[joehill]

walked by Playa this afternoon and it's totally cleared out. People were taking kitchen equipment out of the side door by the Cabana Bar.

I didn't think it was very good the one time I went there, but it seemed to get decent crowds. This corner spot is sort of cursed though, no?

[blinktoe]

I think so. I live a few doors away, and it hasn't been open in a few days.

[Jamzer]

Why do seemingly normal people believe in curses when it comes to restaurants? This location is not "cursed". Its just had a bunch of bad restaurants opened there. Put a decent place in this spot and it will do great.

[belzjm]

i agree jamzer.

also...i believe that at least the last couple incarnations of that space have had the same owners, so if anything, it's the business owners who aren't very good at what they do...nothing to do with a cursed location. before this, it was bad bbq.

get the owners of al di la to open a place in that spot and i can guarantee you, the "curse" would be broken...

[joehill]

like i said, i didn't think it was good enough to warrant a second visit on the time i went there, so that's probably why they closed, but it did seem to be half full most evenings, and seemed pretty full for brunch too. i guess i'm just wondering why that's not enough to keep it afloat when there's places like bombay grill or hunan delight that somehow stay open year after year despite never seeming to have more than 1 table in the restaurant at a time.

[squindar]

"bad BBQ" is an understatement. The BBQ at that place (prior to whatever the latest thing was) was heartbreakingly bad. Worse-than-McDonald's-version-of-BBQ bad. I went once with the highest of hopes, and they were dashed.

I think I remember they charged extra for cornbread, and it went downhill from there.
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I've used sarcasm before. It makes me feel really smart.

[Carnivore]

[belzjm]

the thing is...the neighborhood could really use an AWESOME bbq place.

like fette sau in williamsburg.

i think some readers also said they'd love to see a steakhouse in the neighborhood.

either (if done correctly) could probably make a go of it...

[veets]

[DanielJ]

I only went to Playa a couple times and the food was good, but expensive. Great arepas, roast pork and ropa viejo (Nothing you couldn't get across the street).

I usually went to Cabana Bar, because they had some great specials ($5 mojitos with a shot of 151, all you can drink sangria with brunch, and unlimited quesadillas) but those stopped, and then it was just expensive and caloric. Sad to see it go though, it had a real Miami vibe and Carlos the bartender was the man.

[raw]

[squindar]

[Old Time Brooklyn]

It's the Curse of the Cleaners. Those people shouldn't have been booted out of that spot. Every restaurant since the cleaners left has failed.

[belzjm]

people used to say the corner of 7th avenue and 3rd street was "cursed"...

yet barrio seems to be sticking around.

[Zebra]

So is Miracle Grill. I am not a paranormalist but clearly someone has lifted the curse from that entire intersection.

I think the Landmark Pub space has become Park Slope's true haunted house.

[blinktoe]

I'd love a laundromat to go in there! With a bar where the Cabana bar was, so I can wash and drink simultaneously.

[belzjm]

i think you're onto something, blinktoe...

a launderette/bar could be a GREAT idea for a new business model!

could serve beer, smoothies, snacks, etc. while you wait!

[Carmen]

[Flexichick]

^exactly. I've seen it in other cities as well. I feel like this was tried on 7th Ave in the S. Slope once and it failed. Anybody remember something like that?
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Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball!

[whynot_31]

[belzjm]

oh cool...didn't know that already existed...

how about a launderette/video game arcade...

[metalnyc]

24hr Diner would survive there.

[pitu]

[blinktoe]

That's a real thing?! I thought I was so clever.

A 24 hour diner would work, too.

[Funkytoot]

Yep, a 24 diner would do GREAT there.

Some of us don't get home from work until around midnight. Of course it being Park Slope (with babies and widdle ones in bed so early) most places usually stop serving food around 10 p.m. High Dive has been a great place for drinks and popcorn after work, but a diner would be a great addition.

Good idea, yo!
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...under the sheets.

[Lo Kee]

[henrycurtis]

Bibi's, Night and Day, the bad BBQ place, Playa.....I think there was another one. People EXPECT a bad restaurant there - THAT is the curse. People are already skeptical. To make it on that corner, the new place has to be especially good.

