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]
Thanks for the insight Bubby. I do hope that Bubby’s grows with the neighborhood and sticks around. That Cash only change seems very dramatic however.
As owner of Bubby’s in DUMBO and Tribeca, it was of great interest to me to read these comments. There are many thoughtful ideas and observations that a restaurateur must (and does) hope to understand. This forum seems to be objective, and interesting to participate in without being too self-promoting, and keeping objectivity in mind.
Bubby’s in DUMBO is, as one person pointed out, a huge undertaking. We do have, as another wrote, a busy brunch. Mostly, Bubby’s in DUMBO is an event space, and we host lots of weddings, lunches, bar mitzvahs… It is a spectacular view, and rare in New York to have such a great space with such an excellent view of the city and the bridges. This was one of the great selling points for opening there. It is an amazing place to have a party.
Ten days before we opened in DUMBO the scaffolding bridge went up, covering the beautiful view. We struggled with the challenges of the huge space, the scaffolding bridge, and normal coming up to speed issues that restaurants face. We also had many benefits by having some space to work in, unlike Tribeca, where space is much more limited. We were able to put in a real pit smoker to make barbecue, one of the first real pits in the city, and helped us make really good authentic barbecue. Now, the scaffold is down, the view is perfect, we are very busy for brunch, and we have most weekend nights from April through October booked for events.
We have scaled back services during the week. As observed, it is night and day between a busy time and a slow time because the space is so big. One of the most painful parts of any business is figuring out what services to offer without bleeding to death. We have tried numerous ways to build weekday business in DUMBO, and we believe that eventually the volume will be there during the day, with people who work there, and eventually we can build a weekday dinner, but our main concern is to make the events we have and our brunch the best they can possibly be, and we are always open to suggestions.
We have also opened the upstairs mezzanine for brunch seating now. There are no kids allowed upstairs. I take personal responsibility for having built a family restaurant, where kids run rampant. Perhaps because of the size of the place, the kids are particularly rampant. As the owner, I have absolutely no problem asking folks to kindly control their kids, and if parents don’t respond, I have (having children of my own) no problem gently but firmly getting a kids attention. But, it is a difficult thing to manage. It does no good to remember what would have happened to me had I behaved that way in public, much less in a restaurant. When I was a kid, we went to a restaurant once a year when grandparents would come to visit. At any rate, for brunch, there is a kid-free zone, and people seem to be enjoying it.
As for the health department… It does no good for a restaurateur stand there and say this was an over-reaction on their part. I caught much grief from family and staff for talking to the press about what I thought was an outrageous and unjustified action on the part of the health department. We will have a public hearing to defend any erroneous violations, which the most serious violations were. And to the benefit of all, we have implemented extra-strict self-inspections, using the health department inspection sheets ourselves, which we conduct every shift in both restaurants. While the health department broke their own rules in closing us down with no warning or chance to respond, we have responded in the best way, which is to operate beyond the codes. Our latest inspection is available on-line.
Bubby’s opened in Tribeca in 1990. There wasn’t a traffic light down there. We grew as the neighborhood grew. I believe that DUMBO-Bubby’s will grow as DUMBO grows, and as people know that you can have a great time, eat good home cooking, and feel comfortable bringing your kids, your grandma, your congressman, or your new bride.
Now that spring is here, Bubby’s in DUMBO is doing much better; it was a rough winter. We will continue doing our best, and I welcome any dialogue.
Funny, I keep going back because the food is good. At least at brunch (which is the only times I’ve been).
Though it is pretty quiet.
What does that say about you if you keep going back after the food makes you sick? Bit silly, no?
food is terrible- lived across the street for a year and kept trying just in hopes that it would get better and I got sick everytime. that is why the restaurant will go under.
anon 2:22. you ever wonder if greasing the hand of the inspector would result in a pass? sadly, that’s the way things seem to work in brooklyn.
brunch is okay – but tricky because of the crowds. dinner has become a real joke.
i’m a local who has stopped going there after years of (i’m going to be generous) marginal food.
seriously – famous BBQ and pie? the chicken was dry, the ribs were glued to the bone, and the brisket was as tough as a work boot. i can’t quite remember the pie after that – except that it was served with burnt coffee.
nicely done!
oops — i meant anon 2:22. sorry.
Anon 2:28,
I don’t know about anyone else here, but I’d rather that the DOH be a lot more stringent than too relaxed like they seemed to be in the Taco Bell case. As a person who doesn’t like rodent feces and roaches in my food, I don’t feel bad for restaurants who have to go through rigorous DOH inspections.