This is Brooklyn Magazine’s monthly listing of openings and closings in the borough, a celebration of the birth and passing of local businesses. Have an announcement? Send us the news at hello@bkmag.com.
Another month, another batch of promising arrivals and (occasionally) dear departures in our beloved borough. The turnover in October was particularly concentrated in the North Brooklyn neighborhoods where rapid openings and sudden closings have become as painfully normal as an $8 cold brew (namely Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and Carroll Gardens). But even neighborhoods generally less impacted by the “we’ll just move to Ridgewood” crowds felt it last month, with several Central and South Brooklyn institutions packing it up after enviable and honorable decades-long tenures.
See the businesses that came and went in October below, and let us know if we missed anything.
The bar at Lingo in Greenpoint (Photo by Scott Lynch)
Closing
Boro Park
Lieberman’s Luncheonette
4801 16th Ave.
A collective nasal groan filled the sky above Boro Park when word leaked that the business and property owners of Lieberman’s had put their building on the market. No word yet on where the community will go to resume their griping over food and the portion sizes.
Clinton Hill
Sweetbee
1039a Fulton St.
The high-end coffee chain has closed its Fulton location, but the Prospect Heights branch remains.
Flatbush
Errol’s Caribbean Delights
661 Flatbush Ave.
A beloved bakery that has been operating in Flatbush for 25 years is closing shop. The owners are in their 80s and wanted to retire to spend more time with their grandkids. Brooklyn Magazine is sending hearty congrats to them on a great run, and our condolences to the neighborhood.
Greenpoint
Brew Inn
924 Manhattan Ave.
The 49ers bar has shuttered after 13 years in business.
Lingo
27 Greenpoint Ave.
More of a goodbye for now from the Japanese fusion restaurant, which is switching concepts and allegedly returning as an all-day Japanese-inspired cafe in the near future.
Mokafé
1059 Manhattan Ave. and 799 Manhattan Ave.
The two-location chain, confusingly spaced just 10 blocks apart, abruptly closed both outposts this month (but has signage up advertising an upcoming location at Pacific and Smith.)
Mom & Pop’s Organic Market
889 Manhattan Ave.
This local upscale bodega announced its impending demise suddenly and put its inventory on sale for 50% off.
Vamos Al Tequila
162 Franklin St.
One of Greenpoint’s more affordable options—serving tacos, burritos, and shots for 16 years—finally swallows the worm, as we all must eventually.
Prospect Heights
Wayward Fare
554 Vanderbilt Ave.
Local restaurant magnate Akhtar Nawab has closed his Mediterranean wood-fired spot, allegedly to re-open with a new focus down the line.
Williamsburg
Dead Letter No. 9
63 Grand St.
The cocktail bar closed its doors after a final party on Halloween. It posted its lot in life (and teased a “reincarnation” just days after its last bash) familiar to many small Brooklyn businesses: Contributing to the cultural value of a neighborhood, then clearing out for condos.
Roberta’s (Williamsburg)
6 Grand St.
Shockingly, the Bushwick pizza titan has shuttered at rebuilt Domino Park’s seasonal tourist trap (following Mekelberg’s closing around the corner at the beginning of the year). They had to close suddenly, due to $30,000 of unpaid rent, which suggests they were a month behind.
The kitchen at SSRP in Prospect Heights (Photo by Scott Lynch)
Opening
Bay Ridge
Yaffa Coffee & Kunafa
8405 5th Ave.
A Clifton, NJ coffee shop brings Arab coffee and pastries to Bay Ridge.
Carroll Gardens
Smør
361 Court St.
The streets demanded another Nordic bakery in West Brooklyn, and they got one, with the mini-chain Smør opening its third location in the area.
Cobble Hill
Sheba Bees
176 Atlantic Ave.
A Yemeni honey store has opened beneath Yemen Cafe. Big news for “Honey In My Tea” guys.
Crown Heights
Bottega
215 Rodgers Ave.
The cafe just below Eastern Parkway expands into a bakery and market next door (and announces its sister cafe Maretta will be landing in Fort Greene not too long from now).
Park Slope
16 Handles
148 7th Ave.
Tremendous news for my daughter, as the froyo and toppings-by-the-pound chain arrives in the Northeast corner of the Slope.
Burney’s
258 5th Ave.
A dispensary in danger of (or, gauging by its utterly non-existent digital footprint, already subject to) a trademark dispute with the Greenpoint institution opens for business.
Sesilya Bakery
254 5th Ave.
Don’t be fooled by the bakery tag here; this appears to be more of a proper Georgian restaurant with a full Georgian wine cellar, operating out of part of the old, massive Negril space.
Skinny Louie
218 Flatbush Ave.
A veritable fast food desert at last gets representation from this Miami smash burger import.
Voodoo Queen
147 5th Ave.
New Orleans food translated to New York has always been a dicey proposition, so we’ll wait and see if this new NOLA spot can pull it off. We may have more on this story sometime soon.
Prospect Heights
SSRP
565 Vanderbilt Ave.
A new Tokyo-style ramen shop opens in the old Chuko space. I tried to take my family on opening night, and it was so packed, with a line so long outside snaking down the street, we didn’t even attempt to find parking. Keep that same energy all year round, Brooklyn.
Williamsburg
Altbau
184 N. 8th St.
A mix of insufferable tourists and pastry junkies started getting in line for this haute bakery from Tartine co-founder Chad Robertson, and hopefully they’ll be able to try his food soon, because it finally opened October 29th.
Birdie’s
76 N. 4th St.
A new froyo and candy shop that began in the West Village and is expanding to Williamsburg that is also seemingly in danger of a trademark dispute.
Booth’s Extra Fine
62 S. 2nd St.
A proper chop house comes to South Williamsburg with something called the “Martini’s Friend,” featuring warm potato chips, blue cheese, and rosemary that I may have to go try as soon as I file this masterwork of aggregation.
Cocina Del Sur
52 N. 11th St.
The Manhattan Latin comfort food restaurant opens a Brooklyn footprint in North Williamsburg.
Court Street Grocers
319 Kent Ave.
The Carroll Gardens sandwich artists expand to the aforementioned Mekelberg location around the corner from Domino Park, where they will hopefully fare better.
Tbili
442 Lorimer St.
The Georgian wave in Brooklyn continues with this breakfast and lunch spot, where you can have a coffee with your cheeseboat over a game of chess, presumably followed by a long spell in the bathroom.
Williamsburg Diner
82 S. 4th St.
North Brooklyn receives yet another late-night dining spot in the form of this diner from the owners of Bushwick Diner.
The post Grand Opening, Grand Closing: The Businesses That Came and Went in October appeared first on BKMAG.
