The restaurant is located on the northwest corner of 125 Street and Fifth Avenue. The Harlem location will be Applebee's 2000 restaurant. This Applebee's is a franchise of Apple-Metro. They are the franchise holder in Metro NY (the five borough's & Westchester County).
The GM is a Harlem native and has been instrumental in running legendary Harlem establishments like Copeland and Londell's.
I know that some people are not happy with this coming to Harlem. My self, I'm on the fence.
My Pros
My Pros
- Job creation and hopefully retention
- Reinvestment in the community (partnering with other businesses)
- More everyday services in the community
- Adaptive reuse of a building
- A convienient dining option.
My Cons
- Typical chain food menu
- Quality of food in Harlem versus other Manhattan neighborhoods
- Affect on nearby sit down dining establishments
Neighborhoods of color often don't have establishments the you can easily find high quality or organic foods, let alone those things in a dining options. Fresh foods are hard to find and obesity is high in minority and low income communities. I know there are a lot of opinions on why the number of "fast food" restaurants in minority communities is high, a) supply and demand b) cheap rent c) little or no competition.
I'm not a huge chain food eater, but I wonder does this signify the start of Uber gentrification and "Mall-izing" uptown, in particular 125 Street. Downtown you can find the real estate cluster of Banana Republic, Gap, Starbucks, Chase Bank, McDonalds and Duane Reade almost anywhere. I'm not saying gentrification is a bad thing as more people, equals more businesses plus more voting power, and that keeps money local which is a great thing. As long as those moving into a neighborhood remember to respect the culture of the neighborhood they are moving to. Isn't that one of the main reasons you moved to the neighborhood?
Anywhoo....back to Applebees
The GM informed me that many months prior to opening they got involved (of course, why wouldn't you) with community board 10, the Harlem Empowerment Zone and they are partnering with other Harlem businesses. The products in the restrooms will come from the Body Shop. He informed me that he is in discussion with other Harlem business for other needs. I suggested using some of the businesses (bakery, production, florist, PR) that I personally use. I also suggested inviting Harlem bloggers such as (weharlem, harlemnyctv, lilmogul, harlemtours) in while they are in soft opening mode. I was also told they are going to add some black specific dishes to the menu, like chicken and waffles.
I'm not a huge chain food eater, but I wonder does this signify the start of Uber gentrification and "Mall-izing" uptown, in particular 125 Street. Downtown you can find the real estate cluster of Banana Republic, Gap, Starbucks, Chase Bank, McDonalds and Duane Reade almost anywhere. I'm not saying gentrification is a bad thing as more people, equals more businesses plus more voting power, and that keeps money local which is a great thing. As long as those moving into a neighborhood remember to respect the culture of the neighborhood they are moving to. Isn't that one of the main reasons you moved to the neighborhood?
Anywhoo....back to Applebees
The GM informed me that many months prior to opening they got involved (of course, why wouldn't you) with community board 10, the Harlem Empowerment Zone and they are partnering with other Harlem businesses. The products in the restrooms will come from the Body Shop. He informed me that he is in discussion with other Harlem business for other needs. I suggested using some of the businesses (bakery, production, florist, PR) that I personally use. I also suggested inviting Harlem bloggers such as (weharlem, harlemnyctv, lilmogul, harlemtours) in while they are in soft opening mode. I was also told they are going to add some black specific dishes to the menu, like chicken and waffles.
125 Street side of the building is wired
so you can hear the music played inside the restaurant.
The Fifth Avenue side of the building only has speaker near the corner as not to disturb other businesses or residents
The furnishings are generic Applebees.
The decor is based on Black/Harlem History.
There are several murals with prominent black figures.
There are also some interesting donated items.
Applebee’s Harlem Hours
The restaurant will officially open on Monday, December 14, 2009 with a ceremony at 10:30 am. Curtis Bailey is scheduled to perform.
I don't want the restaurant to fail as we've had a number of good independant restaurants on high profile blocks close. Wimps, Ginger, the Harlem Tea Room and Copelands. Others that opened small, but are catching on like Chez Lucienne, BilliesBlack, MoJo and Native along with long standing old school places that are apart of Harlem's urban fabric like Sylvia's. The last thing we need is another HarlemUSA like letdown. The first thing that will be said is that Harlem cannot sustain chains. This is a catch-22 for me as I don't know if I'll be a frequent patron.
I made and attempt to go the opening night gala. Unfortunately the lines and door management were not up to par. From the looks of things, the event looked to be a great success. The proceeds from this event and other events around the opening will benefit the Harlem Week Scholarship/Grant program.
Later on down the line I'll do a restaurant review.
** Sorry about the photo quality. I took many of the pictures from outside as not to disturb staff/workers **
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