After Goldman Sachs opened its new headquarters at 200 West St. in October 2009, the firm went about recruiting businesses to cater to employees—and wound up with three Danny Meyer eateries, a wine store, a barber, an optometrist, a high-end grocer, a luxury florist, a pair of parking lots and sure, why not a Conrad hotel?
The New York Times paid a visit to Goldman alley for an article that appeared in Sunday's paper, and found that business is not exactly booming. Oh, Mr. Meyer's Murray Street Shake Shack was quick to find success, but the optometrist is seeing one-third of the patients she expected, while barber Salvatore Anzalone described tips as merely ok: "Normal," he told The Times. "A couple of bucks."
One small business owner, meanwhile, has found Goldman to be an unyielding counterparty. Pastry-chef: François Payard was denied a front-awning that he thought might attract more foot traffic: “But I can’t say bad things,” he said, “because they will kill me.” Probably not literally.