New Wine Store Pending in Fort Greene
According to the reader who sent in this photo, the owners of this new wine store at 187 Dekalb were standing on the sidewalk last Saturday and soliciting signatures to support their application for a liquor license. We can’t imagine there being much resistance to an attractive wine store opening in the nabe, though with…
According to the reader who sent in this photo, the owners of this new wine store at 187 Dekalb were standing on the sidewalk last Saturday and soliciting signatures to support their application for a liquor license. We can’t imagine there being much resistance to an attractive wine store opening in the nabe, though with a name like Thirsty Wine Merchants, we suppose things could get a little rowdy. Wonder how the folks at Olivino and Greene Grape, both on Fulton, feel about the new competition!
UPDATE: The Brooklyn Papers covered this wine-shop controversy back in April.
L’Epicerie du Quartier is so goddamned expensive, it’s absurd. Their cheese selection is pathetic (old, stale, uninteresting). The neighborhood needs additional produce, fish, meat, and cheese stores if only for the competition.
Thanks to the many people in our neighborhood who demonstated their support and encouragement for our store to the State Liquor Authority by signing our petition. Last week the SLA approved our liquor license, although the owner of Greene Grape, Amy Bennett, showed up to protest. We plan to open in November. Please stop by and say hello.
Cheers,
Emilia and Michael
I wish the Greene Grape owners would come clean about what they did to try to stop the wine shop from opening on Myrtle. It’s nothing short of insanity. They are definitely missing out on a lot of business because of it. They should just own up to their silly mistake and then we wouldn’t all feel so icky about ever going to that store. I mean come on, where do they get off deciding that another store isn’t acceptable in the neighborhood when it is so many blocks away! what are they the wine police. And btw, I welcome the new store on Dekalb. Anybody wanting to invest in this neighborhood is a welcome addition! Since when did competition hurt the consumer??
I know nothing about blocking, but I do know that the prices at Greene Grape are nothing short of insulting. My old wine shop of comparable size on the Upper West Side (with obviously greater overhead costs) sold many of the same bottles for 30%-40% less. Their selection of bottles under $10 is equally insulting, as if to say any decent bottle worth selling should cost at least $17, which is flat out untrue. Olivino may not be the be all end all, but the selection is much better, as are their prices. I welcome Thirsty Wine Merchants to the neighborhood, and hope they have a more creative and sensibly priced cellar than some of their competitors.
If we get a butcher it will probably be nouveau-something at extraordinary prices.
We will never have a butcher like the butchers they have in Cobble Hill – old school and affordable and shockingly good quality. I encourage those that want good meat to just hop on the G-train, go two stops, and go directly upstairs to Los Paisanos.
I know the couple behind Thirst Wine Merchants. They live in the neighborhood. What they’re going to do is going to be special — a welcome addition to Fort Greene and to Brooklyn. I agree, though, that we can use the stores noted above. Why doesn’t one of us start one?
I love Olivino and am all for indie storeowners. However, I really do wonder why *every* new yuppie business in this part of Brooklyn must be a wine shop: Don’t forget Fermented Grapes and the brand new (less than three months old) Wine Exchange are just on the other side of Atlantic on Vanderbilt Avenue, too!
When I pass three good wine shops on my walk home from the 2 train and yet still can’t get any decent vegetables or a loaf of bread anywhere within walking distance of my house (except maybe at L’epicerie), something is seriously out whack.
Shopowners, let’s get creative and quit with the wine shops already! I think they’re covered….
I just read that brooklyn paper article. Why isnt this store open on myrtle yet? that was written in april!?! We need a good wine store on this side of Fort Greene.
I am the guy who has been trying to open a wine store at 350 Myrtle Ave between Carlton and Adelphi for 2 years. The Greene Grape vigorously and maliciously opposed my application. If anyone is interested, I can email you the 2 letters they sent to the State Liquor Authority. The good news is that we won our Article 78 petition and we’re starting our buildout next week. If all goes well, we hope to open before Thanksgiving. Personally, I have no problem with another wine store opening in the neighborhood, but, as much as I like L’Epicerie, we live in a large neighborhood and I agree that we could use a nice cheese shop, butcher, fish store, bakery, etc. Hopefully, they will follow.