31-08 Steinway St. (QueensPost)
Aug. 16, 2018 By Christian Murray
Two large retail stores are closing on Steinway Street.
Fallas, the discount store located at 31-08 Steinway, is expected to be gone by the end of October, while Gap Kids, located next door, is in the process of being wound down and transitioned into a Banana Republic Factory store.
Fallas is being shut down stemming from its parent company, National Stores, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week. The company is closing 74 Fallas stores across 18 states, including its Astoria location as well as two other stores in Queens. Those stores are in Rosedale and Jamaica.
National Stores, which aims to return to financial health, currently operates 344 stores under the names Conway’s, Fallas and Factory 2-U. The company is in the process of closing stores under the Fallas brand.
National Stores is the latest casualty of the bankruptcy wave sweeping the U.S. retail sector, as shoppers increasingly turn to the internet for their purchases. Recent bankruptcies include Toys R Us and Nine West.
Meanwhile, Gap Kids, located at 31-02 Steinway St., is in the process of closing. The store, however, will be replaced by Banana Republic Factory, which is a division of Gap Inc.
Gap is in the process of restructuring its brands. For instance, the company closed its Gap location at 31-48 Steinway St. on May 15 and is in the process of remodeling the space and converting it into a Gap Factory store.
Gap Kids at 31-02 Steinway St. (QueensPost)
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50 Comments
Better stores on Steinway most definitely. It’s not just expensive stores but more creative innovative spaces well thought out to fit the new Steinway. This could be a resurgence versus the death of. I agree that brick and mortar are the fabric of how we support our neighborhood. One of our biggest problems is the now over population of Astoria with the residential building boom. You have clearly saturated the area but we do not have the infrastructure to accommodate the masses. While Amazon sounds great when you need meds in the middle of the night its the CVS, RiteAids and Walgreens that are available and reliable. They also sell beer,milk and other items. But what you would like to see is more life again on Steinway. The death of Steinway has somewhat occured by greed and also the generation that wants nothing but convenience, time at the gym, trendy cafes and restaurants with no real allegiance or loyalty. You can’t have it all. The disconnection of humanity continues and the need for speed and technology has taken over. There is a stand out benchmark business which some should look towards if you want to see a how a successful brick and mortar can survive and thrive #Lockwood, 5 stores and opening a 6th. For today’s youngins think about progress and what you want the future to look like. Put your $$ where your month is and help your community thrive.
Someone should open an indoor flea market near the subways on steinway st——100 gated spaces x $2000.per space is a monthly rent haul of $200,00—That is around $70.per day for each merchant—-THE STREET FAIR VENDORS SPEND OVER TWICE THAT AMOUNT , DURING EACH AND EVERY FAIR—SO-RICH GUY WITH GUTS-SAVE THE STREET & get rich(er)–JUST DO IT
So sad…there’s still poor people like me who most of my income goes to the rent and look forward to $3.99 tee shirts in the summer.
I agree—Steinway St needs to become a “hub” for outlet stores—In that way we can draw (more) people,from other areas .At least half of Steinway shoppers are “crazy, bargain seekers” who never stop begging .
What’s strange is that big box retailers Marshals and Target are going to open up on Ditmars instead of Steinway. Plus I heard the old ABC store on 31st street in Ditmars will become Old Navy.
Because all the wealthy Greeks and other hipsters live on the Ditmars side. It has always been the nicer side of Astoria. 30th Ave is like a foreign country and getting worse every damn day. Steinway is dead.
Toy’s R Us went bankrupt because of the vulture capitalist of Bain Capital forcing a leveraged buyout on the company, not just because more people are shopping online. Put blame where blame belongs.
Hey Costas, those crosswalks and traffic lights made a real difference.
Good riddance to Fallas-the place was always in shambles and was stocked to the rafters with some of the crappiest merchandise I have ever seen.
Me no like store close No place to shoplift
We need more plus size store with fitting rooms on Steinway St. We need stores with better quality clothing. Give us a Target, TJ Max, Walmart, Nordstrom Rack, etc. Build up the shopping center with stores, We need better restaurants, McDonald’s SUCKS, they need some stiff competition, both the food and employee service, they also need to hire more of a variety of nationalities and not just one kind. Bring a BOSTON MARKET, 711, Popeyes, Burger King, Wendy’s , more factory outlet stores, Old Navy. We have too many banks, junky restaurants that only lasts a couple months, bars, bars and more bars. A bakery where anyone can sit and have a cup of coffee and a pastry. Wake up Steinway St. you’re going down the drain. I’ve been living here for 30yrs and its not getting any better, i have to shop in Bklyn for plus size clothes. I hope Payless stays.
Maybe you wouldn’t need to shop for plus size clothes if you laid off the fast food and baked goods.
HA!
McDonald’s + Size = you do the math! We need more gyms
A Dallas BBQ, Outback and 5 Guys would be nice.
Popeye’s, Burger King, Wendy’s were all on Steinway and left. Old Navy just closed recently. There’s no building big enough for a Walmart or Target except the old Astoria Theater at Steinway and 30th.
Maybe we need more gyms
I am sorry to hear they are closing. You could find some inexpensive, casual clothes there. Online shopping is fine, but there really is nothing like the hands on, try it on, store shopping experience. Hoping for useful stores on Steinway.
