Closed for Business: Fortune Ave Inc., 333 Flatbush Avenue

Fortune Avenue, the discount store on Flatbush Avenue between Park and Prospect, has closed. 

The shop specialized in household items, off-brand toiletries, toys, and furnishings, and the majority of items sold there were very inexpensive. I dropped in a couple times looking for basics like candles, but could never find exactly what I was looking for. With no shortage of places to find these types of items nearby (Duane Reade, Target, etc.), their furtune eventually ran out (sorry, couldn't resist). 

Closed for Business: Lilo Custom Tailor, 145 5th Avenue

The small tailor shop on Fifth between St. John's and Lincoln has shut down, a month after it was put up for sale.

Called Lilo (although you wouldn't know it by the sign), the shop apparently turned out some quality work but the operator developed a reputation for rude service and turning potential customers away. The Yelp reviews aren't pretty.

The for sale sign came down about a week before it closed, so we'll most likely know who the next tenant will be soon.

Closed for Business: Rachel's Tattoo and Beauty Salon, 467 5th Avenue

Rachel's Tattoo and Beauty Salon, which opened on Fifth Avenue between 11th and 12th Streets in January of 2011, closed down for good recently. The space is currently up for rent.

The parlor was certainly cool looking, a with a relaxed vibe, inexpensive haircuts, and a DJ frequently on duty, but the Yelp reviews pretty much tell the story. It gained a reputation for indifferent employees, botched haircuts, a desire to get the customer in and out as quickly as possible, and shoddy tattoo jobs. The shop never seemed to attract regular customers, and every time I walked by it was nearly empty. The windows got more and more cluttered with lettering over time as well, a sure sign that business was lacking.

I was intrigued by this place and its quirkiness when it first opened, and always liked its handmade sign. Shame that it seemed to fail in execution.

Closed for Business: Impeccable Attire, 172 Fifth Avenue

It only opened last November, but Impeccable Attire, the high-end t-shirt/ "street culture"-oriented apparel shop on Fifth between Degraw and Sackett, has already closed.

When it first opened, owner Wayne Fortune, a British transplant, told me that the merchandise, focused on the flagship $40 "Brooklyn Bloke" black and white t-shirt, would be "adult-oriented and classy, something you can wear in the evening." He kept his shop sparse and signless, apparently in an effort to keep it edgy and gallery-like, but it ended up just keeping it anonymous and curb appeal-free. The merchandise also didn't really have much of a market, which didn't help.

This storefront was the previous home to Fifth Eye Optix, and is presided over by a notoriously difficult landlord. Hopefully the next tenant has better luck.

Fornino Park Slope Auctions Itself Off

If we needed any more proof that the Fornino on Fifth Avenue between Garfield and Carroll was closed for good, it presented itself yesterday in the form of an auction.

The restaurant, which opened to great fanfare early in 2010 but was most likely just too big to maintain, closed rather suddenly in the beginning of February and the owners didn't take much with them. According to the auction's web page, on offer were "200 chairs, 50 tables, cooking equipment, refrigerators, work tables, sinks, Hobart mixers, and more."

It really appears as if literally everything in the restaurant was up for grabs; the 80-plus photos on that page show the ice machine, computers, liquor, the sound system, dishes, pots and pans, lighting fixtures, beer taps, canned goods, high chairs, and even chef's whites. The photo up top is from Saturday afternoon, when it was being set up.

There have been plenty of rumors floating around about a potential new tenant lined up for the space, but from what I can gather nothing has yet been set in stone. This is a big, high profile space, though, right in the middle of one of the city's main restaurant rows, and the next occupant could have the potential to alter the character of the whole strip.