Annie Fairman Plywood went up today on the corner of East 11th Street and Avenue A, where on Monday a construction worker told The Local that the former home of Bar On A would become a 7-Eleven. The owner of Tompkins Square Bagels isn’t taking the development lying down: commenting on Monday’s post, Christopher Pugliese (never shy about the corporate convenience store) said his bagel shop would deliver “a full-service smack-down” to its new neighbor across the street.
Don’t worry about Tompkins Square Bagels. We are going to pummel 7 Eleven. This isn’t Long Island or a truck stop off I-95; microwaved eggs and push button cappuccino out of a fountain isn’t going to cut it here. We look forward handing Joe DePinto and crew a full service smack down the likes of which will they have never experienced and will relish the embarrassment the failure of their Avenue A store will bring to the entire 7 Eleven corporation. It’s on boys and I’m going to win.
Mr. Pugliese’s comment came in response to this one, from reader MarcellaD.
This strikes me as a particularly sensitive and inappropriate place for a 7-11. That block is lined with local businesses (such as Tompkins Square Bagels) that will undoubtedly be hit hard, and the block’s character will definitely be affected by the presence of a chain store.
Another commenter argued that the “character of a neighborhood” was the least of 7-Eleven’s concerns:
Its all about killer rent. If they can get more rent by gettin tgif fridays, they will. I watch in dismay as nyc becomes a giant college campus and frat party. Really sad — an observer
Another local chimed in:
The ev will continue to be taken over by chains and small business owners will slowly die out if the city doesn’t make an effort to help keep them there. Bars, restaurants and coffee shops are the living rooms of this city, not 7elevens. — evBartender
And still another commenter agreed (reluctantly) that a bar was preferable to a chain store.
God no…. All the 7-11s are identical and lack any character… Never thought I’d say this, but I’d prefer a loud bar over a yet another cookie-cutter overpriced convenience store. — Mana
On Facebook, readers reacted with comments like, “Disgusting,” “Another one? Gimme a break!”, and “Bleh. Is there a way to formally complain?” Roger Jack Walters wrote:
The anti-mom-and-pop virus is now spreading to previously uninfected areas of the East Village. Scary!
One comment we didn’t get: thank heaven for 7-Eleven.
