Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Tough times for Green Lanes?
There seems to be a managed decline going on Green Lanes over the last few months with shops and restaurants with very few customers or empty shops standing idle.
When we moved here over 10 years ago there were queues outside Gokyuzu and Devran on a weekend. Now Devran has rebranded (again) with weird décor and still is mostly empty.
Umut (butchers) has a sign up saying 'under new management' - didn't it only open less than a year ago.
Costa has closed down - but way too close to the larger outlet in the shopping centre.
A barbers has stood closed with nearly all of the fittings installed opposite to Iceland.
Hanedan has been empty for almost a year.
Bucking the trend are Music and Beans, Dusty Knuckle (can they ever bake enough for the Saturday crowd), 33 Grocery Store, Stamp, and Brouhaha. And of course the Sailsbury.
Couple of musings - How do the shops / restaurants with practically no custom survive? Why is the high street not evolving? Yoga studio, vets, play cafe etc....
I know the high street has it tough but I can't believe there isn't enough demand around here for more.
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by JamesN on
-
Contrary to the results of our politicians' incessant Bonnie Blue-like appeals to the private sector, the free market is actually very efficient in some regards. The high street is usually one of the most immediate and accurate barometers of policy, income, and economic change. Green Lanes is no different.
People are skint.
A £6 loaf from Dusty Knuckle is the closest many are getting to the middle-class dream of years past. Rents and taxes mean that yoga studios are a non-starter; anything involving feeding/watering parents and their kids is a financial and psychological nightmare; pet ownership is thankfully in decline; and retail is still on the chiller in the morgue.
I am still surprised by Yasar Halim though... I haven't been there for a few years but it used to be a hive of activity. It's now nearly empty every time I pass.
-
-
I would disagree - Dusty Knuckle seems to be doing really well. And our local vet (West Green) is full - so lots of demand. With the amount of empty shops on GL, feels like some rent is better than no rent - and there is always demand for yoga!
Also, how do the 'zombie' shops / restaurants survive?
-
Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
-
I think part of the problem is similar businesses chasing the same clientele.
-
Permalink Reply by Martin (Woodside) on
-
Indeed, the bubble had to burst eventually.
-
Permalink Reply by Maddy on
-
The massive price increase in a restaurant meal on Green Lanes over the last few years can't be helping. It used to be a good place for cheap local eats, but the last one we had cost us £80 for two, sharing a starter and without any alcohol or dessert. There are probably good reasons all round for these increases but it does make one think twice!
-
Permalink Reply by Mavic Starfish on
-
And conversely “Baby Cakes” ice cream parlour has just opened. Perkyns cafe/ deli is going strong, Bind yoga, Greedys Fish & Chips & a new yet to be named shop at the end of Langham Rd. All within metres of each other. Plus a Brazilian butcher just on the next corner - I suspect rental is more reasonable but it’s also a good mix. Still mourning the loss of Buonissimo/ Passion et Tradizione - just a bit too early for the revival of West Green.
-
-
Still mourning the loss of Buonissimo/ Passion et Tradizione
The replacement seems very popular, although I'm not quite sure what it is.
This is what is meant to be coming at the end of Langham https://www.mpmoran.co.uk/
Just a shame that the Green Gate didn't take off and is standing empty.
-
-
I wonder how this new place will fare against B&Q on the High Road.
-
-
It looks to be more of a trade/serious DIY place (Screwfix/Toolstation style) than B&Q. I wonder how it will cope with the lack of parking though.
-
Permalink Reply by kotkas on
-
Nothing wrong with a bit of creative destruction. Many of the Turkish places (aside from Nawroz and Kofteci Metin) are gaudy merchants of virtually identical fare, much of which is industrially produced/from frozen, and part of the Turkish wholesale supply chain. Moreover it is increasingly expensive, while at the same time portions are much smaller.
Good riddance to Hanedan and hopefully a few others to come in the future. Only after a reset in terms of occupancy will commercial rents come down to a point where more interesting and diverse businesses will consider serting up shop on our stretch of Green Lanes. I won’t comment on how a few mainstays remain operational for years, with little to no clientele (while corporate operations like Costa and Papa Johns close down)..
-
-
Type 'barber shop laundering' into youtube.
You could do the same with nail shops, vape shops and kebab shops and find similar results.
HMRC doesn't have the inclination, resources or political will to sit outside the shops, count the customers over a defined period and cross check the observable data with the shop owners' tax returns.
© 2025 Created by Hugh.
Powered by
