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June 6, 2007
Streetlevel: Former Liquors Spot Asking $6K a Month
It's been a couple of years since Christian Dennery's restaurant empire crumbled amid rumors of a particularly troublesome relationship with the landlord of his beloved Dekalb Avenue spot Liquors and the space has yet to get a new tenant. (As we recently reported, Bodegas on Clinton Avenue finally has new ownership; any update on the Lewis & Ruby's space?) Do you think it's the $6,000 a month rent or the bad karma? You'd think the location plus the outdoor space would make it any easy sell. Then again, from what we gather, the restaurant business in Fort Greene isn't as quite as easy as one would think from strolling down Dekalb on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Sure, it's hard to find a table for brunch on the weekends but the stroller set doesn't get out to dinner as much as local restaurateurs might like. If you had your druthers, what type of cuisine would you like to see in the Liquors space? (The listing was just deleted from Craigslist but we've got it verbatim on the jump.)
Fort Greene Restaurant with Backyard [Craigslist] GMAP
$6000 / 1600ft² - FORT GREENE DREAMS DO COME TRUE*RESTARAUNT W/BACKYARD*
Reply to: amandarapid@gmail.com
Date: 2007-05-29, 6:15PM EDT
GREAT RAW STOREFRONT RESTAURANT LOCATED ON RESTAURANT ROW IN BEAUTIFUL FORT GREENE W/ GORGREOUS SUN-DRENCHED BACKYARD GARDEN.
*THIS 1600 SQFT FORMER RESTAURANT BOASTS…
*800 SQFT EXPANDABLE TO 12OOSQFT RESTAURANT/STOREFRONT
*800SQFT BASEMENT
*TWO PRIVATE BATHROOMS-ONE HANDICAP ACCESSIBLE
*LARGE BACKYARD GARDEN (PERFECT FOR OUTDOOR SEATING)
*LOCATED JUST BLOCKS FROM THE PARK.
*CLOSE TO SUBWAYS AND BUSES
*BE PART OF THE THRIVING FORT GREENE SCENE!
I'D LOVE TO HELP YOU REALIZE YOUR DREAM.
AMANDA MIXON
714-328-4784
amandarapid@gmail.com
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Comments
If Fabiana's in Williamsburg opened a branch in this spot it would be packed constantly.
Posted by: CB at June 6, 2007 10:26 AM
i would love to see a Pepe Rosso/Verde there. It's one of the places I miss most from the West Village. I used to pick up their homemade soups a couple times a week for lunch or dinner.
Posted by: lc at June 6, 2007 10:37 AM
How about a really nice bakery?
Posted by: lesterhead at June 6, 2007 11:00 AM
why do we think the posting was deleted? someone interested, or owner didn't want the attention on this site?
Posted by: anon at June 6, 2007 11:06 AM
DEKALB DOES NOT NEED ANY MORE RESTAURANTS!!
Posted by: Anonymous at June 6, 2007 11:07 AM
Yep a bakery would be great. Care to elaborate 11:07?
Posted by: Anonymous at June 6, 2007 11:13 AM
i'd like an old-fashioned soda fountain and use the cellar space for ToddP-related shows.
Posted by: Jimmy Legs at June 6, 2007 11:16 AM
It's true: DeKalb doesn't need any more crappy restaurants (although there are two more crappy food ideas coming between Carlton and Cumberland).
The real irony here is that if the Liquor Store that was there before Christian and Gloria opened Liquors had stayed open another year, business would have been booming now.
Posted by: breakingball at June 6, 2007 11:23 AM
As someone who lives in the area, I think CASUAL dining is always good. Inexpensive, cozy, nothing too fancy. A place I can stop and get a salad or sandwich or something (and a beer) in the evening. To me, a lot of the restaurants on DeKalb host cuisine I only want to have occaisionally (chez oscar, amin, sushi, madiba, etc....)
Posted by: rj at June 6, 2007 11:43 AM
I want a Liquors clone back in that space. They had great cocktails and their salmon dish was always great - plus it was not too expensive.
Posted by: lp at June 6, 2007 11:58 AM
Amanda wants to help someone "realize you dream". At $45/sq ft, the dream will quickly turn into a nightmare.
Isn't the rent pretty expense, even for Fort Greene?
Posted by: Anonymous at June 6, 2007 12:30 PM
We need a place like Momofuku, casual atmosphere and delicious pan-asian food.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 6, 2007 12:37 PM
How about great Thai food?
