Liquor Store near Yankee Stadium is closing

[BRNXBMRS]

This sucks, I always stopped in before the games to sneak in a bottle.

But at the end of this month, after more than 75 years in business, Stadium Wines and Liquor will shut its doors, a victim of raised rents and sluggish sales that the owner, like other nearby merchants, said were at least partly caused by the construction of the new Yankee Stadium.

The merchants cite several problems with the new stadium.

In the past, thousands of fans parked in garages many blocks from the stadium and walked down 161st Street to games, stopping at local stores along the way. Now, a Metro-North station that opened in 2009 and new stadium-adjacent parking garages funnel fans directly to the foot of the ballpark.

Once inside the stadium, visitors can choose from 444 souvenir shops, eateries and concession stands — nearly 50 percent more options than in the old stadium. From hot dogs to Cuban sandwiches and sushi, and from pennants to pinstriped jerseys, Yankees fans can find it all without setting foot outside the stadium.

"Now it’s like a mall inside," said Rashed Salahi, an employee at Stadium Souvenirs at the corner of 161st St. and River Ave.

"You don’t see too many people in the street," Salahi added, "They go straight into the stadium."

"The landlords in this neighborhood think it’s Park Avenue in Manhattan — it’s not," said Katsihtis, who helps run his family’s two restaurants on 161st Street, Court Deli and Crown Donuts Diner.

Read more: http://www.dnainfo.com/20120320/sout...#ixzz1pqqpeC8P[/QUOTE]Read more: http://www.dnainfo.com/20120320/sout...#ixzz1pqqXjXfo

[yankeesfanatic]

You should see the SEASONAL rent for the Yankees' shop around the area!

That is some crazy ................!

[RayG]

Greed was probably behind the demise of the Bowling alley as well...

[JL25and3]

Didn't we keep hearing about how great the new Stadium would be for the neighborhood?

[hellonewman]

If your "neighborhood" is the Steinbrenner family box, it's been real good.

It's always a sad thing when a liquor store closes. *sniff*

[xenadanielle]

If your "neighborhood" is the Steinbrenner family box, it's been real good.

It's always a sad thing when a liquor store closes. *sniff*

Good to see I am not the only degenerate. Since I was going to post the same thing.

(I'm kidding about the first, but not the second. ).

[BRNXBMRS]

Didn't we keep hearing about how great the new Stadium would be for the neighborhood?

Not this neighborhood, probably meant the neighborhoods where Tros, the steins & Levine live.

[Steve J. Rogers]

Didn't we keep hearing about how great the new Stadium would be for the neighborhood?

I hate to laugh at something like this, but I've been in midst of arguments with New Stadium/Heritage Museum...I mean Field apologists on another forum whom seem to think business has been as usual for the area, and this exact this would have occurred had the Yankees left for say the Upper West Side, or Jersey.

[__starr69]

Didn't we keep hearing about how great the new Stadium would be for the neighborhood?

I said local businesses that depend on Yankee fans would suffer, not prosper, because of the new Stadium, and people said I was just being anti-new Stadium.

I'm sure the general state of the economy is a big reason, but astronomical ticket and parking prices escalate it further. But it's not just lost attendance (if that is indeed the case, what actual attendance is only the Yankees know) and more options inside. The "diehard fans being priced out" are the fans that these business depend on. The people who go to one game a year, at most, generally don't spend their money outside the Stadium, they just want to hurry up and get home.

The author also cites increasing commercial rents, and a changing neighborhood. I know the area has been targeted and projected for change. I don't think that area has actually changed much, at least not yet. Absolutely nothing like Spanish Harlem has changed. But gentrification is never good news for a liquor store in the hood.

Not to play devil's advocate, but the author missed an important detail: there's a larger liquor store around the corner on Gerard Ave. I don't think its been around very long, hopefully someone more familiar could enlighten. Maybe that's the major reason for the decline in sales?

