Wednesday Food & Drink Round-Up
Photo by w33z3r12 Goodbye, Schnäck 122 Union Street near Columbia Street; 718-855-2879 “We’re saddened, but not surprised, to learn of the demise of Schnäck… Co-owner Harry Hawk tells us that the end is nigh, but he will not give an expiration date. He says the proximate cause of the closing is a lost lease, but…
Photo by w33z3r12
Goodbye, Schnäck
122 Union Street near Columbia Street; 718-855-2879
“We’re saddened, but not surprised, to learn of the demise of Schnäck… Co-owner Harry Hawk tells us that the end is nigh, but he will not give an expiration date. He says the proximate cause of the closing is a lost lease, but having seen ever-thinning crowds over the past year, we are more likely to believe that the poor location and awful service softened the victim up for the final blow.” [Grub Street]
Patois Owner to Open Bistro in Ditmas Park
1301 Newkirk Avenue at Argyle Road, Ditmas Park
“A French bistro. A common enough sight in Brooklyn, but the first of its kind on this stretch of Newkirk in Ditmas Park, and suddenly a symbol on a cold Sunday morning of the way the old neighborhood bumps up against the new… What occupies the corner now looks as though it had been lifted gingerly from a country lane in Provence and placed here, across the street from a house bearing graffiti that reads ‘Crack Pott.'” [NY Times]
What Will Become of the Kellogg’s Diner?
518 Metropolitan Avenue at Union Avenue, Williamsburg; 718-782-4502
“Get ready for the ‘Gateway to Williamsburg.’ A tipster pointed us to redone renderings and promo material for 502 Metropolitan, a new building that will soon be wrapping itself around the Kellogg’s Diner, the greasy spoon spot at Union and Metropolitan Avenues… It will include 28,751 square feet of retail space on two levels and is being pitched to a big box retailer, although one of the renderings says ‘grocery store’ at street level.” [Curbed]
After the jump: Carroll Gardens residents rail against a raw bar set to open beside Black Mountain Wine House, an $11,000 coffee machine arrives in Williamsburg, and a report on the car that crashed into Marco Polo…
Neighborhood vs. Carroll Gardens Raw Bar
“Residents say they fear the opening of a proposed raw bar serving hard alcohol right next door to a six-month-old wine bar near the corner of Union Street [near Hoyt Street]. Taken together, residents foresee the makings of an unwanted, mini-entertainment district — and now they’re trying to stop restaurateur Jim Mamary from getting his liquor license.” [The Brooklyn Paper]
El Beit’s $11,000 Coffee Machine
158 Bedford Avenue, between between 8th and 9th Streets, Williamsburg
“The coffee at El Beit is supplied by the North Caroina company Counter Culture (also at Café Grumpy and Ninth Street Espresso), and.. El Beit uses the Clover, an $11,000 machine that Griffin summarizes (many times a day, we imagine) as ‘a cross between a French press and a vac pot,’ and ‘an amazing machine.'” [Village Voice]
Marco Polo Gets Smashed
345 Court Street at Union Street, Carroll Gardens
A Brooklyn Life snapped a few photos of the wreckage when a police car and another car crashed into Marco Polo this past weekend. Meanwhile, one Chowhounder recommends the banged-up restaurant’s new take-out joint, aptly named Marco Polo Take-Out.
why kelloggs held out is bizarre. it’s awful, but they probably get so much biz just because of it’s great location.
very curious to see which retailer it is. a high end grocery store is not so much needed as it would be welcome to make sure that the neighborhood doesn’t get bad chain stores.
I beg to differ and think it’s a bit of a chicken and egg argument. People might prefer to eat in their homes, but probably because their are fewer options here than in other places.
I’m big on dining out and I live in the neighborhood. I was also big on buying a home I could afford for my family, and the options in Park Slope were too expensive. So I bought a house out here for what it would have cost to buy a small two-bedroom in the Slope. (Many of my neighbors are former Slopers, priced out of the neighborhood after years of renting and wanting to stretch our dollars into more space.)
You could just as well reason that the people who own entire brownstones in Park Slope or Cobble Hill don’t eat out because they spend their money renovating and heating their homes. I doubt that’s the case. They have options in their ‘hood and they use them. Once more options open up here, people will take advantage of them. It’s like Field of Dreams: if you build it, they will come.
The only thing I’ve missed from my time in the Slope (near 5th Avenue) is the ability to grab a quick bite within a quick walk of my home. Trust me. People spend a lot of money on their homes here, but that also means that they have disposable income. We cook a lot at home, but only because we’ve been waiting for a place like this within easy walking distance. More will follow, I’m sure.
The area around Newkirk is prime for more restaurants. Bring it on.
The beer milkshakes at Schnack were really really yummy.
I hope the place on Newkirk does well, but I’m still a little skeptical. Other than the immediately surrounding apartment buildings, whose occupants tend to be low-income, the area has a very low population density. And the local people with disposable income aren’t generally big on dining out – otherwise they wouldn’t live in that neighborhood to begin with. People tend to spend their money renovating and heating those enormous houses, and do their eating at home.
But it’s true that the place is small and probably pays very low rent, so he doesn’t need to draw huge crowds to make it work.
eh, newkirk is getting safer all the time. i’d imagine there were places not far from 9th Street and 4th Avenue that weren’t that safe a few years ago (and still aren’t today) but it’s gentrified. newkirk ave has great subway access, and you know how much yuppies like bragging about not needing to own a car, so watch the gentrification creep further out along the q and b. this bistro is just the first step.
once schnack lost its liquor license, it was doomed. plus, the nabe is a lot fancier than five years ago.
I’d watch that ‘tude on Newkirk, 1:16.
Shut up 12:50.
Thank you and have a nice day.
Not that you seem able to do such.