Manhattan Does It Better Updated

8/3/2019 Manhattan Does It Better Updated

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Creating a product that has never been

produced before means being the first

responsible for blazing a pathway to

success. Daniel Yaghoubi and Reuben

BenJehuda are headed down that path

with the inception of Pop Bar in May

2010. They are the purveyors of fine

stick house gelato and sorbetto the

first to introduce the product to the New

York City market. Stick house is a

unique Italian artisanal process that

creates hand-crafted gelato on a stick

in small batches of twenty four units.

Neither Reuben nor Daniel has had any

formal training as a ptissier, but when

they decided on their concept they

perfected their recipes through the age

old method of trial and error.

Once ready to open their

first store, they considered

a wide swath of

Manhattan

Neighborhoods. Their

Real Estate Services

Advisor, had found their

current location on

Carmine Street when the

former tenant, Beard

Papas Cream Puffs,

permanently shut their

doors. They said they

were undaunted by the

failure of another artisanal

dessert shop in the same

location because they felt

strongly that their product

would touch a larger

demographic then Beard

Papas ever had. Before

opening, they laboriously

studied the foot traffic

near 5 Carmine and

found that the

demographic

encompassed various

groups including tourists,

straphangers on their way

to and from local subway

stations, neighborhood

residents, NYU students,

but especially those that

appeared to be taking

leisurely after meal strolls

from the myriad dining

CONTD.

Frank Cuneo Inside Vertical Living July 2011 | Manhattan Real Es

5 Carmine Street, between Sixth Avenueand Bleecker Street. (212) 255-4874 www.pop-bar.com

establishments on Bleecker,

Carmine, Bedford, and

Downing

At this point the partners are

also not sweating their

competition in the

neighborhood (which

includes Grom Gelato and

LArte del Gelato amongst

others) as they believe theyoffer a memorable, fun,

and personable experience

that other gelaterias are

unable to replicate.

Within their partnership, roles

were divided based on

natural talent and

inclination. Both must still

approve of all decisions but

Daniel generally takes the

lead on design while Reuben

spearheads the

financials. Jokingly put by

Reuben, Daniel likes to

spend money and I try to

save it.

Even though their roles were

divided on paper, when it

comes down to it, [we each]

have to be able to do every

job, and when the store

opened they regularly

worked up to 14 hours per

day to build their business.

Because their core product is

intrinsically seasonal,

introducing items that will be

popular in the colder months

is important. However,

Daniel and Reuben are

adamant that such additions

should never distract from

their core product, but

rather, compliment it. Theyexperimented with coffee

but found that it interrupted

operations, resulting in lines

for the popbars while each

drink was prepared. They

have found that a better

compliment is the popular

hot chocolate on a stick

which is made with Belgian

chocolate and available in

dark chocolate and

caramel flavors.

Through their first winter

season they have learned

an important lesson about

their businessthere is still a

high demand for frozen

artisanal desserts, but

consumers tend to enjoy

them in different places,

namely home.

With this insight they have

begun pursuing external

sales to other gourmet

retailers as well as t

consumers interest

having them at we

birthday parties, Ba

Mitzvahs,

corporate events,

special occasions.

Additionally, they a

offering pre-made

Packs and miniP

the store. The Vari

intended to be tak

to enjoy and consi

pack of pops with

flavors that are pa

a custom designed

bag for convenien

travel. The miniPop

the size of the origi

are generally mad

Daniel and Reuben

Tips to small busine

Youre never going

100% right. Get it 1

in your head, but b

for things to chang

fast. And of course

have to love your p


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In 1938 the original Bowlmor

Lanes opened its doors in the

heart of Greenwich Village at

110 University Place. During the

golden age of bowling from

the '40s to '60s, Bowlmor Lanes

was at the forefront of the

bowling revolution, hosting the

prestigious Landgraf

Tournament in 1942 and one of

the first televised bowling

tournaments in 1955. In 1958,

Vice President Richard Nixon

famously bowled at the lanes.

