“It is going to become a Dunkin’ Donuts location,” assured a representative of Pronto Realty, who wished only to be identified as Scott. Pronto Realty owns the location on the corner of E. Tremont Avenue and Bruckner Boulevard.
Dunkin’ Donuts is expected to open in the coming months at 3421 E. Tremont Avenue, offering a shot in the arm to a business strip that has been hurting for several years.
The corner in question was the site of one of the most horrific accidents in Throggs Neck history, when on a spring night, Sunday, May 19, 1991, an oil tanker truck pushed a car into the building killing all its occupants as well as the truck driver. The resultant fire leveled the popular row of stores as well.
The fire claimed a popular candy store at the corner of E. Tremont Avenue and Bruckner Boulevard, as well as what was then the locations of Bruckner Petland and the Bronx Penny Pincher.
“The effects were horrific,” said businesswoman Barbara Perrone, owner of the shopper, whose business was located near the corner at that time. “I remember about 10 stores were lost. I’d say 80% of all of the businesses there never reopened after the fire.”
The commercial strip never fully recovered, even after a new developer rebuilt the property, adding a second floor. Even the family behind Lizzie’s popular chain of stores could not breathe new life into the corner location, closing up shortly after it opened several years ago.
Caffeine may do the trick, as the almost untouchable Dunkin’ Donuts brand is expected to resurrect the once busiest corner in Throggs Neck.
The store has been under lease for about six months, with plans for alterations filed with the Department of Buildings for the installation of architectural finishes and fittings for a new donut emporium on the first floor. Work began in late April.
“[The leasee] is fixing up the insides of the building, doing alterations,” Scott added. I am surprised they have not put up a [Dunkin’ Donuts] sign yet.”
This newest location of Dunkin’ Donuts joins several others in the area, including those at 2702 and 3732 E. Tremont Avenue, and 4147 Throgs Neck Expressway. Two Dunkin’ Donuts locations are also located at the Citgo Gas Stations on the Hutchinson River Parkway near E. Tremont Avenue.
A spokesman for the corporate offices of Dunkin’ Donuts neither confirmed nor denied that this location would be the latest addition to the company’s many java serving venues.
