The "flavor" of Fifth Avenue near the Barclays Center: not quite homey, but not fully franchised, either. Bars, omakase, plus, for a while, weed.

Photo: April 2024

Franchises Creeping Along Fifth Avenue Take Flavor Out of Park Slope, Residents and Merchants Say, the BKReader reported April 5, 2024 with the subheading, "Bye bye, Miss American Pie! The homey, community feel of Fifth Avenue near Barclays Center is disappearing."

That's a little hard to take seriously. 

Sure, there's been a franchise creep, at least along the immediate blocks, with Chip City, Insomnia Cookies, and Cinnabon/Carvel all arriving recently.

Shake Shack and Chick-fil-A opened years ago around the corner on Flatbush Avenue. 

The BKReader quotee the North Flatbush Business Improvement District as stating that 40% of businesses along Flatbush Avenue between Atlantic and Eighth Avenues are new since 2020, including several chains. Well, that's understandable on such a heavily-trafficked street.

Photo: April 2024

But there are counter-examples. 

Omakase, weed, and bars

On Fifth, there's also been, for example, an "omakase creep," with three omakase restaurants within those few blocks, Venerable restaurants like Convivium Osteria remain.

As of April 2024, I identified a "smoke shop creep," with three smoke shops, likely selling unlicensed weed.

Today, of those three near the north end of Fifth Avenue, including one on the block closest to Barclays, none are open. 

Now closed. Photo: April 2025

Also see Josh Greenman's March 8, 2023 article in Vital City, Black-Market Brooklyn. Nearly all of the illegal weed stores he identified are gone, as far as I can tell.

Of course, there's been a "bar creep," with a number of bars--the main businesses clearly aiming at both arena visitors and than locals--arriving after the Barclays Center opened in the fall 2012.

Photo: April 2024

After all, the venerable bar O'Connor's closed before the arena opened, and was succeeded by McMahon's, as I wrote.

Other bars and bar-restaurants have arisen, both to serve the arena crowd and locals, such as That Bar, in photo at left, and BK9, in photo below, which happens to be right next to a... Japanese market.

Turnover common

Moreover, turnover is not uncommon, so some jeopardized local businesses are pretty recent: Miss American Pie opened in 2019. Its successor opened last December; not a franchise but a Colombian bakery, Java Andina, which Here's Park Slope called "cool and under-represented concept, especially in this neighborhood."

So the "homey, community feel" has been disappearing, in pieces, for a while, while other aspects remain, since a good number of potential customers live nearby.

Photo: April 2025

Consider that the Triangle Building lost its longtime tenant, Triangle Sports, in the wake of Atlantic Yards, and it was sold twice, at escalating prices, but still doesn't have a tenant.

Though a ten-year lease was reported, there's no evidence that Rihanna's Savage X Fenty will actually open (despite the BKReader's report). That's likely a building issue, as only a deep-pocketed tenant, like a franchise would be willing to pay asking rent.

About Fifth

Note: despite the lead on the BKReader article, "Brooklyn's Fifth Avenue has long been the commercial center of Park Slope," it's actually been the secondary shopping street, with higher rents--and more gentrification, notably chains, banks, and real-estate firms--on Seventh Avenue, closer to Prospect Park and more expensive housing near the park..

Screenshot from Time Out

From the article:

Despite Time Out recently naming Fifth Avenue the coolest street in NYC and the 13th coolest street in the world, there is actually nothing cool happening at the edge of Flatbush Avenue, to the disappointment of local business owners and residents.

That's a little bit of a dodge. After all, Time Out measured Fifth Avenue from the Barclays Center (Flatbush Avenue) to the Prospect Expressway, which is about 30 blocks! 

Because rents are lower on Fifth Avenue, and storefronts smaller, yes, it has more interesting local businesses and institutions. (Despite the caption, Community Bookstore is on Seventh Avenue, not Fifth.)

Ironically enough, the photo chosen, as shown in the screenshot, includes Cali Convenience at 172 Fifth Avenue, which--though the sign remains--is no longer open and, according to one commenter, was shut down. 

(Cali refers either to California or the the city in Colombia, both of which could signal something illicit. Greenman reported that they were expecting to sell weed.)

BKReader quoted property owners as saying that landlords prefer franchises, because they are deemed less risky. (Not sure that applied to weed shops, which suggests some landlords are desparate.) The article quotes property owner .Joel Hamburger,  as exhibiting mixed feelings:

“Part of me is kind of like, oh, it's the death of New York City,” Hamburger said. “And then part of me is also like, well, that narrative — that New York City used to be cool and now it's different — is kind of tired and stupid. There’s been 30 or 40 cycles like this.

DB Smoke Shop is open, it'a not a weed store. Photo: April 2024

Spark Slope now closed. Photo: April 2024

Convivium Osteria has been around since 2000. Photo: April 2024

 One local business, two franchises. Photo: April 2024