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November 20, 2009

New Cafe for The Heights

Brooklyn Heights Blog has the scoop (and the photos) on the latest addition to the neighborhood's culinary scene: A cute spot called the Iris cafe opened yesterday at 20 Columbia Place in Willowtown. Anyone tried it yet?
Willowtown’s Iris Cafe - the Photos! [BHB] GMAP

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I think it could be cuter. They should take a page from Hudson, NY cafe cuteness. This is B grade cuteness.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 20, 2009 10:17 AM

Cute = looks like the walls have accumulated 100 years of farts on them, even though the place is brand new.

Posted by: benson at November 20, 2009 10:18 AM

It's a much-needed addition to the neighborhood. I hope it does well!

These retail spaces have been hoarded by the Pinnacle group (who owns the building) for years. They've claimed they're unrentable, but in reality, many potential renters inquired, only to be turned away. I'm thrilled to see that Pinnacle is finally letting businesses in.

An Italian restaurant is scheduled to open by the end of the year on the corner, and the owners of this cafe said they heard a doctor's office and salon will be moving in soon too.

Posted by: alsawo at November 20, 2009 10:23 AM

There's a section of BH called Willowtown? What are the borders?

There is a small residential corridor along Duffield and Concord Streets. I always wondered what that was called.

www.forgotten-ny.com

Posted by: Kevin Walsh at November 20, 2009 10:30 AM

I walked by the other day. Looks a little like a couple of 20-somethings said, Lets open a cafe! I say more power to them. It's not too cute, but then again it's not manufactured cute either.

I know they were asking about 3k a month for the smaller spaces which isn't a lay up for a cafe with no traffic. And I know the doctor will be an OB/GYN -- and I gotta think there's money in babies in this area.

Posted by: Ringo at November 20, 2009 10:39 AM

I think it looks really charming.
How could it be cuter for pete's sake?
Are people grumpy this morning? benson?

Posted by: Minard Lafever at November 20, 2009 10:44 AM

> Cute = looks like the walls have accumulated 100 years of farts on them

Rob - stop hijacking other people's logins!

Posted by: DitmasSnark at November 20, 2009 10:47 AM

Minard;

Well, I am a bit grumpy today. Kinda fed up with the Brownstoner mindset. If I have time today, I'll write a rant about it in the OT. That post yesterday about the "restoration" on Waverly Ave. made my blood pressure go up.

Posted by: benson at November 20, 2009 10:51 AM

Out of the way cafes like this are gold. When you find them, hold on with both hands (like, both hands for dirnking multiple cups of coffee or tea at once I mean, not actually literally hold on to the store, that'd just be silly. Okay, I'm finished, thanks for reading, see you all in another thread. I wonder what other threads there will be today? Hope something good, maybe something I know something about. Well guess I'll go check out the OT now. Bye.)

Posted by: infinitejester at November 20, 2009 10:53 AM

From the Willowtown website: "The boundary of Willowtown is from Joralemon Street to Atlantic Avenue and from both sides of Hicks Street to Furman Street between Joralemon and Atlantic."

It's basically southwest Brooklyn Heights.

Posted by: alsawo at November 20, 2009 10:53 AM

What was wrong with Waverly??????

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 20, 2009 11:00 AM

Gotta love the internet. All my life in the Heights, piano lessons as a kid right near this cafe...
... and this is the first I've ever heard it called Willowtown (and to think the Willowtown Association has been around for over 50 years).

Posted by: christopher at November 20, 2009 11:11 AM

I don't really know what the "Brownstoner mindset" is. It seems fairly varied to me. But then, I don't venture into the OT depths . . .

I just wanna say: People pour their heart and soul and time and money into these places. Christ. Give them an effing chance.

Posted by: Nomi at November 20, 2009 11:40 AM

Nomi -- agreed! And on that note: imagine how much we'd be complaining if a Starbucks opened up there. We should be welcoming this place with open arms.