Through the 70's and 80's

Bowlmor Lanes was home to

the top bowlers in the sport and

became a regular hangout for

village hipsters. But towards the

90's, as the popularity of

bowling as a sport declined, so

did the condition of the

bowling alley. In 1994, Darden

Business School Graduate Tom

Shannon attended a birthday

party at the then dilapidated

and financially strapped

Bowlmor Lanes. The young

entrepreneur was instantly

inspired by its character and

history. Shannon, although not

knowing right away what kind

of challenges the current

owners of Bowlmor Lanes were

dealing with, knew that this was

the type of place he wanted to

use his creativity and instincts to

transform. After three years of

research and planning on how

to build a viable business out of

bowling, Shannon secured

financing and purchased

Bowlmor Lanes. His vision - to

inject the tired business with hip

design elements, dramatic

architecture and a complete

remodel of the internal

operations. In essence,

Shannon's goal was to make

bowling cool again. By 1999,

Bowlmor Lanes became the

highest-grossing bowling alley in

the United States. Today it

stands as the longest

contiguously running bowling

alley on the East Coast.

Following the incredible success

of Bowlmor Lanes in New York

City, Shannon knew that he

could bring the Bowlmor

concept across the country

and in 2001, STRIKE

Bethesda opened to

accolades in suburban

Washington, D.C. a year later,

STRIKE Long Island was

unveiled, a cavernous

underground space housing 35

lanes of bowling, a full-service

restaurant and four bars. In

November 2004, the 34

lane STRIKE Miami opened in

the Dolphin Mall in the Doral

section of the city, featuring a

giant, state of the art sports

themed restaurant. STRIKE

Cupertino (Silicon Valley) ,

CA opened in the summer of

2007 and STRIKE Orange

County, CA opened in the

summer of 2008. In the fall of

2010, Bowlmor Lanes plans to

unveil its most ambitious project

to date InTimes Square. All

properties now operate under

the Bowlmor Lanes name.


Men - No baggy jeans and/or attire, work boots, baseball caps, athletic gplain white t-shirts, clothing with offensive or discriminatory contentWomen - No baseball caps, work boots, clothing with offensive or discrimin


3/9

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5/9Frank Cuneo Inside Vertical Living July 2011 | Manhattan Real Es

AT first glance, 255Hudson Street looks likea typical SoHocondominium, with a

soaring glass facade,million-dollar listingsand a chic designerlobby. But despitehaving housedentertainment figureslike Bethenny Frankeland Kirsten Dunst, thisbuilding has more incommon with aconservative ParkAvenue co-op than acelebrity-friendlydowntown high rise.

The condominium, justnorth of Canal Street,has a 13-pageapplication thatrequires buyers toprovide multiple yearsof tax returns, bankstatements, andpersonal and businessreferences. Tell me

how this is muchdifferent than buying ina co-op? said abroker whorepresented an Italianman who bought a

one-bedroom in thebuilding earlier thisyear.As a foreigner, the

buyer lacked much ofthe necessarydocumentation andhad to spend weekshaving his paperworktranslated into Englishand converted intodollars before he couldclose.I now tell all my clientsthat condoapplications are simplyco-op applicationswith the word condoslapped on them, TheBroker said.David Adler, the boardpresident at 255Hudson Street, who isalso the chiefexecutive and founderof BizBash Media,defended thebuildings vettingprocess. Our board

application is asstandard as theycome for condos rightnow, he said. We dobest practices and ourmanagement

company advises us ifthey see any redflags.In the wake of the

recession, anincreasing number ofcondominium boardsare hoping to weedout financiallyquestionable buyersby requiring extensiveapplication packages.Demands can includeyears worth of federaltax returns, detailedlists of all assets andliabilities, several lettersof references, andeven board interviews.These buildings arewaging a war ofattrition, forcingpotential residents tosupply extensivedocumentation in thehopes that those whoappear to be afinancial risk will walkaway of their own

volition.Existing condominiumsbuying in a newbuilding is still arelatively simpleprocessare turning

to this strategybecause they have noreal power to reject anapplicant. The only

tool at their disposal isthe right of first refusal,which allowscondominium boardsthat are unhappy witha buyer to purchasethe unit themselves ordesignate a buyer forthe same price. Butfew buildings canafford to do so.It is a bullying strategycondominiumbullying, said AdamLeitman Bailey, aManhattan real estatelawyer. If acondominium has aquestionable buyer,theyll just keep askingfor more and moreinformation, draggingthings out, until thebuyer walks away.But condo boards say

