Streetlevel: Olivino Part Deux Opens in Bed Stuy

out of business within the year for that store.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 2:26 PM

hey there 2:26, not enough sunshine in your life? learn to manage that negativity. please. i dig olivino and fully wish pollari and her dog (and by extension the communities her stores are in) continued prosperity.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 2:44 PM

Even racist miscreants like yourself should know that black people drink wine. Black people drink wine, go to church, spend more on hair care than the GDP of many nations. They also like to laugh, dance and create jazz, the blues and other enduring art forms.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 2:48 PM

I'm with you 2:44pm. Congrats on opening a second location and further helping to bring more businesses to this area of Bed-Stuy. I and several friends own homes in the neighborhood and frequently travel to Clinton Hill for services. I know we're not alone. Businesses like this one will bring out the more progressive residents and encourage us to shop in our own backyard.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 2:50 PM

ditto 2:50. I will likely be a regular!

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 2:54 PM

pottery barn furniture
meh

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 2:56 PM

my prayers have been answered

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 2:59 PM

I agree that this store will do well. There are tons of yuppies in the immediate area. Usually cafes are the first signs of gentrification, but wine shops are evidence that the process is well underway.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 3:08 PM

hallelujah
As a confirmed alcoholic of anglo french origin I am overjoyed that I will no longer have to drive to park slope to buy my weekly supplies.
Now we need a good bakery -- there are some nice efforts being made but sill no great bread. Some good cheese and some decent vegatables. More power to Olivino

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 3:12 PM

thanks, 3:08.

you know what isn't so much a sign that gentrification is well under way??

when people have to try to convince us that it's well under way.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 3:13 PM

I will be a regular customer! I am moving in two weeks from Boerum Hill to Bed Stuy. It is great to see the neighborhood getting the services it has been asking for!
Congrats to the owner on the second location! See you soon.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 3:17 PM

Hooray!

A cute wine shop right around the corner from my house! I wish the owner much success and look forward to shopping there!

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 3:24 PM

Nice. Glad to hear she's expanding. I used to live very close to the Fulton Street store, and loved it from the get-go. She has a knack for selecting a small, but well thought out inventory. One is all too easily dazzled in big wine shops. Her model is so comfortable. I miss the shop....

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 3:46 PM

This is indeed excellent news!! I love Olivino. But the map is wrong--what's the address?

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 3:57 PM

Oops, sorry, now I see the cross street is Marcus Garvey.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 3:58 PM

3:13,

Well, then gentrification must be well underway, as I'm not trying to convince you or anyone else of anything. The evidence is already there for the world to see.

Good night!

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 4:01 PM

Did anybody at all read 2:48's fine post? It doesn't matter if gentrification is on its way or not or what. This place will succeed because - shocker - black people drink wine too. Jeepers, you guys. Have you ever been friends with one single black person ever in your lives?

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 4:04 PM

4:04:

I'm pretty sure 2:48 was being sarcastic, using irony, what have you. That is, I read it as joke. And I assumed the writer was black -- don't know why.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 4:11 PM

this news has made my day!

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 4:13 PM

Hip Hip Hooray!!! Unfortunately, their prices are high, but as someone who loves wine, lives in the hood and is in walking distance, I'm sure there are times I'll go there when I can't get to the better priced stores.

As for the commenter regarding a need for good bread, check out the cute new cafe on Malcolm X between Putnam and Jefferson. Yep, I did say on Malcolm X, the first of hopefully many more nicer stores on that once grand avenue (known as Reid Ave then).

As for the nasty first comment, that less than enlightened person obviously has no idea that there are sophisticated, educated people of all colors.

Again, Hip hip hooray!!

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 4:19 PM

4:19,

I didn't know you had to be "sohisticated and educated" to drink wine.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 4:28 PM

to the ignorant bigot that started off this post. will you be kind enough to elaborate why you believe olivino will fail in bedstuy. this site needs to do a better job at limiting people from making ignorant comments unless the are able to substantiate or defend their comments.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 4:36 PM

Please stop engaging the first poster! Do you really care what he/she thinks? Why on earth invite them to elaborate? Instead just respond with your dollars and support this new business.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 4:41 PM

4:41. Right on target. Bed Stuy bloggers should support the store en masse.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 4:44 PM

Is the new shop also called Olivino? What are the hours?