Posted by: alsawo at November 20, 2009 11:45 AM

Nomi;

Varied??? Really??? Could have fooled me on the Waverly thread.

Posted by: benson at November 20, 2009 11:57 AM

Benson, this is a blog started by a guy who loves old buildings and historic neighborhoods. The blog is read by many people who enjoy the same, and work to keep it that way. A post celebrating the restoration of an attractive old building, in yesterday's Waverly thread, is hardly reason to get your blood pressure up. The Garden State Brickface muddle that preceeded it could not be construed as attractive or desireable by too many people here. I don't know why you continue to read Brownstoner, if you are going to get your back up every time Mr. B. posts about preservation, restoration, or the use of period style materials, and a number of people agree. It's like getting upset with Sports Illustrated because they keep talking about sports. Sheesh.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at November 20, 2009 12:07 PM

I hope this place is good. That little strip of empty shops on Columbia would be awesome if filled with some good restaurants, cafes, etc.

I know many on here won't care, but a kid friendly place would do really well around there.

Posted by: Brokedeveloper at November 20, 2009 12:11 PM

DIBS - and which Hudson, NY cafes do you think equal cute? Don't even tell me Cascades or Nolita!!!!!!!

Posted by: bowl of dicks at November 20, 2009 12:16 PM

Benson, why are you picking only on the point that is arguable instead of saying, "Yes, Nomi, you are right. I was an insensitive schmuck saying the wall of this place look like they've accumulated 100 years of farts on them. Please, can you find it in your heart to forgive me? I've got issues."

Posted by: Nomi at November 20, 2009 12:17 PM

BD, someone mentioned to me the other day about how Brooklyn Heights's brownstones are starting to turn over to young families as the older generation moves or dies off - now that DUMBO is filled to capacity. So yeah, you're right IMO.

Posted by: infinitejester at November 20, 2009 12:18 PM

oh goody. Another day, another benson rant. If you're so fed up with the brownstoner mindset why do you keep reading it? Take care of your health. Let the blood pressure go down- stop reading.

I'm with Nomi and IJ- I love little places like this. I wish some would open up in Crown Heights. And I'm all for small businesses and people who run them. Good for them and I hope the place is successful.

Posted by: bxgrl at November 20, 2009 12:20 PM

Let me surmise as benson and I have talked extensively at PLUSA gatherings: Benson travels this fair country of ours a lot, and sees how many people live lives that are respectable and dignified and content. Then he logs on here and sees people extolling a few select options over and above what he sees in his travels. The breadth he witnesses in his workaday life perhaps clues him into perspectives we wouldn't otherwise see.

Posted by: infinitejester at November 20, 2009 12:26 PM

Telling someone to stop reading is like telling them to STFU, in my opinion. One is low and coarse, the other is high-minded, both make me cringe.

Posted by: infinitejester at November 20, 2009 12:31 PM

I don't think being well-traveled is an excuse to make nasty comments about a new small business, or anything else for that matter. I would imagine many, many people on this blog are well traveled, both here and abroad.

I've been to every state in the lower 48. Does that mean I can shit on this new cafe too?

(No pun intended given Benson's original comment)

Posted by: 11217 at November 20, 2009 12:37 PM

11217, you happy phantom (said non-hominem), I was referring to his Waverly opinions. We all snark it up here, there's nothing wrong with that.

Posted by: infinitejester at November 20, 2009 12:40 PM

Nomi- he certainly does. ANd he certainly is.

Posted by: bxgrl at November 20, 2009 12:57 PM

> We all snark it up here, there's nothing wrong with that.

Word.

Posted by: DitmasSnark at November 20, 2009 1:18 PM

well, IJ- benson has been low and coarse many many times for no good reason. His initial post this morning is a case in point. I'm simply concerned for his blood pressure, which he says reading b'stoner raises.