[yankees2010]

Two things I have to point out:

The local business/little guy is not exactly innocent here. Places like Stan's and Yankee Eatery and the Yankee tavern that , once the Yankees became hot, jacked up their prices/gouged patrons who had been visiting those places for years, now they expect customer loyalty? By the last year of the old Stadium, Stans and the Bowling Alley were charing up to $6-$7 for a bottle of beer and $9 for a sandwich. Same prices as inside. Now I am supposed to visit the River Ave shops to support them?

Second, the Yankees are not going to be all that broken up that a liquor store that apparently fans used to stop at to buy a bottle for the game is out of business.

[chisox]

I really do not like the new Stadium as I get the feeling it is more of a theme park than a ballpark.

I loved Yankee Stadium II and learned the ropes like 'let's meet by the bat'.

Ten years ago I asked a hot dog vendor what was a good bar to stop in before or after a game and he told me of a little place called Vega Alta on Gerard Avenue which doesn't get mobbed.

The Bronx helped make the Stadium what it was and it certainly is 1000% better than 30 years ago.

As a White Sox fan we deal with the team making sure there are no close by options for fans. They exist but no out of towner would ever find them. Instead Jerry Reinsdorf and silent partner Jeremy Jacobs have a vice like grip on fans.

In Chicago that is dangerous as of course Wrigleyville is a big part of going to a Cubs game. The White Sox are similar to the Mets where nobody wants to explore the tire dumps of Flushing before or after a game.

[Steve J. Rogers]

Two things I have to point out:

The local business/little guy is not exactly innocent here. Places like Stan's and Yankee Eatery and the Yankee tavern that , once the Yankees became hot, jacked up their prices/gouged patrons who had been visiting those places for years, now they expect customer loyalty? By the last year of the old Stadium, Stans and the Bowling Alley were charing up to $6-$7 for a bottle of beer and $9 for a sandwich. Same prices as inside. Now I am supposed to visit the River Ave shops to support them?

Second, the Yankees are not going to be all that broken up that a liquor store that apparently fans used to stop at to buy a bottle for the game is out of business.

Oh no doubt. But you still have to feel for the little businesses going up against the big corporate monolith.

In Chicago that is dangerous as of course Wrigleyville is a big part of going to a Cubs game. The White Sox are similar to the Mets where nobody wants to explore the tire dumps of Flushing before or after a game.

Which is why the Wilpons have been pushing so hard to get them out and develop a faux Wrigleyville! Think the Gaslamp District in San Diego around Petco as a perfect example of what they want to create.

[hellonewman]

Two things I have to point out:

The local business/little guy is not exactly innocent here. Places like Stan's and Yankee Eatery and the Yankee tavern that , once the Yankees became hot, jacked up their prices/gouged patrons who had been visiting those places for years, now they expect customer loyalty? By the last year of the old Stadium, Stans and the Bowling Alley were charing up to $6-$7 for a bottle of beer and $9 for a sandwich. Same prices as inside. Now I am supposed to visit the River Ave shops to support them?

Second, the Yankees are not going to be all that broken up that a liquor store that apparently fans used to stop at to buy a bottle for the game is out of business.

Totally agree. The whole "Stan's" complex (including the T-shirt/memorabilia shops) treated Yankee fans like meat for years. Now they're in trouble? Boo-hoo. Cya.

[chisox]

Which is why the Wilpons have been pushing so hard to get them out and develop a faux Wrigleyville! Think the Gaslamp District in San Diego around Petco as a perfect example of what they want to create.

We have a weird situation with Reinsdorf.

The state built him the new park that opened in 1991 and gave him complete control of it for a very short rent. The new park was flawed but the STATE sold the naming rights to US Cellular to pay for renovations and now the park is a good one ( not great - not horrible )

Reinsdorf in turn gave Jeremy Jacobs a LIFETIME concession deal to the peons and also gave the concession contract at the club level to a well connected Chicago operation Levy(http://www.levyrestaurants.com/venues/ )

Reinsdorf controls the parking, and if you come to the park by 'L or commuter rail you have no clue that there are bars 1/4 mile away to the north and west.

Reinsdorf actually is only 'The Chairman' and does not own the most stock in the team. Eddie Einhorn actually owns more but gave JR his proxy.

