Playa Cabana Bar closed already

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?

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

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.

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...

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.

"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.

Subject: Re: Playa & Cabana Bar closed already

joehill wrote: 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?

Don't be a Playa Hater!

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...

Subject: Re: Playa & Cabana Bar closed already

Carnivore wrote: [quote=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?

Don't be a Playa Hater!

Playa Smayah .....I love going to the beach!

Seriously...I do think that the "curse" takes hold when a bad restaurant opens and then closes in the same location and that repeats itself 3 or 4 times. Of course it is not the location. It has got to a "bad" business plan to begin with or a start up business that is under-capitalized or, or ,or... list some other failure formulas.

But it is NOT the location.

I am sure we can develop a list of seemingly wonderful locations that have this track record of failed businesses again and again in the spot. And some on that list would be the same owner in different recarnations of business and some completely different owners and different business concepts as well.

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.

belzjm wrote: 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...

Wrong. If the owners of Al di la opened a restaurant at that CURSED location, the new restaurant and Al di la would die.

Someone on 5th Avenue is screaming: "You moved the cemetery, but you left the bodies, didn't you? You son of a bitch, you left the bodies and you only moved the head stones. You only moved the head stones. Why? Why?"

raw wrote:
Wrong. If the owners of Al di la opened a restaurant at that CURSED location, the new restaurant and Al di la would die.

What about the Wine Bar?

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.

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

yet barrio seems to be sticking around.

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.

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

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!

belzjm wrote: 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!

This is not a new business model, we had one in my hometown. It was a laundrymat/bar on one floor (with pool tables and barfood but nothing messy) and the second floor was a music/art venue. It was super popular with us college kids that had no washing machine

^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?

Carmen wrote: [quote=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!

This is not a new business model, we had one in my hometown. It was a laundrymat/bar on one floor (with pool tables and barfood but nothing messy) and the second floor was a music/art venue. It was super popular with us college kids that had no washing machine

it was called "SUDS" where I went to school.

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

how about a launderette/video game arcade...

24hr Diner would survive there.

metalnyc wrote: 24hr Diner would survive there.

^^^ bingo! That would be excellent.

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

A 24 hour diner would work, too.

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!

whynot_31 wrote: [quote=Carmen][quote=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!

This is not a new business model, we had one in my hometown. It was a laundrymat/bar on one floor (with pool tables and barfood but nothing messy) and the second floor was a music/art venue. It was super popular with us college kids that had no washing machine

it was called "SUDS" where I went to school.

I once went to a "duds and suds" with this paradigm, in Cincinnatti, many, many
moons ago.

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!

henrycurtis wrote: 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!

How would you know? There has never been anything but bad restaurants in that space. I'm telling you, put something good and unique and that location will rock. I like the steak house idea!

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??

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...)

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.)