each year.”
She has since launched two satellite stores next door.
Some of the old flavor can still be found. Sahadi’s market remains a staple for Middle-Eastern favorites, while Montero’s Bar & Grill, which served merchant seamen when it opened in 1938, today serves locals hungry for burgers and karaoke.
French Louie, which was well-reviewed by The Post 11 years ago, now serves moules normande for bistro lovers.
“French Louie is our favorite place to eat,” Pile said.
She added of the avenue’s moods that shift block by block, “All the way from Barclays to the river, it kind of ebbs and flows.”