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 4:46 PM

"to the ignorant bigot that started off this post. will you be kind enough to elaborate why you believe olivino will fail in bedstuy. this site needs to do a better job at limiting people from making ignorant comments unless the are able to substantiate or defend their comments."

personally i find your comment suggesting to limit the powers of freedom of speech FAR more ignorant that the first poster.

and to be clear, there was not any hint of bigotry in that comment. you'd have to read into it to have gotten that, which clearly you did. which makes you doubly ignorant.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 4:51 PM

George Bush makes ignorant comments on an every day basis and I see very few people asking him to substantiate squat.

You're a moron, 4:36.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 4:55 PM

This is exactly what Bed-Stuy needs.

My blog covers topics such as this. Gentryornot.blogspot.com

Enjoy!

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 4:55 PM

Address and hours on bedstuyblog.com...

http://www.bedstuyblog.com/2007/09/24/olivino-wine-shop-expands-into-bed-stuy/

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 5:02 PM

Sorry, I meant to actually paste this here...

Olivino
426D Marcus Garvey Boulevard
Hours: Mon - Sat Noon - 9:00 p.m.; Sun Noon - 7:00 p.m.
Phone: 718.857.7952

http://www.bedstuyblog.com/2007/09/24/olivino-wine-shop-expands-into-bed-stuy/

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 5:03 PM

first poster here, I'm saying there isn't enough customer base to sustain that type of business in that area.

but hey good luck if you get enough customers than you're a pioneer and shall reap all the benefits of it.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 5:10 PM

"Unfortunately, their prices are high, but as someone who loves wine, lives in the hood and is in walking distance, I'm sure there are times I'll go there when I can't get to the better priced stores."

Expensive or not, if you are a home owner in Bed Stuy I encourage you to make all of your wine purchases here!

Think of it as the commercial equivalent of paying a mortgage over rent. The money you spend is directly supporting the services in your own neighborhood that benefit you, for the continued quality of your life. Can you say the same for a bottle of wine from Trader Joe's? :-)

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 5:14 PM

first poster here, i'm shock how much racist some of you guys are, and can jump into conclusions.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 5:16 PM

Last time I checked, 5:14...wine purchases are not tax deductible.

If that was the case, I'd own 10 brownstones.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 5:20 PM

My husabnd and I bought our home in Bed-Stuy about a year and a half ago and have been waiting for more ammenities to come to our neighborhood. I for one am very happy to see more upscale stores sprouting up in the area and would prefer to support local merchants. I have been driving over to Park Slope ever since we moved from their to buy wine, speciality foods, or simply to go out for a nice dinner or drinks. I intend to fully support this store. It will be nice to go somehwere in the neighborhood to buy a bottle of wine where I can walk around the store and look at things and read lables, or even get some help...instead of having to talk to someone behind bullet proof glass, who has nothing in the store but cheap bad wine.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 6:43 PM

They better sell Wild Irsh Rose or Night Train else they will go out of business in no time.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 7:32 PM

For all of those out there with such negative attitudes get over yourselves...believe it or not there aare many people of all races living in Bed- Stuy that make money and spend money...if you think that Bed- Stuy has not or is not changing you are a fool. As for the 7:32pm post who lives in the Slope...I lived in the Slope for 14 years and it has only been the past 10 that it had even remotely started to change. They were selling crack on the corner and shootings were happening on a regular basis in Park Slope and look what that neighborhood has turned into...a bunch of upper west siders looking to get out of Manhattan and moving to "The Slope". Bed- Stuy is certainly going through a revival...in the short time I have been here I have seen the changes and have been part of initiating them. Bed Stuy has more white, and gay people living in it than ever, and they continue to move in in search of big properties for good prices. You will be eating all of your remarks when not only this wine shop but many other stores like it not only have their grand openings but are thriving for many years to come....

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 7:41 PM

Welcome neighbor (Olive)!

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 8:03 PM

Why are all these people driving to Park Slope? Where's the carbon footprint love? In addition, aren't Williamsburg, Clinton Hill and Fort Green considerably closer? Last I checked, they all have wine, cheese and bread stores.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 8:45 PM

The point about supporting businesses in your neighborhood is really valid.