I’ll take a Gap and Banana Republic factory store over the two crap stores they are replacing any day.
It’s not just Steinway, store closures like this are happening all over NYC and the country. There’s a good article link below regarding the recent vacancy increase in Manhattan retail, especially for small clothing and electronic stores. Even the big chain stores are downsizing and focusing more online. Amazon, more women joining the workforce and just overall changing shopping habits are the main cause. Most of Steinway stores will eventually become restaurants, cafes and bars.
https://nypost.com/2018/04/07/the-worlds-hottest-shopping-city-is-becoming-a-ghost-town/
No kidding; did you read about the store that’s closing in Independence, MO? Of course not, this site is about local closings, ones that are occurring here in Western Queens. The retail market has been in flux for 15+ years now but when local stores are affected, THAT’S when you’ll read about it in our local news site. This website isn’t about Manhattan or the national retail market. (PS – I doubt “more women joining the workforce” is playing a large role in these trends, women joined the workforce a long time ago and have been dominant in retail for many, many years. There are many other economic and social issues in effect that are far more relevant.)
If only Costa added those crosswalks a little earlier these two stores might have been saved!
And what exactly would you have done to save those stores?
Companies should all just offer free same day delivery and free returns.
That’s what people want. Going to a store is so last year.
Yeah sure. It’s sooo “last year” to get away from your computer once in a while and actually feel & touch & see & hear & taste & compare & try on the merchandise in person. Nothing will ever replace that in-person shopping experience, no matter how much they try to scam you into believing that it’s the cool & hip thing to do everything online nowadays. You’re being deceived and manipulated while local stores are suffering as a result.
When all your local and mom & pop stores are gone perhaps you’ll be singing a new tune (unless you’re so brainwashed that you don’t even realize what you’ve lost):
“Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
‘Till it’s gone
They paved paradise
And they put up a parking lot..”
“They paved Paradise and put up a parking lot.”
There are plenty of people around here that would support that if the parking were free. ?
I lived in Astoria for years and they never made convenient for the big men and women give me a big and tall clothing store on Steinway too everything is for these slim people.
Hopefully they can be replaced by ANOTHER Bank, Phone Store, or “Specialized” Gym! ?
Would love to have a mini Walmart near by
FRANKIE ON THE CORNER IS STILL KILLIN IT THOUGH !!!!!!! XIOS BABY XIOS !!!!!!!
They suck. King Souvlaki truck on 31st ave and 31st street is the best!
Souvlaki Wars! Ha!
Souvlaki lady on Ditmars would win.
Franky on 31 avenue best street souvlaki in Astoria.
The store is closing because the company is going under. It’s going under because they sell really poor quality stuff that no one wants.
Truer words were never spoken. I moved out 5 years ago after 54 years in the neighborhood. I was a third generation resident with grandparents who moved in in the 20s. Unless you own your own home, your goose is cooked.
WHEN THE LANDLORD JACKED UP THE RENT 20,OOO A MONTH ,THE PET STORE ON ROOSERVELT IS CLOSING TOO!@!
The conversion of Gap Kids into another outlet store is another indicator of the downward slide of Steinway Street. Without some kind of clean up, better stores, including local ones are just not going to take the chance of opening there.
Except for the the big chain stores (Gap/Express/Models/Footlocker), the rest of Steinway will convert to eating and drinking establishments. Small clothing store retailers are slowly dying to Amazon.
Change is good better stores are needed better clothing better everything steinway has nothing to make you go out of your way for
I rather travel to brooklyn or Jamaica Ave. I dont mind the gyms on Steinway Street, however, it seems as thought stores open up and when I return in a few months later there in the process of closing.
Then maybe we can replace these big wastes of space and instead convert them into affordable housing. Just a thought.
While it is definitely important to maintain some sort of a commercial center for a community and not just rely on online shopping, at the end of the day getting rid of an eyesore like Fallas is not a bad thing.
Good…filthy and outdated with tacky clothes. Let other businesses have a chance.
Steinway clothing retail stores are dying. It will soon be replaced by restaurants, bars & cafes.
would love to have a Trader Joe’s in either empty store..
“Amazon Retail Massacre” = the downsizing and closing of brick and mortar retail (clothing/electronic/toy) stores due to growing ecommerce companies like Amazon.
That’s so sad! ?
Outlet stores are the last hope for Steinway to cash in on the many lower working class residents in the area that shop there.
Many lower working class residents are getting pushed out of Astoria by gentrification. Even those still living in cheap rent stabilized apartments are struggling to keep up with the increases and will eventually have to relocate. Young, upper middle class yuppies are moving in and they mostly shop online or in Manhattan. I saw the same exact thing happen to neighborhoods in Brooklyn.
Even the outlet stores won’t last very long.
I lived in brooklyn years ago, but what is going on in Astoria is not quite the same. Steinway is just falling into disrepair and vacancy. In the Bklyn neighborhoods I lived in it was about local businesses being pushed out by much more expensive ones. Steinway is the opposite. Residential rent is a different issue, and if we don’t get a handle on the greedy developers tearing down old bldgs and replacing them with glass-plated, thin-walled, unregulated apts. the future is not good.