Earlier this year Harlem got crabs, and now the neighborhood welcomes another crustacean crazy chain restaurant to the tank with the opening of a new Red Lobster directly next door to the 'hood's hallowed Apollo Theater. The Daily News reports that fishing season begins November 11th at the new 125th Street eatery, which takes over an enormous three-story space to serve its Admiral's Feast and other seafood-centric dishes.
But not everybody is ready to see food differently. “Twenty years ago, this was Black Harlem. Now they’re raising the rent in Harlem so people can’t afford it,” bemoans local Mohamad Pullum. "We made Harlem, and now it is being taken over by corporate companies like Red Lobster, Gap, Starbucks." Other chains like iHop and Duane Reade also occupy prime real estate on the famed street, which has begun to resemble Times Square more and more in the past decade.
Regardless of your position on gentrification, nobody except the invasive chains and lazy tourists celebrate the homogenization of our historic neighborhoods. Luckily, if you're willing to leave the main drag, there are still plenty of independently-owned restaurants and other shops bucking the corporate trend. That said, those Cheddar Bay Biscuits are pretty dope.
