Businesses get better deals on rent on Metropolitan Avenue in Forest Hills

Image source: Joe Shlabotnik on Flickr

The Real Deal published a piece about affordable rents on Metropolitan Avene, the other commercial strip in Forest Hills. Yes, Austin Street is the more prominent commercial area of that neighborhood, in part because of its close proximity to the 71st/Continental E/F/M/R subway station and its range of retail establishments, many of them upscale. But just about a mile south of that (a 15-20 minute walk from the subway) lies Metropolitan Avenue, home to some great restaurants and shops, and many of these business owners are saving quite a bit in rent by making it on Metropolitan.

There’s relative newcomer Danny Brown Wine Bar & Kitchen,  the only restaurant in Queens with a Michelin star; Wafa’s Lebanese Cuisine, which does brisk business (Eating in Translation’s Dave Cook profiled Wafa’s last spring in the NYT); the old timers Aigner Chocolates, who’ve been there for 80 years, and Eddie’s Sweet Shop, who’ve been there for over 100 years; and quirky German restaurant Chalet Alpina.

So what are these small businesses – old and new – paying in rent? $20 to $35 per square foot. As a contrast, rents on Austin Street run about $100 per square foot, and at one point were on par with Manhattan rents. Some small business owners, like My Kitchen owner Galik Ambarsom, moved to Metropolitan Avenue in order to pay less in rent. And larger retailers have discovered Metropolitan Avenue, too – for instance, the sole Trader Joe’s in Queens set up shop there about five years ago.

Affordable rents boost Forest Hills’ other retail strip [The Real Deal]