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May 18, 2007
Battle over arena … bagels!
The Brooklyn Papers
By Gersh Kuntzman
What's in a name? A lot, if it manages to piss off all of your potential customers.
Just a few hours after bagel man Ravi Aggarwal put up an “Arena Bagels and Bialys” sign on his soon-to-open Fifth Avenue shop, opponents of the basketball stadium that inspired the name made their feelings clear: they planned to protest outside Aggarwal’s store if it remained “Arena Bagels.”
Aggarwal initially told this bagel-loving scribe that he would never relent to such bullying — but as more and more potential customers dropped by to express their concerns about buying their morning coffee and bialy at a place named “Arena,” he ultimately caved.
“In the end, I had to change my mind,” said Aggarwal. “I can’t do anything that goes against the neighborhood because I’m a neighborhood guy. These are my customers and I can’t go against them.”
...
By caving in so quickly, Aggarwal chose a different approach to dealing with the arena foes. Last year, when some opponents organized a boycott of Brooklyn Brewery products after company owner Steve Hindy expressed support for Atlantic Yards, Hindy stuck to his taps.That misguided boycott fizzled like week-old beer.
But it remains appalling that hard-working men like Aggarwal and Hindy have had to face such outrage.
Indeed, as support for Ratner’s project goes, Aggarwal’s decision to name his store “Arena Bagels” pales by comparison to the wheel-greasing done by the state, the city and the Borough President. If Atlantic Yards is ever built, blame George Pataki, Mike Bloomberg and Marty Markowitz, not Ravi Aggarwal.
NoLandGrab: We didn't know that the Brooklyn Brewery Boycott WASN'T still on. Thanks to Brooklyn Paper for the opportunity to mention it again. We're still drinking, Six Point and Blue Point, anything but stuff made by Brooklyn Brewery.
The issue at hand isn't bullying — a businessman expanded into a new neighborhood using a name that made potential customers cringe. Is that good for business, or bad for business?
Other business names to avoid are "Bruce Katner's Kitty Klinic," "Forest City Florist," and "Barclay's Underground Bookstore."
Brooklyn Brewery owner Steve Hindy makes his beer upstate and distributes his product across the region, so he can afford to piss off a few customers in Brooklyn.
Posted by lumi at May 18, 2007 8:01 AM