Yesterday’s post about Bubby’s in DUMBO — a neighborhood eatery that seems to be slipping, according to one of our tipsters — stirred up a bit of debate among its customers. Some complained that there are too many little kids in the restaurant, dissed the dinner options, and mentioned some recent problems with the Department of Health. Others described it as a great place to hold an event or to grab brunch on the weekends. Then, the owner of Bubby’s came forward with a lengthy, articulate, and very constructive comment about his business — and the restaurant business in general. His explanation sounds nothing like a PR spiel, but if you read between the lines, you can clearly see that he’s a small business owner who is very proud of his restaurant, and hopes that it will grow with its neighborhood…

“One of the most painful parts of any business is figuring out what services to offer without bleeding to death. We have tried numerous ways to build weekday business in DUMBO, and we believe that eventually the volume will be there during the day, with people who work there, and eventually we can build a weekday dinner, but our main concern is to make the events we have and our brunch the best they can possibly be, and we are always open to suggestions.”

We can’t help but cheer for this guy. We have to admit — we’ve never been to the Brooklyn branch of Bubby’s ourselves, but we did meet a couple who is planning their wedding there — and they said that they chose Bubby’s for the great views, fair prices, and the very kind staff. And next time we go out for brunch, we’re definitely heading to DUMBO.
Is Bubby’s Brooklyn a Sinking Ship? [Brooklyn Record]
Bubby’s Pie Co. [Homepage]