How about a steak house!!! A good one!

[Jamzer]

[Jamzer]

Duds and Suds would flop in that location. Park Slope is not a college town. We are a have your own washer/dryer or pay for wash and fold kind of neighborhood (with some exception I am sure, but not enough to support this idea).

So what is my brilliant idea you ask? Good question. 24 hour diner is a good idea. I think a good BBQ place DONE RIGHT would do great too. What are the guys that started Fette Sau or the Smoke Joint up to??

[Carmen]

I think a laundrymat/bar would work swimmingly. My laundrymat is PACKED pretty much 24/7 (Ive gone on weekday mornings, mid day, evenings and weekend mornings) and its almost impossible to get more than one dryer without waiting. I personally would do laundry more often if I could make it a more "social" sort of thing..."oh, lets go grab a drink and I can do a small bunch of laundry while I'm there and not waste a sunday mornign on it!" The place where I'm from was a really cool kind of punk/dive spot (similar decor to Great Lakes but cleaner and with old retro washing machines and dryers) and the drinks were cheap, $1 pbr cans and the like. Something swanky with washing machines won't work, but Id love a place to go and have comfortable seats/ a beer while I kill my laundry time.

Also, maybe it's just me and my broke friends, but I only know one person who has a washer/dryer in PS and I can't/won't afford to do drop-off when I can do 3x as much spending the time myself (and I don't have to risk them melting my clothes...)
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whoa hey whoa hey whoa

[J0518]

I disagree that we expected a bad place when Playa opened. I wanted Playa to succeed. It had a pretty good pedigree, being that the guy behind it was the same guy behind Calle Ocho. at worst, I expected a place that could take on Bogota's overflow. I wanted a slightly more upscale take on Bogota that would be a nice change of pace. The food simply, to me, had absolutely no soul, and the fact that a place that had about 1/3 the capacity of Bogota could barely be half-full on most weekend nights was pretty much all you needed to know about its chances.

Maybe the "curse" means that people choose to open uninspired restaurants in that space. A Biscuit redo? Night and Day? Bibi's actually wasn't half-bad during the three days it was open.

Someone can do something with that space. Someone can do something with ANY space. It's not like half the places on 5th avenue opened up in spaces that were thriving before they were there (not to disrespect the spaces that were there beforehand.)

[henrycurtis]

[quote="J0518"]I disagree that we expected a bad place when Playa opened. I wanted Playa to succeed.


I wanted it to succeed as well. And I expected it to be pretty bad. Neither is mutually exclusive. To succeed, though, it helps to be good.

[belzjm]

it would have had a better time succeeding if the decor weren't so darn cheesy.

even if the food were stellar, i'm not sure i would have wanted to go into that place...

[xlizellx]

i have been trying to sell my husband on the "laundromat and ____" business model: laundromat and bar ... laundromat and coffee shop ... laundromat and bike rental place near the park ... laundromat and automat with wifi ... laundromat and ANYTHING that will get more income while people are trapped there watching their clothes. glad to hear i'm not the only one..

[1st_Streeter]

One 'nuevo latino' joint too many?

[blinktoe]

There are signs posted on it saying that it's guarded by security guards.

[joehill]

yeah, saw the security guard standing on the corner tonight. don't really get what the point of securing an empty restaurant is, especially when the security gates are down.

[whynot_31]

....you know that if you make this into a bar-laundry mat people would feel they have to dress up to do their laundry.

Isn't doing laundry one of the last times you can be grungy?

I'd hate for this to go away as well.
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Hey you! Enlighten up.

[Jamzer]

[xlizellx]

[belzjm]

jamzer:

we're getting one. the space on 5th next to cog and pearl (between berkeley and union) is becoming a "men's general store"

should be opening up soon.

[J0518]

[Flexichick]

Picked up by Brownstoner, along with speculation as to the reason for a security guard (read comments)

http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archiv.....this_the_slo.php#comments
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Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball!

[Old Time Brooklyn]

They forgot to mention Bibi's!

[LadyLibertine]

Even CNN (!) says that spot is cursed!

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/smallbusi.....rsed_locations.smb/5.html

(from FIPS)
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