I can make the argument that the White Sox may well be the most 'profitable' team in MLB because they have NO DEBT. JR and EE bought them in 1980 for $20M and Illinois paid for the new park.

The Cubs will always be the media darlings - but us Sox fans have 2005.

[YankeeFan1421]

Two things I have to point out:

The local business/little guy is not exactly innocent here. Places like Stan's and Yankee Eatery and the Yankee tavern that , once the Yankees became hot, jacked up their prices/gouged patrons who had been visiting those places for years, now they expect customer loyalty? By the last year of the old Stadium, Stans and the Bowling Alley were charing up to $6-$7 for a bottle of beer and $9 for a sandwich. Same prices as inside. Now I am supposed to visit the River Ave shops to support them?

Second, the Yankees are not going to be all that broken up that a liquor store that apparently fans used to stop at to buy a bottle for the game is out of business.

Yeah, I totally agree with that. I really felt the same way in paying $7.00 for a bud lite or something in there as I did in the stadium in recent years. Back in the early 90's, it wasn't like that...Stan's and all that were a pretty big discount off of the Stadium prices.

The only thing that's hard to tell is how much they were forced to jack up prices anyway based on rents.

Either way, the experience on River Avenue there is gone now. I used to love that block after big games. I went crazy on that street and in those bars after Games 4 and 5 of the '01 Series and the night of the Aaron Boone game, that street was beyond crazy....

And then before Saturday games and things, that was a great place to hang out. some years I had season ticket packages, but when I didn't have tickets, I'd hang out in Stan's for one or two innings, then walk out in the street and I could basically name my own price for decent seats as the scalpers would all bid against each other....even as the Yankees started to draw big time after 96. I'd get lower upper deck in the infield for like $5 or $10 even for pretty premium games or sit downstairs in the infield halfway up for like $15 or $20 if I went in the second inning. Today, I'd bet that it's hard to even find a scalper near the Shopping Mall dressed up as yankee stadium.

[yankees2010]

Yeah, I totally agree with that. I really felt the same way in paying $7.00 for a bud lite or something in there as I did in the stadium in recent years. Back in the early 90's, it wasn't like that...Stan's and all that were a pretty big discount off of the Stadium prices.

The only thing that's hard to tell is how much they were forced to jack up prices anyway based on rents.

Either way, the experience on River Avenue there is gone now. I used to love that block after big games. I went crazy on that street and in those bars after Games 4 and 5 of the '01 Series and the night of the Aaron Boone game, that street was beyond crazy....

And then before Saturday games and things, that was a great place to hang out. some years I had season ticket packages, but when I didn't have tickets, I'd hang out in Stan's for one or two innings, then walk out in the street and I could basically name my own price for decent seats as the scalpers would all bid against each other....even as the Yankees started to draw big time after 96. I'd get lower upper deck in the infield for like $5 or $10 even for pretty premium games or sit downstairs in the infield halfway up for like $15 or $20 if I went in the second inning. Today, I'd bet that it's hard to even find a scalper near the Shopping Mall dressed up as yankee stadium.

The scalpers at the park died out because of the bar coded tickets. You can not tell if that hard ticket or print out has been used already. Almost impossible to buy from one now

I do miss the early and even mid 90s. Stans on a nice Saturday afternoon, get my general admission bleacher ticket and a few for my friends, meet at the bar, have a few , I think they were getting $3-$4 a bottle

By the final year, do the math, a 12 oz bottle at Stans was 7 for big games (they went to variable pricing) . A 24 oz draft inside was $10. Stans was actually charging more for beer then the Yankees

[wexy]

I never go to the right anymore. the other day I took a walk with my nephew and we saw Lou who owns the Yankee Eatery or whatever its called now. Used to meet there with people from the forum but no longer.

[yankees2010]

I never go to the right anymore. the other day I took a walk with my nephew and we saw Lou who owns the Yankee Eatery or whatever its called now. Used to meet there with people from the forum but no longer.

that place was great for a tall boy from the cooler, the shish kebob guy out front, and the most misleading sign ever : "Taste a Hall of Fame pizza".