Posted by: Anonymous at June 6, 2007 12:46 PM
I'm with rj- we need great CASUAL dining. As a former E Village resident, I got accustomed to the idea that I could enjoy a good or even great meal with a minimum of fuss or planning for $15 or less. It's one of the neighborhood's few remaining assets. In FG/CH the options are few. The diners are pretty uninviting and close preposterously early and the majority of the other options are too expensive or unusual for frequent or spur-of-the-moment weekday dining. This, compounded by the incompetent and/or rude service that seems to be endemic in the nabe make me even less likely to dine out here.
Look at Bonita - they seem to be the one place on DeKalb that's doing it right.
I'd love to see a good Italian place or a sandwich shop. I always thought a sandwich/salad/soup type place would be a hit with the parents in the nabe that want to lunch together with their kids or pickup something easy for dinner. A good example would be Mama's Food Shop in the E Vill - cafeteria style, rotating menu. If I had the $ I'd open it myself. Well, if I had the $, the experience, the courage and the time...
Posted by: houseowax at June 6, 2007 1:02 PM
Would love to get a good Italian restaurant in the neighborhood!
Posted by: ks at June 6, 2007 1:11 PM
I'd love to see an Ethiopian place go in there. With the constant crowd at Madiba (except when it has been closed by the board of health), I can only imagine how well an African restaurant with really good food and service would do here. Plus, there's no Ethiopian anywhere else nearby.
If I can't have Ethiopian, I'd settle for a nice Chinese place with fresh ingredients.
Posted by: Waverly at June 6, 2007 1:13 PM
I'm with rj.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 6, 2007 1:17 PM
$6K is a lot to ask for the space. I don't want another clone or overpriced restaurant there. Something unique (I agree with 1:13PM that Ethiopian would be lovely) or the casual suggestion are both great ideas. Re: 1:11PM--try Graziellas. Their pizza rocks and the rest is pretty decent!
Posted by: CH Living at June 6, 2007 1:42 PM
I agree with CHLiving, Graziella's is delicious. Best Italian in the nabe.
Posted by: DudeonClinton at June 6, 2007 1:56 PM
with rent like that, you might need an amusement park in the backyard.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 6, 2007 2:16 PM
The staff and the owner of Graziella's are also great.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 6, 2007 2:17 PM
Bring Chino's back!!
Posted by: Murderface at June 6, 2007 2:28 PM
it was Cino's. they left with gentrification and cause they was really old.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 6, 2007 2:35 PM
Graziella's IS good, but the service is inconsistent. And that's being charitable. Seems that the majority of the floor staff was kidnapped, blindfolded and subdued with an ether-soaked rag, only to awaken in an apron and a Graziella's polo shirt.
We always get their pizza with prosciutto and arugula. Delicious.
Posted by: houseowax at June 6, 2007 2:39 PM
I'll take any kind of restaurant on DeKalb as long as the food quality and service is good; most of the current restaurants there don't cut it.
Good casual/takeout makes perfect sense--like a better-organized and managed Choice Market.
Does $6k rent prohibit a casual place? Seems you would have to be able to do a lot of volume to make it work--but I'm no expert.
Posted by: tinarina at June 6, 2007 2:48 PM
I'd agree with you houseofwax but its been my experience that the staff at Graziellas is better than most of the other neighborhood establishments. That's my anectdotal two cents anyway.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 6, 2007 2:49 PM
How about an Italian wine bar w/ casual food like panini's -- there aren't a lot of great options if you want to go grab a drink. I know that Stonehome wine bar on Lafayette is there but in my experience it sort of misses the mark.....Jane has terrible wine by the glass
Posted by: TS at June 6, 2007 2:57 PM
Or even just a bar with casual food, period. Really, the closest thing I can think of like that nearby is Mullanes (which I like). Maybe you could put Maggie Brown's in that category, too. I agree with the concept of a bigger Choice, that has more of a sit down atmosphere. I hate eating there, I usually just call ahead and carry it home, but thats the kind of food I like. And I love the cheap beer, but my choosy spouse hates that he can't get Grey Goose at Alibi and they don't have food. lol. I think Italian wine bar sounds too fancy, personally.
