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Colombian restaurant to take over McDonald’s space on Greenpoint Ave.

McDonaldsColombian

Sept. 1, 2016 By Christian Murray

A Colombian restaurant will be opening at the former McDonald’s location at 45-06 Greenpoint Avenue in about three months.

The new restaurant will be owned by the proprietors of Riko, the well-known Peruvian restaurant located on the corner of 46th and Greenpoint Avenue. Riko opened a second Sunnyside restaurant on Queens Blvd in February to help it manage its take-out and delivery orders.

Walter Burgos, a co-owner of Riko and the Colombian restaurant, said that the new establishment will offer formal, sit down dining. He said there is a shortage of full-service Colombian restaurants in the neighborhood, with many people having to go to Astoria or Jackson Heights to find it.

“Around here, most [Colombian establishments] are cafes where people can get coffee, bread, soup, and rice and beans.”

Burgos said the restaurant will have waitresses and wine. He said the new space will have room for approximately 60 seats.

The menu is still being worked out and a name has yet to be selected.

Burgos said that they took over the lease two weeks ago and there are many decisions in front of them that need to be made.

“We have just started construction that should take about two or three months.”

McDonald’s closed its location in February.

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43 Comments

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Trumpside

Open a gay bar there. The area is heavily populated with gays and lesbians. Call it “the south side”

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Roxy

Renovations have started on the space on 46th Street off QB that will be the latest outlet for Paris Baguette, an Asian-owned chain specializing in imitations of French breads, pastries, etcetera.. Although much of their business is take-away, they also have dining areas for the “eat it now” generation.

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Ethan

This place and the owner are up to complete no good business. Watch for DOB permits and if none call 311 and report work without permits. We all know they aren’t paying taxes.

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resh

We need another Chick Fil A in Queens to give De Blasio another reason to show up and protest a private business based on the religious beliefs of the owner and take the attention away his corruption and scandals as Mayor from the media.

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Roxy

McDonald’s did a tremendous business there, boosted by after-school students and crowds emerging from the frequent services and conferences at the JW church across the street. I don’t envision either of those groups attracted to a sit-down Colombian restaurant.

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Joel

If it was doing tremendous business, it would have stayed. Instead, there’s a McD’s on Queens Blvd which cannibalized it’s walk-in sales while also getting 100 percent of area drive through sales. That McD’s is also still there for anyone

I don’t know if a Colombian restaurant will do well there, but it’s easy to see why a McD’s didn’t do well there.

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1488 Man

Colombians don’t have burritos Blanquito.
Learn about everyone’s culture, so you can smash it.
Money rules the neighborhood.
Just be thankful that Peruvians and Colombians are opening businesses and not waiting on 69th street for a day labor job doing a mediocre bathroom restoration. I would rather have the Latinos here opening businesses than the orthodox Jewish community that dominates Brooklyn setting up shop and manipulating the system at every turn and angle.

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Joe

Blanquito is not a nice term. If I made a comment towards Hispanic people like that you would be out protesting.

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Heywood Jablomey

Finally! A place to get Latin American food on Sunnyside’s south side. Sarcasm intended. Still have to trek over to Astoria for a decent bagel.

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Ronald

Multibillion-dollar corporations like McDonald’s are not willing to flip the bill by nearly doubling their employees wages. Their profits would decrease, paying what they call “uneducated and under-qualified” employees more money than college graduates.

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Mac

-Ronald We see you don’t have a degree in Economics. One companies bottom line is not the economy it’s one company and just one component of the US 15 Trillion dollar economy. Not to mention the world economy. If McDonald employees qualify for govt subsidies for food, housing,transportation and medical than McDonald’s profits are actually subsidized by the US taxpayers. Plain and simple. In a market economy even low skilled and people with limitation need a true market wage to be able to engage that very same market. The market is where people go to get goods and services. Eco 101. Let me guess, you’re a graduate of trump university and constant viewer of Fox News. Get an education imbecile. You need to do less broadcasting and more tunning in.

