Gone in 2015: NYC stores we’ll miss

You win some, you lose some. Sadly, in 2015 New York City lost some beloved stores, restaurants and movie theaters, most often due to rising rents. Even national chains with their deep pockets were not immune. RIP to these beloved NYC businesses:

NYC stores closed in 2015:

Toys R US closed its Times Square store on New Year’s Eve Eve, after 18 years. Gone are the huge Ferris Wheel and the endless displays of toys and games, including one of the largest selections o the planet of Star Wars: The Force Awakens action figures.

FAO Schwarz closed its iconic Fifth Avenue store. Gone are the stunning window display and wide array of toys, games, electronics, puzzles, and stuffed animals, and that popular piano featured in the Tom Hanks’ movie “Big.”  When they closed in July, USA Today reported they were looking for another location in Manhattan, but there hasn’t been another word about this since.

Crate and Barrel closed its huge flagship NYC store after 20 years, one block from FAO, leaving us desperate housewives only the small SOHO location or a suburban mall somewhere. The national chain told the Wall St. Journal simply that the rent was too high. And, probably too much competition from the even larger Williams-Sonoma, which also owns Pottery Barn and West Elm.

C. Wonder closed all its stores, including the one in the Time Warner Center, in the location which had been a Borders bookstore, before that chain went out of business in 2011.

Radio Shack. Chalk that one up to corporate mismanagement.

NYC movie theaters closed in 2015:

Tribeca Cinemas abruptly shut its doors last summer, to become part of a high-rent development.  Luckily, we still have the Film Forum a few blocks away for indie and vintage flicks, including a family-friendly Saturday series.

If you’ve lived in NYC long enough, or visited long ago, you’ll remember stores including Daffy Dan’s, Bonwit Teller, Gimbel’s, Best & Co., Orbach’s, Franklin Simon, and E. J. Korvette’s, which urban legend says  was named for the eight Jewish Korean War Veterans who opened it.

Here’s a bittersweet look at those by-gone and beloved discount and department stores.

What’s your favorite NYC store or theater that closed in 2015?  Add a comment or email us at info@nyconthecheap.com