Posted by: rj at June 6, 2007 3:10 PM
Or even just a bar with casual food, period. Really, the closest thing I can think of like that nearby is Mullanes (which I like). Maybe you could put Maggie Brown's in that category, too. I agree with the concept of a bigger Choice, that has more of a sit down atmosphere. I hate eating there, I usually just call ahead and carry it home, but thats the kind of food I like. And I love the cheap beer, but my choosy spouse hates that he can't get Grey Goose at Alibi and they don't have food. lol. I think Italian wine bar sounds too fancy, personally.
Posted by: rj at June 6, 2007 3:10 PM
two words: Olive Garden
Posted by: Jimmy Legs at June 6, 2007 3:14 PM
Again I agree RJ. I had always hoped that Cellars or could be turned around in to something like Mullanes. Or maybe the property for sale near Bonita(the one with the scaffolding). Maggie Brown's is nice but I'd like a place with a bigger bar and more seating.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 6, 2007 3:17 PM
$6K is very high, but I knew a place on Cape Cod that I great pizzas and Mexican food. It was casaul, hip, and inexpensive. And along with great food it was a BYOB. I do not know if BYOB is possible in NYC.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 6, 2007 4:07 PM
So many restaurants fail because the owners focus on what they believe the neighborhood needs rather than what the neighborhood wants.
How about a gastropub? They usually fare well. Look at Mullanes, Tavern on Dean, Pete's Waterfront Ale House, and Alchemy.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 6, 2007 4:20 PM
Decent Chinese would be great. How about an Empire Szechuan, with delivery?
No offense to my friends at Happy Chinese, by the Clinton Washington stop on Fulton St.
Posted by: rf at June 6, 2007 4:22 PM
An all American diner (maybe something like Westville) that is open 24 hours. Not too expensive and good home cooking
Posted by: joe at June 6, 2007 4:38 PM
Something other than a restaurant. Unless the chef is bringing down the house with his/her food, then I'll pass... and so will most others considering the failure rate of most restaurants. I'd prefer a bar with a cool social vibe and prices to match. Perhaps small tapas for munchies.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 6, 2007 4:49 PM
brooklyn's first pinkberry!!!
Posted by: anon at June 6, 2007 4:51 PM
hell fing no to stinkberry. gimme a break.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 6, 2007 4:53 PM
A decent food store that is open til at least midnight. Pickings are slim around here for decent groceries if you have a working kitchen and prefer to cook which I think is the case in this nabe. What we don't need is another half-assed bistro with crapshoot fare and clueless service. 6K is way high but some fool will pay it, paving the way for astronomical retail rents. That's how they define "progress" in NY and all these groovy new residents all want to live in Brooklyn Heights but there's no more room....
Posted by: anon at June 6, 2007 5:49 PM
Yeah, a laid-back bar would be nice--seems like there is plenty of business for bars in the area. I confess that I wasn't sorry to see Liquors go, because I always had a grudge against them. When we moved to the neighborhood in 2003 and were desperately seeking a liquor store, their false advertising was downright cruel.
Posted by: jkabo at June 6, 2007 6:03 PM
Yeah, a laid-back bar would be nice--seems like there is plenty of business for bars in the area. I confess that I wasn't sorry to see Liquors go, because I always had a grudge against them. When we moved to the neighborhood in 2003 and were desperately seeking a liquor store, their false advertising was downright cruel.
Posted by: jkabo at June 6, 2007 6:03 PM
RJ and houseowax - lets for a consensus. Casual. nuf sed.
DeKalb and Fort Greene already has great diversity, which is incredible and makes us unique. Except casual. Its srtange that it doesnt already exist. I think it tends to need an establishment within a hood or a region, which Fort Greene seems to have founded consistently over the past few years.
The green sign should stay though.
Posted by: huegs at June 6, 2007 6:07 PM
There are two reasons for the inability to rent the space.
1) It's over-priced by at least 30%
2) Dennery broke open the walls of the basement with a sledge hammer upon leaving - among other things - and the place is no swimming with rats.
Dennery's rather a boob - he's screwed and stolen from a great many business partners - most recently at Lewis and Ruby's. Scum walking.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 6, 2007 6:17 PM
choice has been amazing for us clinton hill-ers and it serves the kind of food you can bring to the park, home, etc AND it's delicious. I dream about the steak sandwich and the roast chicken when i'm not eating it. I agree about the pace - it's a long wait, but it still beats anything else out there. so maybe they should expand to FG...although not at that price...