Posted by: bxgrl at November 20, 2009 1:18 PM

wow. so benson had a differing opinion than the majority and he gets dog piled :-/ i mean i know it's human nature and all to trounce on smoeone with a different opinion and tell them if they arent in complete agreeance with the majority they "should just leave" but if you step back a second and think about the you should just leave sentiment you'd realize just how farked up that is to say.

that said, coffee cafes and wine bars are the new check cashing places and nail shops. which is funny but sad at the same time. and i hope someday,hopefully soon, a new group of people will be all like omg those places are SOOOOOO ghetto and tacky and shouldnt be in our neighborhood, so the carbon monoxide bars and metal head plate shops can move in.

*rob*

Posted by: Butterfly at November 20, 2009 1:33 PM

also, benson saying this board raises his blood pressure is just that he gets a visceral reaction to what people say here. it raises my blood pressure too!!! but i think that's why i like it. if i wanted to be calm and mellow and just exist i'd go join and post on the My Little Pony fansite or something.

i think a lot of you who claim to like "diversity" are phonies. you see diversity only as a mixed group of race and religion, but never realize that true diversity is being around and interacting with people who have differing opinions and worldviews...

that said, what the f am i doing here on my DAY OFF!!!

*rob*

Posted by: Butterfly at November 20, 2009 1:37 PM

I've never seen benson be low and coarse, telling people off in profanity or anything like that.

Posted by: infinitejester at November 20, 2009 1:46 PM

With all due respect IJ you haven't been reading his posts then.

Just because he likes to sprinkle his posts with 'highfalutin' verbiage doesn't make his barbs and digs any less low or coarse. He's as bad as anyone but just coats his comments with pomposity in an attempt to deflect.

Posted by: TownhouseLady at November 20, 2009 2:05 PM

"that said, what the f am i doing here on my DAY OFF!!!"

LOL, *rob*, just asking myself the same question.

bowlofdicks, what's wrong with the cafes in Hudson? I love Nolita. They let me bring my dog in when I order, and then bring a bowl of water to the table for her. Tanzy's is charming, too. (Speaking of "charming", nice screen name.)

Posted by: CarrollGardened at November 20, 2009 2:29 PM

Hi folks;

I admitted above that my "fart" comment was grumpy. Beyond that, I fail to see why folks chose to go personal on this. I won't respond to it, however.

Posted by: benson at November 20, 2009 2:30 PM

"He's as bad as anyone"

I mean, benson is not a foul-mouthed jerk. I read all his posts and also don't look at any of the PLUSAs as bad.

Posted by: infinitejester at November 20, 2009 2:43 PM

"I mean, benson is not a foul-mouthed jerk. I read all his posts and also don't look at any of the PLUSAs as bad."

I agree with jester. Then again I despise bickering and think people take things too seriously. It's a blog. It's supposed to be entertaining. Divergent points of view are a good thing. Irreverence can be fun.

Posted by: CarrollGardened at November 20, 2009 2:59 PM

"true diversity is being around and interacting with people who have differing opinions and worldviews"

He's got something there.

Posted by: East New York at November 20, 2009 2:59 PM

benson, your feelings towards historic preservation remind me of my feelings about ice hockey. I just don't get it. I don't think it's interseting or enjoyable. I'm missing the ice hockey gene. However I fully accept that a lot of people get a lot of pleasure out of it. Even though to me it seems kind of violent and boring at the same time.
However, in my case, I have never felt any desire to visit ice hockey blogs.

Posted by: Minard Lafever at November 20, 2009 3:12 PM

Minard;

If this blog were solely about preservation, you would be spot on. However, please note that Mr. B. fashions this blog to be about Brooklyn (see the tagline above "Brooklyn Inside and Out"). He talks about new developments, Brooklyn politics, crime and even the restaurant scene.

I like Brooklyn, in all its aspects. Hence I read this blog, and comment where I will.

In sum, your post is not relevant, except to show that there are a good number of people on this site who want to turn it into an amen corner. Rob's point above about diversity is dead on.