Strong communities recycle the same dollar within the community many times.
In addition to which, your dollars are going into a business in the neighborhood that if successful, will attract more businesses and as more commercial entities open up the neighborhood continues to grow in desirability.

As a home owner, This then feeds back to you by helping raise the value of properties in the locale.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 8:46 PM

Alcoholics do not like expensive alcohol and thats all wine is.
I agree...going under in under 2 years.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 8:47 PM

8:46pm is exactly right. If people don't support their local stores and restaurants, whether those places are ideal or not, new amenities ain't coming. Ever. People need to get out there and spend some dough locally. I wish people shopped locally in our neighborhood. Everyone here drives to Park Slope too. Which is basically saying to businesses "spend all kinds of money to bring it here first, THEN we'll decide if it's good enough before we shop locally". Why do people think that's going to work? Hilarious.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 9:03 PM

ha! the idea that olivino won't succeed is hilarious! it's such a no brainer. we welcome olivino and the many more fabulous businesss that are sure to follow.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 9:32 PM

I live in Bed Stuy and welcome this new business. I'd like to learn more about wine and be able to get a decent recommendation from someone who knows wine. Right now all we have are jokers selling alcohol behind bullet proof glass who are more interested in selling lottery tickets and cashing checks than selling wine. They should make sure the Brownstoners know about them so they get some attention on House Tour Saturday (Oct 20).

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 9:54 PM

She's also opening up a winebar on Fulton Street, in Clinton Hill - two doors down from Olivino - many cheers to Katrine!

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 11:36 PM

OK - I just moved to Bed Stuy from Park Slope - and I DO NOT WANT TO SPEND THE SAME LEVEL OF MONEY FOR wine in BED STUY that I DID in PARK SLOPE! I expect that it will be cheaper in Bed Stuy, at this juncture. Just as I cannot expect to buy a home in Bed Stuy for the same price as Park Slope at this juncture.

So, Olivino, WELCOME WELCOME WELCOME, please stay a while, but can you calibrate the pricing at this point, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 11:59 PM

The first poster is an idiot.

Of COURSE there's enough of a market here.

I mean, whether you think Stuyvesant Heights is turning into a yuppie gentrification land (ie: lots of wealthy people who buy wine for status) or if you think it's sliding back towards slumhood (ie: lots of drunks) it means there are going to be people buying alcohol.

Personally, I'm leaning toward the former rather than the latter, but maybe the first poster is just bitter because they didn't buy in the neighborhood when houses could be had for $200,000.

Sour grapes for him, nice fermented grapes for us.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 12:22 AM

ii have 5 wine stores to choose from within 10 blocks of my park slope home.

what's the big woop?

you people in bed stuy MUST be desperate.

i'd want to drink a lot if i lived there too...

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 1:09 AM

I didn't know the residents of bed stuy were as narrow minded and intolerant as their park slope bretheren.

As far as I can tell the first poster expressed a personal opininion abou the business prospects of a store, and numerous subsequent posters labeled him an idiot, racist, and even called on brownstoner to ban such comments from the web site!

I didn't know the bill of rights was null and void in bed stuy?

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 4:44 AM

Brownstoner is just like a Soap Opera. You can skip many months and not miss a thing. Cheers to the omnipotent meanies. Have a glass (or 5) of wine.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 8:13 AM

Actually, as hard as it is to pick, I think 11:59 might take the cake for the most asinine comment here. Yes, a bottle of wine from Italy/France/California/South Africa should cost infinitely less in Bed-Stuy than another outlet two miles away. Gimme a break. I happen to think Olivino's prices are right on--they have a nice selection and you can pretty much know that what you buy there is going to be good.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 8:28 AM

There has been a wine store on Vanderbilt near Atlantic Ave for years, and that street still looks like Berlin in 1945.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 10:04 AM

the wine store in williamsburg on bedford btwn n. 7 and n. 8th (the epicenter of the northside) got rid of its bulletproof glass only about three years ago. now look at the neighborhood!

and i agree - why drive to park slope for everything? blah.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 10:15 AM

Where da Thunderbird at?

