Is Bubby's Brooklyn a Sinking Ship?
“I am saddened to note what appear to be the early warning signs that one of DUMBO’s main eateries may be in the early stages of a painful death,” writes in one tipster about Bubby’s, the Brooklyn offshoot of the successful TriBeCa restaurant of the same name. This reader sent us the following list of…
“I am saddened to note what appear to be the early warning signs that one of DUMBO’s main eateries may be in the early stages of a painful death,” writes in one tipster about Bubby’s, the Brooklyn offshoot of the successful TriBeCa restaurant of the same name. This reader sent us the following list of six signs that “things are quickly headed for the skids,” but the tipster seems hopeful that Bubby’s could make a comeback if neighborhood folks would visit the place more often:
1) The menu has been cut from multiple pages of items down to a single sheet of limited food items on one side and drinks/desserts on the other.
2) There are now signs up at the entrance and large, bold, all-caps type on the menu disclosing that as of March 7, it’s cash only and credit cards are no longer accepted.
3) Wait staff has been visibly reduced down to a very bare minimum.
4) Various items on the menu appear to have been slightly increased in price — yes, $13 hamburger, I am looking at you… (I am not certain of this, as I don’t have prior menu, but it just seemed to me at the time that there definitely had been some price bumps added.)
5) The place was nearly empty at 7:30pm on a Friday night, and at similar times on other recent visits.
6) They used to have squeeze bottles of their two main barbecue sauces right there on the table, as part of the down-home charm. They have definitely been yanked from all tables as another apparent cost cutting measure, and if one does ask for extra sauce now, it just comes in a plastic cup. The squeeze bottles have been completely eliminated.
Could it be true that Bubby’s Brooklyn is hitting some hard times? Has anybody else noticed that the place has seemed empty lately?
Bubby’s Pie Co. [Homepage]
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I want to like Bubby’s. I really do, and I hope you can make a go of it in dumbo…but unfortunately every time I go its a depressing atmosphere with a nice but alltogether disinterested wait staff . I went there tonight and my husband and I were one of only two tables of customers in the restaurant – the others being a Dad with his very well behaved young daughter. The maître d and the waiter were too busy talking to the bartender to seat us even after they noticed us, the kitchen was out of the Pulled Pork that my husband ordered and the new scaled back menu leaves alot to be desired – like a vegetable side or two, and the best thing on the menu – the chicken fried chicken – is gone! Our waiter forgot my drink, never came by to check on us, then when we were paying our bill, we saw him leave the restaurant to go make a delivery…luckily we didn’t need change.
im ordering chinese food! I would love to bring you guys some!!!!! u just need to walk out at aprox 2300.. walk 500 yards, stand there for ten minutes, circle the block 4 times, and meet me at the slide. No im jk. But seriously! I would be happy to order some extra!! Now taking orders! cmon, you KNOW you miss watching me walk around like a complete retard soaking wet in the rain!
9:14 People don’t hate kids, they can’t stand shitty parents who don’t teach their children how to be considerate of others in public. A restaurant should not be treated like a public park or someplace you can selfishly look the other way while your offspring behave like spoiled animals. “Kid friendly” doesn’t mean playground. Unless the owners are confident that this kind of atmosphere will sustain them despite the crappy food and service they might want to think twice about their concept.
Cheer up Bubby’s owner, you are lucky enough not to have to suffer through any more visits of the rude, intolerant, jerks on this blog. But we, who read this rag have to live with them night after night ranting and raving mainly about everything really, and often too about how they hate kids and the idiotic adults who thing it’s okay to bring them in to the world and then allow them out of the house. I think these folks have issues that reach far beyond the scope of the kind of help any restauranteur could help to give them. Signed, a parent who is glad you ain’t going to be in Bubby’s when I am you nuts!
The restaurant biz is brutal and anyone with the fortitude to make the attempt has my empathy. I have attempted to support Bubby’s on several occasions the past few years. The food is consistently bad and the place feels un-managed with cooks hovering around the bar socializing and the scale of the place gives a depressing vibe when it’s even half full. I get that it might be a great events space and hopefully that helps float them. Why a large space lends to blatant disregard by “parents” who let their kids run rampant while they look the other way is beyond me but it’s the dealbreaker for me. There’s a Chuckie Cheese at Atlantic Center for that bullshit. Bad parents are now the scourge of a city that was once a great place to be an adult.
Why no credit cards? As a merchant, I would expect that you would want to offer your patrons various ways to settle their bill. Could it be that you are really operating on such a shoestring, that something as small as an interchange fee is breaking the bank?
We changed chefs March 1. The chef from Tribeca, who has been cooking Bubby’s food for 16 years, has been cooking in DUMBO. We have had a lot of great responses regarding the food. Though we still are working on everything, and value all comments. Again, there are many valuable observations here, and they are all greatly appreciated. That may seem hard to believe, but when one has been doing it for 35 years, one learns to appreciate all feedback.
I just want to take a quick moment to commend the owner of Bubby’s for responding so thoroughly, with such dignity and poise, and without a trace of hostility after such comments on this wall. I like Bubby’s, enjoy their food, see a few faults, but overall have been very pleased, and am so impressed with the tact of their owner posting here that I will continue to return and recommend Bubby’s Brooklyn to my friends.
As far as the DOH goes, read their website to see what many of their violations are…I am all for a stringent DOH to be sure, but some of these citations are legitimately absurd. Things like covering lighting fixtures and not clearly posting signs. Additionally, search your zipcode – you will see that Bubby’s is not alone with having some transgressions, you will see that many of your favorite restaurants have been cited as well, and you likely keep returning there. I am further imrpessed to see the way that Bubby’s is responding to raising this bar and redeeming themselves.