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Seen & Heard: Gotan No Longer Accepts Cash
••• The windows at 1 White southeast corner of W. Broadway, next to Clementine) are unpapered. The Department of Buildings paperwork says the space will be a restaurant, but I spoke with the owner, who said nothing has been decided.
••• The notice in the window at 94 Reade (where Tribeca Treats was) says that Torishin yakitori restaurant’s liquor-license application will be discussed at tomorrow’s Community Board 1 Licensing Committee meeting, but the CB1 agenda doesn’t mention it. I’m hoping for clarification from CB1. UPDATE: It has been added to the CB1 agenda.
••• I did receive from CB1 the info sheet about the liquor-license application for Fish Republic at 139 Duane. The proprietor is Efraim Bason, who has a seafood business—wholesale, retail, and restaurant—called Out of the Blue that’s based in Hampton Bays, with an outpost in the Bronx. I haven’t been able to reach Bason, which is a shame because I’d love to know whether there’s a chance of a retail component at Fish Republic. (I won’t be able to attend the CB1 Licensing meeting.) Out of the Blue’s restaurant menu is pretty standard East End seafood restaurant stuff; perhaps Fish Republic will step it up a bit for the big city.
••• C. reports that Gotan has joined the ranks of businesses no longer accepting cash. And I had no idea it had spawned cafés in Midtown Chelsea, and Williamsburg (with one in Harlem on the way).
••• The gallery at 72 Warren is evidently called On the Fringe. Its next show opens tomorrow: “Passerby” by Japanese watercolor artist Michiyo Fukushima. “Passerby follows the artists work spanning 15 years. As a native of Japan, she considers herself a Passerby in NYC, capturing the enduring Effigies, City Scenes and the under-noticed
visuals that might have a lasting impression on our hearts and minds.”
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http://www.grubstreet.com/2018/11/cashless-restaurants-cafes-problems.html
” […] The consensus among small-business owners is that eliminating cash streamlines operations, makes better use of resources (staff don’t have to waste time doing banking or washing their hands after handling paper money), speeds up wait times for customers, and eliminates the risk of theft, either by third parties or workers. […]
“This is a common line of thinking among cashless owners — ‘In New York City everybody carries a credit card or a debit card!’ Falco proclaims in his Visa video — but the belief that everyone has access to a card likely only applies to these owners’ target audience. According to the latest national survey by the FDIC, about 6.5 percent of American households (which is about 8.4 million) do not have a bank account, and an additional 18.7 percent are what’s called ‘underbanked,’ which means they are more likely to rely on cash day-to-day. In New York state, almost 25 percent of all households — and nearly half of black and Hispanic households — are unbanked or underbanked. […]”
I am not thrilled with this cashless trend. At Joe and the Juice, which only takes cards, they are pushing you to then give a tip of 15% or 20% for counter service, which to me is excessive.
I used to love Gotan but have stopped going because they have had a B rating for almost a year.
The restaurant actually has a “grade pending” sign up right now.
A previous post said that (Fish Republic) the new tenant of the space that was Blaue Gans (and, before that, Le Zinc) had papered or painted over the great posters on the wall there. Hoping that has not happened, and that whoever has taken over the space will keep the art on the wall, or at least offer the posters for sale, unless (gads) they have been pasted on the wall. And let’s hope the new tenant keeps that fine zinc bar, too.
As a small business owner who takes cash, I oftentimes consider eliminating cash from my shop. The number of counterfeit bills we have seen would blow your mind. While we have caught most of them, I have lost about $200 in 18 months. And no, the counterfeit pens don’t always work. Professionals make very good bills and they oftentimes slip past trained staff who are busy helping customers. Credit card fees are very high, but it’s a small price to pay for the simplicity of not having to count cash drawers, re-count because of a counting error, worry about fake bills, deal with people trying to convince us they gave us a 20 when we know they gave us a 10, etc. It’s a constant battle.