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 10:30 AM

"that street still looks like Berlin in 1945."

it looks like heaven compared to marcus garvey blvd.

sad to say.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 11:06 AM

Vanderbilt Avenue in Prospect Heights does not look like 1945 Berlin... What a strange comment

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 11:30 AM

it kinda does.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 11:35 AM

11:06, and MG will continue to look like that unless businesses like this take a chance and settle in. Their success brings more business. That's how Lewis Ave changed, as well as every other commercial street in Brownstone Brooklyn. The only way they can improve the area is for people to support them. I think they will do quite well, and I will patronize them, as well.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 12:44 PM

Will Olive be there? I'd patronize any business that has Olive-she's the cutest li'l pug in town.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 1:16 PM

Rumor has it Olive will, in fact, be camping out there. I certainly welcome this additional mushiness to the neighborhood.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 1:36 PM

Some of you Bed Stuy boosters should really consider forming your own PR agency.

The way you talk about it, you'd think it was Sesame Street.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 1:48 PM

I think they might be all the same person.

It's v. cool to love they neighborhood, but let's not paint it as the rosy, bucolic urban setting you seem want us all to believe it is.

I wasn't born yesterday and I've been to Bed Stuy many times recently.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 3:28 PM

hallelujah
As a confirmed alcoholic of anglo french origin I am overjoyed that I will no longer have to drive to park slope to buy my weekly supplies.
Now we need a good bakery -- there are some nice efforts being made but sill no great bread. Some good cheese and some decent vegatables. More power to Olivino

Bread Stuy around the corner bakes and Heavenly Crumbs and Shakoor's all can be found on www.shopbedstuy.com. Please tell the owner of this new place to visit our site and become a member.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 3:41 PM

One good thing about all this Bed Stuy gentrification.

Sounds like the reason for all the traffic in Park Slope is from all you damn fringe neighborhood inhabitants coming down and buying all our wares.

Ever heard of the subway?

Good to know Park Slope is thought of in such a good light that judging from this thread, EVERYONE who lives in Bed Stuy shops in Park Slope.

I personally enjoy living and shopping in the same neighborhood, but that's just me, I guess.

Way to live green, Bed Stuyers.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 3:56 PM

The folks in Bed Stuy are part of a $750 billion economy, so it would be green in many ways to open businesses there while the getting is good.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 4:14 PM

Who said BS was rosy and bucolic? Or Sesame Street? You haters just can't stand the thought that people are happy with their choices of homes and neighborhoods. Sad.

New businesses are coming to the hood everyday. Guess they think it's not so bad, and more importantly, they may make some money in a neighborhood that is eager to stay home and spend some money at home.

There is no direct train service to the Slope from BS, making a 15 minute drive an hour long experience on public transportation. Maybe people's time is more important to them than worrying about what some jerk thinks about their driving habits.

Welcome Olivino!

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 5:13 PM

Is Bed Stuy in Queens?

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 5:26 PM

No it's the name for where yo' mama gets busy.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 5:45 PM

I haven't been to Park Slope in probably three years. I take that back, I have gone to Al di la a couple of times. So, no, not EVERYONE goes ther to shop, sorry.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 5:47 PM

I used to go to Park Slope for various services but I stopped when the neighborhood became a wasteland filled with real estate storefronts and stores catering to children's clothes.

Obviously, Olive made a wise choice and chose a nicer, more civilized area in which to make a difference.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 6:22 PM

LOL. good one, 6:22.

Now that you have one wine shop, now all the sudden BED STUY is more civilized than Park Slope?!!

And nicer? You need to read the police blotter a little more often. You will be hard pressed to find a less "nice" neighborhood.

Good one.

I'd rather have real estate offices and children's clothing instead of 10 nail salons and the rest boarded up abanonded buildings any day of the week.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 7:28 PM

Girls, girls, you're BOTH pretty!

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 8:01 PM

This thread is awesome. It's really entertaining to someone who doesn't live in either nabe, or even Brooklyn for that matter!

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 8:40 PM

Oh 7:28, you are so sad!

You have never been to my neighborhood, which is obvious from your post.

All of us from outside that cesspool called Park Slope laugh at your attempts to justify your supposed superiority.

Once the overdevelopment of 4th Avenue consumes your neighborhood, you will wish you lived in a livable location like Bedford or Stuyvesant Heights.

I'll take nail salons over triple wide baby carriages with fat lazy 10 year olds any day.