they are merelydefending the interestsof existing residents. Inthe downturn, manyowners stoppedpaying common

charges, andcondominiums hadlittle recourse torecoup their money. In

case of a default, thecity is first in line torecover outstandingreal estate taxes orother charges,followed by themortgage lender. Thecondominium is third inline, and usually all itcan do is file a lienagainst the propertyand hope that it will berepaid when theapartment is sold.Because thecondominiums poweris limited, it is a matterof fiduciary duty to findstrong buyers, said CarlSeligson, the boardpresident of CarnegieHill Tower, at 40 East94th Street. In anygiven month, aboutthree apartments in

the 180-unit buildinghave not paid theirmonthly charges ontime; none havedefaulted, he said.Among the buildings

applicationrequirements are taxreturns, referenceletters and a full

description of all bankaccounts and assets. Itused to request boardinterviews, but weeliminated theinterview processbecause we didntthink it was necessary,Mr. Seligson said. Tolimit transient residents,the building alsorequires that sublets befor at least one year.Condo boardrequirements run thegamut. At the TimeWarner Center, wheremany buyers areforeign, it is notnecessary to submitfederal tax returns. Thebuilding does requirethat in addition togeneral liabilityinsurance of $1 million,

owners have a $5million umbrella policyto


6/9Frank Cuneo Inside Vertical Living July 2011 | Manhattan Real Es

cover any unforeseencosts, like an accidental fireor damage incurred duringa renovation. On the UpperEast Side, 215 East 80thStreet has a 67-pageapplication that requiresthree business referenceletters and three personalreference letters for eachapplicant. And at Towerson the Park, acondominium at 110thStreet and Central ParkWest, the applicationpacket requires potentialowners to list all assets and

two years worth of taxreturns, to be certified byan accountant.

Some condo ownerspurchase through a limitedliability company or otherbusiness entity, and in thosecases a number of buildingsrequire that the principalpersonally guarantee someexpenses, such as monthlycommon charges and

assessments. In other casesa condo may require asecurity deposit, saidRonald H. Gitter, a real

estate lawyer. In the past,condominiums would justask for a simple financialstatement, said aseasoned broker, but now,due to the financial crisis,even the most exclusiveluxury buildings are askingfor supporting documents.Dani Bar-David wassurprised that he had tosubmit reams of financialinformation when hebought two Manhattancondominiums asinvestments. Mr. Bar-David,who lives and works in New

Jersey, bought units at 360East 88th Street and 372Central Park West, wherethe applications were 40pages and 60 pages,respectively. They wantedso much information, youwould think they were theones who were going toown the apartments, notme, he said.The Broker whorepresented Mr. Bar-David

in the purchases, agreed.The paperwork wasextensive, especially giventhese were condominiums,

he said. It is the condoboards, and not themanagement companies,that decide on the extentof the applicationpackage, said, thepresident of Cooper SquareRealty, which manages 372Central Park West and 360East 88th Street. Somebuildings are veryparticular, while others thatare mostly investor-ownedhave very generalrequirements, he said. Onthe whole, the generalflavor right now is that

condominiums are growingmore cautious.While it is still the exception,some condominiums areexecuting the right of firstrefusal more readily, saidStuart M. Saft, the chairmanof the Council of New YorkCooperatives andCondominiums, a tradeorganization. In the last 12to 18 months, Ive seen atleast 10 situations where the

board bought theapartment or designatedanother buyer to buy it,said Mr. Saft, who is also the

chairman of the law firmDewey & LeBoeufs globalreal estate department.A Seasoned broker said,The brokerage communityis in la-la land if they thinkthat just because its acondo, that every deal willgo through.When the broker isrepresenting sellers, he orshe makes potential buyerssubmit a detailed offerform, to ensure that theyare financially secure. Andevery time, without fail,where the property is a

condominium, the first thingwe get is an angrytelephone call from thebuyers broker telling ushow dare we ask all thisinformation.But it isnt just condos thatare being more cautious.Co-ops also arestrengthening theirrequirements, said BarbaraFox, president of FoxResidential Group. In fact,

the only building types thatdont have excessiveapplication processes arenew developments, brokers

say. Right now in New YorkCity, the only place thatyou are not being askedquestions is when you buyin new construction.


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