Posted by: maybell at June 6, 2007 6:30 PM
Lewis & Ruby's is now Petit Bassam, as of several months ago. African/French food. I still haven't gotten to eat there but have walked by several times and the menu looks interesting.
Posted by: babs at June 6, 2007 7:42 PM
We need good takeout. Also needed is a casual place like Two Boots (but not Two Boots of course because we have Graziellas) or 2nd Street Cafe. Maybe a place like Doma in the West Village but with a bigger kitchen and a bigger menu? Or a local joint like Great Jones in the E. Village (is there such a place as the E. Village really anymore though?)
Posted by: Anonymous at June 6, 2007 10:02 PM
We need a Starbucks or a Wendy's. Maybe they could be a Chase ATM in there. Something convenient. Ooooh, what about a Cingular store.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 6, 2007 10:39 PM
Jkabo & RJ are right on point...
A nice bar with a cool social climate would be very acceptable...
Posted by: mhol22 at June 6, 2007 11:19 PM
I had a dinner at Bonita a couple of weeks ago and found it a big disappointment. Friendly people, cute room, but a boringly tiny menu (yeah, yeah, fish tacos), tiny portions, and perhaps worst of all--undrinkable margaritas all around the whole table. Like straight lime juice, not enough booze, way too much salt. How does that happen? Was the bartender out sick? Please don't coast, B. More great casual restaurants, please!
Posted by: anon at June 7, 2007 1:03 AM
There are a lot of things this neighborhood needs rather than another restaurant. 6 grand is a lot, but we need a decent bakery which sells everything from pasteries, cookies, break to birthday cakes. I love Graziella's, but you can't go wrong with another Italian restaurant.
Posted by: donatella at June 7, 2007 2:46 AM
Petit Bassam has pretty good food but the service is so bad that it's impossible to endure!!!
Posted by: Anonymous at June 7, 2007 6:14 AM
The rent is too high for a restaurant in that nabe. That's New York rent. These landlords make me laugh. But then again there is always a new culinary grad with some money who will lose his shirt. You only need one sap every year.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 7, 2007 6:39 AM
Is it possible that you don't know the market and can't idenitfy with the owner of the building? Market is whatever someone is willing to pay regardless if they can survive at the rent. It's a calculated risk the owner has to make for his investment. S/he loses money when it goes unrented and when it's not at the highest price he can get. Not his responsibility to cater to your latest craving. Go buy your own building.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 7, 2007 10:10 AM
A bar/lounge would be amazing. Something like the old Halcyon on Smith. Lots of cute young things looking to hang out in Ft. Greene, but not enough options! Oh, and I hope the poster asking for a starfucks was kidding!
Posted by: rosie at June 7, 2007 12:25 PM
If it wasn't for the fact that I am counting down the time until I leave my lame job, I would not make a comment...but here's my two cents anyway....a bar/loung would be great, even a gay bar would be better. There's no gay bar in the whole nabe. Bring on the cute young things.
Posted by: AA at June 7, 2007 3:05 PM
whoever moves into that space should stay open past midnight and deliver past 10:30. even with all the changes in recent years, there's nothing open late.
another thought - the people behind joya and song should bring their tasty, super-cheap thai to fort greene.
Posted by: b at June 11, 2007 7:20 PM
I don't want to flame anyone here and actually plan to send an ACTUAL typed letter (on paper), but does anyone know the name of Graziella's owner?
We have been there about 8x over the past year-plus. The food has always been good, but the service has ranged from courteous to downright insolent or oblivious/apathetic.
We have out-of-town relatives this week and wanted to treat them to good neighborhood Italian fare last night and the service was DEPLORABLE (also out of clams and Brooklyn Brewery Pilsner?). Our server screwed up our order, didn't bring us bread and when asked by my wife, returned with a meager basket of bread (for 4 people) with a "Here's your bread, Lady." He was so bad that the owner came to apologize to the next table because he had failed to submit one of their entrees to the kitchen. Also a policy of adding an 18% percent gratuity to all patio tables should be clearly stated to ALL patrons. We usually tip 20+% for good service, but not 18% for being dismissed like the wrong caste (can't come up with another analogy).
We definitely agree with houseowax about the possibility that their entire waitstaff may be subjects of a badly thought-out human-trafficking scheme.
Posted by: momoe at June 18, 2007 1:34 PM
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