Yesterday, writing about disappearing small businesses, I referred to a store I loved, Guerrero Food Center, the Mexican grocery store at Fifth & 23rd. The reference was to a place I assumed was open, but today I found out that it had closed. Sad, sad news. Yes, Guerrero had a run-in with the DOH, but I ate there plenty of times (taco el pastor a thing of heaven), and it seemed fine. These issues will set you back though, and even though it got a good lunch crowd, and a steady, if modest stream of customers at night, changing demographics and rising rents will kill a business. A back-of-the-grocery two-table joint can't operate paying $6,000 per month, and though there are Mexican & other Spanish restaurants scattered about here (like Girasol, El Continental), their tenure is never secure. Or you'll get ersatz Mexican, like the revamped Tacos Nuevo Mexico, with cocktails galore, and an all-in-English menu. That's just how it will be. Sunset Park is a safe haven for a good while, but change is a-coming there too, the more "discovered" it gets, and the more its waterfront develops. Enjoy it while you can.
June 2011
Last night
No comments:
Post a Comment