Open for Business: Starbucks Coffee, 164 Park Place

It's been just over three months since Five Guys closed up shop on Park Place between Seventh and Flatbush Avenues, and this morning a Starbucks opened up in the space. It's nicely laid out, has plenty of seating, and seems primed to be a gold mine for the company.

If Five Guys, which replaced a long-running stationery store in 2011, didn't take full advantage of the ample space, this Starbucks does. There's room for about 50 to sit comfortably, at communal tables, on individual leather chairs, and at cafe-style tables. The walls are painted a neutral gray, and the large front windows let in a lot of natural light.

A handful of folks had already taken advantage of the wi-fi and had camped out for the day. That combined with commuters stopping in on their way to or from the subway and others looking for their caffeine fix should all but guarantee that this Starbucks doesn't meet the same fate as its fast food predecessor.

Open for Business: Stoop Juice, 443 Seventh Avenue

Stoop Juice, the juice, smoothie, and healthy snack shop, opened recently on Seventh Avenue between 15th and 16th Streets.

The small shop has a few seats, but is mostly just a place to grab a juice and go. Their menu is about as healthy as humanly possible, all products are made from Greenware, and they're paper-free. They offer a wide selection of juices and smoothies made from organic fruits and vegetables, as well as juice cleanses.

Yelp reviews are mixed so far, with positives including knowledgeable service, fresh ingredients, and loyalty cards, and negatives involving priciness (16-ounce juices sell for around $7) and lack of options for smoothie add-ons. There's certainly a market for this type of product in the neighborhood, though, and there really isn't anything else like it in the area, so in my opinion they shouldn't have any trouble developing a loyal fan base and staying in business.

Open for Business: Fusion City, 310 Ninth Street

Fusion City, a small new restaurant specializing in Indian and Chinese food, opened last week in the space on Ninth Street just west of Fifth Avenue most recently occupied by Filfila Falafel, which was open for about a year and a half before closing about a month ago. Before Filfila, Pita Hut was a longtime tenant before morphing into Pizza Pita Grill and closing in 2011. Needless to say, this space has a rather high turnover rate.

The menu is small but diverse, featuring Indian dishes like chicken makhani and lamb coconut curry along with a few Chinese options like lo mein, fried rice, and beef with fresh chili pepper. They also offer steamed chicken and a couple other healthier options. The menu also features a few breakfast items, like crepes, omelettes, and samosas (the fillings aren't specified).

I didn't have a chance to try the food, but it was quite apparent that the man behind the counter was the owner and most likely also the chef, a sign that this place is a labor of love. Hopefully he has better luck in this space than his predecessors.

Fusion City, 310 9th Street Brooklyn NY 11215. 347-223-4367. Free delivery.

Open for Business: Shanghai Spa, 241 Fifth Avenue

Shanghai Spa, a nail salon/ spa, opened recently on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Carroll Street, in the space last occupied by Rita knox Realty, which closed in December after 27 years.

The spa specializes in lots of different varieties of manicures and pedicures, facials, waxing and threading, eyelash/ eyebrow treatments, microdermabrasion, and massages. They also offer a few spa packages, which include treatment combos like mani/pedis, massages, and facials. Prices are reasonable; a manicure starts at $12, a pedicure starts at $20, a bikini wax costs $18, and their most expensive offering, a seaweed body mud wrap, costs $280.

The space seems nicely laid out, divided into lots of smaller rooms but with a waiting area that seems pretty relaxing. It's open seven days per week, from 10 AM- 9:30 Monday-Saturday and on Sundays from 10- 8:30. 

Shanghai Spa, 242 Fifth Avenue Brooklyn NY 11215. 718-788-8387.

Open for Business: Franny's 2.0, 348 Flatbush Avenue

It was back in September of 2011 when Michael Pintchik, the landlord who owns lots of property on Flatbush Avenue between Fifth and Grand Army Plaza, told me that he'd lined up a new tenant for the space last occupied by Blockbuster, at 348 Flatbush Avenue, and that it would be "a great restaurant. Something everyone's familiar with, and that everyone will love." A few months later, word got around that Franny's would be moving into the space, and last night at 5:30 it officially opened for business.

It was already crowded with half-hour waits for parties of 2 by 7 PM, but those waiting now have a bar area to wait in that seats about 12 and stands about 15 more. There are two main seating areas, one taking up the entire western half of the restaurant that seats about 26, and one tucked past the bar, next to the open kitchen, that seems smaller but seats about the same amount of people. There's also a downstairs room for private parties and groups.

The front room

It's an attractive space, dominated by blonde wood (and logs dividing the two rooms), white tile on the walls, and patterned tiles on the floor, behind the bar, and around the ovens. The exposed kitchen is the focal point of the back of the restaurant, along with its two massive wood-burning ovens. The front dining room appears to be the obvious choice for where to hope you get seated, as the back room was more cramped, was quite hot on account of the ovens, and it also appeared to be where they seated all the parties with children (though that may have just been a coincidence).

The back room

The menu itself is the same as it's been, changing frequently according to what's in season, and the pizza wasn't noticeably different from what we've come to expect. The quality of the service was also what we've come to expect, and all signs point toward this being a very smooth transition. Lunch is coming soon, and Marco's, a Southern Italian restaurant from Franny's owners Andrew Feinberg and Francine Stephens, should be opening in the old space this fall.