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Joe at the Berkley

@Pearl cream Wow you’re even dumber than Ronald. LOL Only a Fox News watching imbecile can say or post something as ridiculous as your post calling somebody who touts free market ideals a “smug lib”. Fox News has turned you into a complete imbecile, congratulations. I long for the days when people had more self respect, if you didn’t know something or lacked the knowledge of the topic at hand, you just kept your mouth shut and opinion to yourself. Nobody knew if you were stupid or ignorant or just reserved. Fox News has convinced you and the rest its army of idiots that it is acceptable to spew ignorance and stupidity in public and to wear it like a badge of honor. You’re one smug ignoramus.

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chef

Employing people without any work documentation and below minimum wage is a problem with many restaurant business in NYC.

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El loco

How many lousy restaurants are these people going to open in Sunnyside? The other 2 are lousy. What’s next a Lousy Mexican restaurant?

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Angela

The new Rikko is always empty. Clolombians and Pervuians don’t spend. Sounds like a front of some type.

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Silent majority

EXACTLY WENT IN THERE ONE DAY JUST TO GIVE IT A LOOK THE ROTISSERIE WAS ALL CLEAN AND CLOSED AND THEY WANTED TO SELL US A CHICKEN THAT WAS DRY AND SITTING THERE FOR AN HOUR.

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El loco

Another one of Angela’s fact filled posts. You spelled Colombians incorrectly. They just invented something it’s called spell check!

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Angela

-El loco From Wiki pedia Colombia (/kəˈlʌmbiə/ kə-lum-biə or /kəˈlɒmbiə/ kə-lom-biə; Spanish: [koˈlombja] ( , officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish: About this sound República de Colombia, is a transcontinental country largely situated in the northwest of South America, with territories in Central America. Colombia shares a border to the northwest with Panama, to the east with Venezuela and Brazil, to the south with Ecuador and Peru. You’re wrong again…but then again, somebody who complains about people posting facts in their posts will more then likely get it wrong. You make it too easy, imbecile.

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A.Bundy

well, i am hoping rent will skyrocket once these new condos and developments are raised. having a whole foods is a good sign of gentrification.

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Silent majority

SUNNYSIDE is right and the women that work at the one on 45th are nasty bit&*hes. If your not Colombian and think you don’t spanish they will talk about you until my GF said I know what your saying. Will never give them a dollar.

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1488 Man

Just like you are talking Sh*t about them now, right?
White minority. get used to it.
Melting pot……of scum

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Silent majority

Yea but I’m a citizen and talk shit right in front of them. Not my fault they cant speak english and their food looks like road kill .Enjoy

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Told You So!

So the rent on Greenpoint was too high for a Trillion dollar corporation (See previous SSP article) but a Columbian Resturant can swing it? Something is McFishy here! $15 minimum wage for unskilled labor anyone? No…Couldn’t be!

Funny how the McDonald’s corporation (Not franchise license owners) closed Hundreds of restaurants they owned in the United States with a majority of those in states with high minimum wage laws. Just around here we’ve had several close, Bayside,Jamacia,Woodside & Sunnyside come to mind… Just saying…..

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A.Bundy

McCrappers revenue doesnt even compare to the amount of coke and heroin revenue generated from Colombia!

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Sunnsyide till I die!

The owner is delusional…a “shortage”? There’s one on 45th and one on 40th both on Queens Blvd. Then there’s one on 42nd and Greenpoint, ALL full service restaurants. That’s the problem w/ Sunnyside and Woodside when it comes to businesses… we get saturated w/ the same food…How many Colombian, Peruvian (two Riko’s), Mexican (three w/i a few blocks), Italian (two w/i two blocks) and Chinese (too many) spots does the Sunnside/Woodside need? I know they wanna cater to the demographics but it all just seems the same. I don’t know what a good place would be but we can definitely use some more variety…not just the same old.

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Told You So!

Don’t worry! Now that the L line will be shut down in 2019 the 7 line will soon be filled with many new and wonderful restaurants, bars and ukulele shops that those folks in BK have had the pleasure of supporting for years!

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borntorage

the same thing is happening in Astoria. there’s new asian fare popping up 2 doors down from the newest asian fare that popped up two doors down and so on. they are opening spots that cater to the hipster tool demographic who eats a burger smeared with grape jelly and drinks a cocktail called the Mustache Ride.

there’s no classic american or just good food any more. it’s all trendy and trying to be off the cuff. or, we have multiples of what already exists opening and it’s just too much any more.

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somtingwong

seems like many people buying homes are Asians and developers in Astoria. And many people like living near their jobs.

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