Subtle Tea closes, 41st St. J-food competition escalates
A couple of basic (or facile, I should say) economic concepts going on in my neck of East Midtown:
Subtle Tea on Madison on 30th Street has closed. This represents a double dip recession of sorts on Madison, where store after store has opened over the past year:
If you need your tea and cafe fix in the area, I recommend the cafe at the New York Open Center, also on 30th Street and Madison Ave.
And on 41st Street between Fifth and Madison, competition is increasing consumer choice (and arguably, consumer surplus). Confronted with the entry of Sunrise Mart into the Japanese grocery/lunch spot/bakery market, both Cafe Zaiya and Yagura have broadened their choices.
Zaiya rolled out a new made-to-order food menu featuring delights like Hamburg Steak and crab cream croquette with curry!
While Yagura now has some sort of weekend ramen special:
In the inset, you can see shoyu ramen for $6.99 and miso ramen for $7.25. Haven’t had either yet, though.
