Baba Cool to Replace Bespoke Bicycle
A cafe and bakery called Baba Cool is going into the space previously occupied by Bespoke Bicycle at 64-B Lafayette Avenue in Fort Greene. The bicycle shop closed six weeks ago, according to some folks who were working on the interior when we stopped by. The new cafe, whose name means hippie in French, is…
A cafe and bakery called Baba Cool is going into the space previously occupied by Bespoke Bicycle at 64-B Lafayette Avenue in Fort Greene. The bicycle shop closed six weeks ago, according to some folks who were working on the interior when we stopped by. The new cafe, whose name means hippie in French, is aiming for a mid-February opening. GMAP
I welcome Baba Cool to the neighborhood but I also wonder how many cafes this area can support. Within a 5 to 8 minute walk, I count 16 (!) other cafe or bakeries (places where you can get coffee and baked goods).
Here’s the list:
Greene Grape
Greene Grape Annex
Hungry Ghost
Hungry Ghost at BRIC
Bittersweet
Celebritea Cafe (in DKLB BK)
Starbucks (on Flatbush btwn Fulton and Dekalb)
Starbucks (Barclay’s Center)
Cammareri (in the old Carol’s Daughter space)
Cafe Paulette (next door to Cammareri)
Smooch
Connecticut Muffin
La Bagel Delight
Baguetteaboutit (next door to the old Tilley’s space)
Sunny’s Bagels (in DKLB BK)
Le Petite Bakery (probably closer to 10 minutes away…)
Not all of those completely overlap with Baba Cool but still, they’re all competitors to some degree. Heck, 7 or 8 of those are within 2 blocks of the Baba Cool space. Almost half of those on that list have opened in the last 12-18 months. How about opening something that Fort Greene is lacking in, like a craft beer bar (not a restaurant with craft beer), a nice cocktail bar (not Dick and Janes, sorry), or an excellent pizza place? Or perhaps some place that isn’t the embodiment of gentrification, like the tire shop that Hungry Ghost replaced?