How many banks can we put around Union Square? Apparently the limit does not exist because Chase is about to take over the Coffee Shop corner on East 16th Street, and there’s already about 17 banks and ATMs in the area (a few of which are also Chase Banks).
Rumors have officially been confirmed that Chase Bank will take over the space that was previously Coffee Shop. According to Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York, Chase Bank’s application for the venue was recently approved by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The report goes on to explain, however, that the bank will only make up part of the former Coffee Shop space, with the rest going to restaurants.
That said, it still feels like Union Square is losing a bit of its character, especially if Chic-fil-A takes the other corner of the park where Blue Water Grill used to be. As has been the case for many restaurants in NYC over the last few years, escalating rent is ultimately what drove out both Blue Water Grill and Coffee Shop. Coffee Shop’s co-owner Charles Milite said: “The rents are very high and now the minimum wage is going up and we have a huge number of employees”—150, to be exact.
There’s no word yet on when the Chase Bank, and accompanying restaurants, will open.
feature image source: The Coffee Shop/Facebook