Horrible Stink Forces Potpourri Out
Due to an offensive smell — and an even more offensive rental rate — the Potpourri Women’s Sportswear store will be closing its Sheepshead Bay doors for the final time, tomorrow.
Standing in her store nearly emptied of its stock, one of the owners, Elsa McGlone, said:
After so many years, we are very sorry that we are leaving. Our regular customers already know we are leaving. It’s because of the smell. They [the landlords] are not doing anything about that smell and nobody wants to shop, here, with that smell. That’s not for a clothing store. It’s coming from the two stores next door. On one side, there is a fish smell, and on the other there is a sewage problem. Sheepshead Bay is not like it used to be.
In truth, the horrendous stink could be detected even by passersby on the sidewalk. One woman, who stopped to look at the clothing in the foyer area window display, said just before she covered her nose and mouth, “Uggh, it smells like dead rats, over here, still after all this time. Even with 60 percent off, I’m not going in there.”
When asked if the sad demise of her store had anything to do with rental rates going as high as $3K a month, the owner balked, “Three thousand? Try eight thousand! Such rent is not for a women’s clothing store on Sheepshead Bay Road.” She added that her store is not going to shut down for good, since they are looking for a suitable place to relocate, and promised to let us know as soon as they find a new spot.