Posted by: benson at November 20, 2009 3:20 PM

What do you mean by "Amen Corner"?

Posted by: TownhouseLady at November 20, 2009 3:26 PM

"benson, your feelings towards historic preservation remind me of my feelings about ice hockey. I just don't get it."

You have to keep your eye on the puck.

Posted by: East New York at November 20, 2009 3:32 PM

actually, there is a huge amount of diversity on brownstoner. Not just backgrounds and culture- but opinion also. And most of us enjoy it. To say it isn't is simply untrue. But what benson does is preface everything with "oh I know I'll get attacked for this because I am saying different" and he proceeds to insult other viewpoints and insist the worst of everyone. (How about that artistically and intellectually bankrupt comment?). So when he gets as good as he gives, he gets upset and complains that it's everyone else who attacks him, because, hey! he posts an unpopular viewpoint.

Wrong. It's the way he says it. Not what he says. I've had real life conversations with him- we didn't agree on a lot but we had a great conversation. In real life he's a sweetheart. So why he has to be one way online and another offline is a mystery.

Posted by: bxgrl at November 20, 2009 3:39 PM

Cute cafe.

Posted by: DitmasSnark at November 20, 2009 3:41 PM

Did someone just fart?

Posted by: benson at November 20, 2009 3:44 PM

you

Posted by: bxgrl at November 20, 2009 3:53 PM

You're a true class act Benson.

Posted by: TownhouseLady at November 20, 2009 3:56 PM

Cute cafe.

Posted by: DitmasSnark at November 20, 2009 4:03 PM

wow, the lady of the house is going off on the butler today.

Posted by: antidope at November 20, 2009 4:06 PM

It's hard to get good help anymore, antidope :)

Posted by: bxgrl at November 20, 2009 4:07 PM

OK all you arm chair naysayer boobs (benson). I went to this cafe today. Yep, went out of my way and spent part of my modest allowance on lunch there just so that I could report back with some actual facts instead of idle nasty speculation.

Happily, it was really nice.

For the record, the walls had no resemblance to an accumulation of farts. Of course, as that's not really a literal description, I suppose that someone very poetic in a dark twisted way, could disagree. But I don't think we normal people would ever think of an accumulation of farts when looking at the walls I saw today.

More importantly, the service was friendly and efficient. The owner, or, at least, the woman I took to be an owner, was indeed a twenty-something, or looked like one. But this is not a case of a couple of know-nothing 20-somethings opening a cafe. The food was far too good for that.

I got the Proper Egg Salad, which normally comes as a sandwich, but since I'm trying to stay away from bread right now, she made it into a salad for me. "Proper" here means that they make the egg salad to order. Yeah -- she made my egg salad from eggs that had just been hard boiled about 15 minutes earlier, placed on fresh greens with tomatoes -- RED tomatoes -- and topped it with the dijon mayo that would have been on the sandwich and added some olive oil. It was lovely. Turns out I couldn't hold out with the no bread thing and in the end asked for the bread that would have normally come with a salad. I had a good sized piece of a multi-grained baguette with butter. Yum.

And I had a cup of coffee. They serve Stumptown coffee. So, anyone who follows the coffee world, will know the coffee was good.

Yes, I know I sound like a stock holder or something. I'm not. I just want to remind people that this place is someone's dream, most likely a dream that took a lot of work, money and agita to make happen. Putting it down so cavalierly BEFORE even going there . . . that hurts.

Posted by: Nomi at November 20, 2009 9:23 PM

Nomi;

Oh for Pete's sake, lighten up. I didn't put down this place at all. I made an offhanded remark that was directed at Mr. B. and his aesthetic sensisibility. My point was that he would call anything cute as long as it had some type of 19th century patina.

I'm glad you liked the place, and I wish the owners all the best.

Posted by: benson at November 20, 2009 9:46 PM

Ooo, I thought you'd tell me to lighten up. That was as light as I get.

But we should meet sometime. Over coffee and 19th century patina.

