As indoor and outdoor dining and drinking begin to ramp up, a new bar has opened on a prominent corner in Fort Greene.

FancyFree serves cocktails, wine, beer and pub snacks — nachos, mole wings and veggie burgers, for example — at 71 Lafayette Avenue, at the corner of South Elliott Place. Brunch offerings include chilaquiles, breakfast tacos and a burger.

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The team behind FancyFree — Jason Burelle, Thai Le, Daniel Weinstein — also operate Endswell Bar & Bistro, not far away at 773 Fulton Street. “As longtime residents and business owners in the neighborhood, we are dedicated to helping Fort Greene open back in a safe and responsible way, and restoring the bustling good times that a local pub brings to the community at large,” Burelle told Brownstoner in an email.

The site in September 2015. Photo by Christopher Bride for PropertyShark

It takes the place of Mullanes, a sports bar that attracted fans before and after games at nearby Barclays Center, which closed in July 2020 after 13 years in the same location.

Burelle said that the name is supposed to harken back to pre-COVID times, before lockdowns and social distancing changed the way many people view their experiences in bars and restaurants. He believes that the hospitality industry will be coming back stronger post pandemic, and wants the bar to reflect a relaxed, casual atmosphere.

“We’re looking to recapture that at FancyFree,” Burelle says. “And being the optimistic, fun-loving group that we are, we believe we can achieve this with every table, service, pint and party.”

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