Astoria, Real Estate Mar 06, 2014 Ditmars Vacancies – Places We Wish Had Tenants Recently, I took a walk down Ditmars and saw lots happening, both with established businesses and those that are opening soon. Many of the restaurants are going strong—MP Taverna, Watawa, (…) Share this Scoop by Meg Cotner total shares! Twitter Facebook Email Print Recently, I took a walk down Ditmars and saw lots happening, both with established businesses and those that are opening soon. Many of the restaurants are going strong—MP Taverna, Watawa, (…) by Meg Cotner Share this Scoop total shares! Twitter Facebook Email Print Recently, I took a walk down Ditmars and saw lots happening, both with established businesses and those that are opening soon. Many of the restaurants are going strong—MP Taverna, Watawa, Martha’s Bakery, HinoMaru, just to name a handful. I only saw a small group of vacancies, and am hopeful they’ll fill up sooner than later. Here’s what’s vacant on Ditmars Boulevard between 29th and 37th Streets. Fast Break This place had a nice selection of craft beer in its smallish refrigerator, and the people running the place were always really pleasant. It sort of reminded me of the Stop-N-Go chain in CA. They shut down soon after the 7-11 opened on 31st Street—not sure if this is a legit connection but it is an intriguing coincidence. Alternatively, we’ve heard the landlord jacked up the rent and that forced out Fast Break. The neighboring Chinese takeout joint also left (and has opened up on 31st Street near 22nd Ave), possibly due to the high rent or the seemingly never-ending construction on that building. A month or so back, I saw that they had gutted the place and it’s now for rent. It would be great to see something interesting and useful move in there. 29-02 Ditmars Blvd Vino di Vino This is the wine bar next to L’Incontro that I never frequented, as it never seemed very welcoming to me; at one point I thought it was just and offshoot/waiting area for L’Incontro. Past patrons said it was quite nice. It closed last December. Now it’s empty with only a small counter on the left (not pictured). 29-21 Ditmars Blvd Old Top Tomato Those in the Ditmars area would love to see something move into this large space on the ground floor of The Acropolis. Top Tomato was a great spot when it was open—there was something comforting about having a large, 24 hour produce market in the neighborhood and it also made walking down that section of the block a little safer because of the lighting. Here’s a photo of it in its heyday. It was another produce store after Top Tomato, but that shuttered within the year, I believe. As for its state now, they’ve totally ripped everything out in there, including the floors! This shot is looking eastward along Ditmars. 33-15 Ditmars Blvd Cici This little costume jewelry and shoe shop lasted a couple of years, and what’s left behind looks pretty decent. You’d think this place could get a tenant pretty quickly, but such is NYC real estate. Perhaps the preference of “No Food” has something to do with it. 36-19 Ditmars Blvd What would you like to see in some of these locations? Let us know in the comments! Twitter Facebook Email Print CiciditmarsDitmars BlvdFast BreakTop TomatovacanciesVino di Vino About Meg Cotner Meg Cotner was trained as a harpsichordist and now works as a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of "Food Lovers' Guide to Queens," and is a skilled and avid home cook, baker, and preserver. 5 Comments Bobby April 3rd, 2014 Looks like there are some renovations/remodeling taking place at the old Fast Break location this week. Any idea/insight into what may be going in there? Reply megc April 25th, 2014 Hey Bobby – here’s the info: https://weheartastoria.com/2014/04/yogurt-la-crepe-coming-to-ditmars/ Reply John March 6th, 2014 I agree with Carolyn. Maybe a little more emphasis on retail now. It seems like you have to go to Steinway for some threads. Sometimes you just don’t want to head to the city you know! Reply Carolyn March 6th, 2014 It is a shame that so many stores along Ditmars and 31 St are closed, Landlords are making the rents to high and people just cant afford the rents. I use to shop at all the places that you mentioned and more. Too many restaurants opening up. Years ago there were so many stores to shop in and now there are none, The area needs a good ladies clothing store, a mens shop and a place to buy nice household goods, not 99 cents stores. Reply Connie Shannon July 3rd, 2017 The housewares store across from Buffalo Exchange on Ditmars off 31 is fantastic! Reply Leave a Reply Cancel replyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Email * Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Bobby April 3rd, 2014 Looks like there are some renovations/remodeling taking place at the old Fast Break location this week. Any idea/insight into what may be going in there? Reply
megc April 25th, 2014 Hey Bobby – here’s the info: https://weheartastoria.com/2014/04/yogurt-la-crepe-coming-to-ditmars/ Reply
John March 6th, 2014 I agree with Carolyn. Maybe a little more emphasis on retail now. It seems like you have to go to Steinway for some threads. Sometimes you just don’t want to head to the city you know! Reply
Carolyn March 6th, 2014 It is a shame that so many stores along Ditmars and 31 St are closed, Landlords are making the rents to high and people just cant afford the rents. I use to shop at all the places that you mentioned and more. Too many restaurants opening up. Years ago there were so many stores to shop in and now there are none, The area needs a good ladies clothing store, a mens shop and a place to buy nice household goods, not 99 cents stores. Reply
Connie Shannon July 3rd, 2017 The housewares store across from Buffalo Exchange on Ditmars off 31 is fantastic! Reply