I love the word patina. It covers everything from the green stuff on copper to the worst grime. At least I like to call grime patina. Oh, that encrusted food on your "clean" plate? People pay a lot of money for that kind of patina . . . . .

Posted by: Nomi at November 21, 2009 12:16 AM

I will confess that, although I realized, after reading other comments, that you were probably making a dig at Mr. B for his historic bent, I DID also think you were nastily mocking a new cafe. An efficient twofer. Can you blame me?

Posted by: Nomi at November 21, 2009 11:46 AM

Nomi;

No problem. You seem like a nice person. Yes, let's have lunch at the cafe. I'll treat!

Posted by: benson at November 21, 2009 12:50 PM

I don't know, benson. I AM extraordinarily nice, but we might argue. It could get ugly. It's not that I don't get and somewhat agree with your point about the elitism of putting down "fiberama" renovation. But at the same time, I do not think restoring a building to something close to its original design equals a bankruptcy in contemporary architecture. But a free lunch, hmmm .. .

Posted by: Nomi at November 21, 2009 3:40 PM

Nomi;

OK, let me flesh out my point a little further, and make the lunch more enticing ;-).

I didn't say that contemporary architecture is bankrupt. What I think is bankrupt is the preservationist mindset that holds sway on this site (and I catch ALOT of heat for saying it).

You're absolutely right that there is nothing wrong with one building being restored to its original condition. What I object to is that this is held out as the ONLY paradigm for what to do with such a building. I don't know how long you've been on this site, but I'll ask you: have you ever seen a post on a run-down building in one of the brownstone neighborhoods that is renovated in a contemporary idiom (and the post gives it accolades for doing so?). I can't recall ever seeing such a post. Almost every new development is put down too.

Is this what we want for these neighborhoods: frozen in time with just one style of architecture? How is that different than a Disneyland recreation of a town in a certain time period?

For a brief time in college, I studied urban planning. I'll never forget how my professor made us study St. Mark's square in Venice. In particular, he pointed out that almost every building in that square is from a different time period, spanning almost 500 years. Each is in a different architectural style. Yet, it comes together as a gorgeous whole. He pointed out that we have lost the ability to think like that - and the mindset on this site is evidence of that (at least to me).

Anyway, that's my 2 cents. Agree or disagree, I appreciate that you are able to discuss this with me without going personal or vitriolic, which seems to be the norm nowadays.

Now how about lunch ?

Posted by: benson at November 21, 2009 4:03 PM

Well . . . are you a Deadwood fan?

Posted by: Nomi at November 21, 2009 5:49 PM

Nomi;

Who or what is Deadwood? I'm not familiar with it.

Posted by: benson at November 22, 2009 8:47 AM

Oh no. We have nothing in common. Deadwood was an HBO series about the beginnings of the real life South Dakota town of Deadwood. It's a western and the greatest 36 hours of film to ever pass before the eyes of anyone who has seen it.

Posted by: Nomi at November 22, 2009 12:43 PM

Oh, now I know what you mean. I remember the series, but never saw it. I don't get HBO. I have very, very basic cable.

Posted by: benson at November 22, 2009 10:32 PM

Benson, I for one and I am sure many others, including Mr. B, like contemporary architecture as well as historic buildings.

Posted by: mopar at November 23, 2009 12:00 AM

We can still have lunch. Maybe after Thanksgiving week. You can write me nomilubin@yahoo.com.

Posted by: Nomi at November 23, 2009 1:50 AM

Brownstoners like modern and contemporary. We just don't like cheap, ugly crap. Is that what you're objecting to?

Posted by: mopar at November 23, 2009 8:59 AM

"Brownstoners like modern and contemporary. We just don't like cheap, ugly crap. Is that what you're objecting to?"

Mopar;

I'm objecting to the "we" in your statement.

Posted by: benson at November 23, 2009 10:05 AM

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November 20, 2009

New Cafe for The Heights

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