And I don't need chaperones a la Park Slope Food Co-Op to follow me home to ensure I don't steal a cart. (Or do they help you find you way back home because you are too stupid to do it yourself?)

Btw: congratulations on overpaying for a neighborhood that is so played out that people move from there in order to live some where nicer.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 9:33 PM

To the moron who accused me of contending that black people do not drink wine when I aligned wine shops with gentrification:

Implicit in your statement is an assumption that gentrification is done solely by white people and that all black people in Bed-Stuy are of lower economic classes. Thanks. Great logic there. Like it or not, a wine shop like this caters to people of a certain economic class, regardless of race, and that is what I meant.

And, for the record, I am black.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 10:02 PM

And I don't need chaperones a la Park Slope Food Co-Op to follow me home to ensure I don't steal a cart. (Or do they help you find you way back home because you are too stupid to do it yourself?)

ummmm...they do it as a courtesy to help people get their groceries home. then they take the cart back to help someone else. pretty civilized if you ask me.

you're right though. bed stuy is much nicer than park slope.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 10:02 PM

"And, for the record, I am black."

We all are, 10:02.

We all are.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 10:04 PM

Grand opening on Sat. between 6:00 - 9:00 pm.

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 4:17 PM

I'm not quite sure why people are bickering over neighborhood status.

Look, we're all people. Regardless of where we live, what "color" we are, or what type of products we buy, we are all in this together. By nature, we want the best for ourselves, for each other and for our children.

As for the portrait of Bed Stuy, it doesn't take a genius to tell that its diamond in the rough. Its apparent that this community has an extremely strong heritage and a irreplicable sence of community. There are individuals, community groups, community development corporations, informal associations and networks of all walks of life. We band together to creat remarkable things - Bed-Stuy Alive kicks off Oct. 11, the Brownstoners House Tours, the Restaurant Strut, holiday midnight maddness, shopping tours, poetry groups, support for small businesses - the list is endless.

In a world that is rapidly shrinking - where we are all so connected by technologies, communication, the internet, globalization, etc - its about time we start to shift our mindsets. Blogs like these are cemmendable for exposing each other to the myriad attitudes that exist both with in and out side of Bedford Stuyvesant. Its a small snapshot of life in this point in time.

If at all interested, check out these new businesses in the community and keep an eye out for many more:

TT's Sports Bar and Grill on Tompkins
Natures Twist on Tompkins
Common Grounds Cafe on Tompkins
Brooks Valley Cafe on Tompkins
Twofiftyeight Cafe on Malcolm X
Oz Hardware on Malcolm X
Tiny Cup cafe on Nostrand
Neat Freaks Cleaning on Hancock
Etc.

Coming Soon:
Stizzy Speak Easy and Bar on Lewis
Blue Collar Pictures on Malcolm X

Posted by: guest at September 27, 2007 11:35 AM

for more on Bed-Stuy, check out BedStuyBlog.com

Posted by: guest at September 27, 2007 12:16 PM

I am moving to MacDonough Street between Tomkins and Throop this weekend an from President Street in Park Slope and it is good to see a great business like this one moving into Bedford Stuyvesant. I like Park Slope architecturally and that is what attracted me to move Bedford Stuyvesant. If anyone on here knows the history of Brooklyn both neighborhoods where designed and planned by the same architects at the same time. Now that Park Slope has had its rebirth it is time for other areas to emerge. It take baby steps like the opening of this great wine shop things don't change over night but they do change.

Posted by: guest at October 4, 2007 11:20 AM

FOR ALL INFO AND SHOPPING IN BEDSUTY GO TO
WWW.SHOPBEDSTUY.COM
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE BEDSTUY BUSSINESS ALLIANCE

Posted by: guest at November 19, 2007 8:53 AM

Everybody's sleeping on THE KOMFORT CAFE. It's located at 1587 Fulton Street bet Marcus Garvey & Albany Ave. I've been there a couple of times to watch the fights. They have a nice little party after the fight also. I know they're going to do open mic soon as well as other events. Probably in the next month or so. If I were you I would call them and leave my email address on their answering service. The # is (718) 493-5682. They're not open all the time although they do rent the space out for private parties,baby showers etc. They are picky about who they rent to and I don't blame them. They have to protect their investment. It's a cold world old girl.

Posted by: guest at January 16, 2008 11:00 PM