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Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright
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Nope. I mean the original Fox & Obel, circa 2001, which was a blockbuster. By its 2013 demise it was a shadow of the original incarnation. There are four big differences. First, ownership and management had changed. Second, no more free parking right across the street (where Parkview West was built). Third, competition (Dominicks arrived, among others such as the specialty liquor store across the street; also, Yolk arrived, and one big F&O draw had been its brunch service; one also cannot discount the incredible theme park that is Whole Foods on Kingsbury). Fourth, the economy crashed, and all the ultra top tier foodstuffs, and pricey prepared foods, were no longer in such demand. So the original concept and execution by those NY guys was perfect for its time and location.
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Originally Posted by ardecila
There's more coming, too... Le Pain Quotidien, Fig & Olive, Dinosaur, etc.
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Oh ardecila. LPQ is from Belgium, and NY lapped it up, and I hope we do too here.
Dinosaur is from upstate NY; the subject at hand is about NYC. The issue here is largely about how investors and entrepreneurs in NYC are so blinded by short-term greed (which is often just hopping on trends they plan to keep alive for a while with marketing, marketing, marketing) that they usually manage to blow it on quality that can last. Fantastic things like the Chang/Momofuku empire are too infrequent.
Fig & Olive is I think from NYC; I haven't been there but I hope it is nice (its Chicago opening is Saturday) and if so I hope it succeeds.