Feb 3, 2017 2 min read Business

From Movies, To Mandee, To Bensonhurst Target

Target announced plans this week to open a new store in Bensonhurst at 6401 18th Avenue, a spot formerly occupied by Annie Sez and Mandee that closed earlier in January.

The windows are covered in wall to wall sale signs. (Photo by Hannah Frishberg / Bensonhurst Bean) — The windows were covered in wall to wall sale signs in December. (Photo by Hannah Frishberg / Bensonhurst Bean)

The new store, expected to open in October 2017, will be the company’s second flexible-format store in the Brooklyn. If you want a peek at what’s coming, check out the new Target store at City Point in Downtown Brooklyn.

“We look forward to serving even more guests in Brooklyn with the addition of Target’s Bensonhurst store that will open this fall,” said Mark Schindele, senior vice president, Properties, Target. “We think the community will enjoy the convenient shopping experience with a broad, unique product assortment that only Target can provide.”

The single-level Bensonhurst store promises to provide a quick-trip shopping experience with a customized assortment mix, including:

· A curated assortment of kids’ and baby care products, as well as toys
· Fresh grab-and-go groceries, select kosher items and meal solutions
· An assortment of apparel and accessories for women, men, kids and baby
· Select home items
· An assortment of health, personal care and beauty products
· A curated selection of electronics, entertainment and sporting goods
· Services include Target Mobile and Order Pickup

But before it was Mandees, it was The Walker movie theater, named for New York City Mayor James J. Walker.

An undated photograph showing The Walker Theater back in what appears to be the early 1900s, probably circa 1935 or a bit earlier.

Many fought to preserve the Walker Theater through landmark designation, unsuccessfully. From the looks of the renderings for the new Target store, they may be keeping the exterior look and feel:

Current crumbling facade:

Remnants of the building's theater past are still visible on its gorgeously detailed facade. (Photo by Hannah Frishberg / Bensonhurst Bean) — Remnants of the building’s theater past are still visible on its gorgeously detailed facade. (Photo by Hannah Frishberg / Bensonhurst Bean)

For those missing Annie Sez and Mandee, Annie Sez has one additional Brooklyn location, at 2067 Coney Island Avenue, and Mandee has three other Brooklyn locations, one in Park Slope, one at Atlantic Terminal and one at 2941 Avenue U.