StreetLevel: Windsor Terrace Getting a Little LES Love
Is quiet Windsor Terrace going to become Brooklyn’s Lower East Side? No, but the owners of two LES shops are joining forces to open a bar and restaurant on 16th Street and Prospect Park West. One of the guys behind Ludlow Street’s bakery/record store/gig space Cake Shop is teaming with the owner of Rivington Street’s…
Is quiet Windsor Terrace going to become Brooklyn’s Lower East Side? No, but the owners of two LES shops are joining forces to open a bar and restaurant on 16th Street and Prospect Park West. One of the guys behind Ludlow Street’s bakery/record store/gig space Cake Shop is teaming with the owner of Rivington Street’s Tiny’s Giant Sandwich Shop to bring a beer bar and eatery to the old Universal Video space. The biz, name TBD, will probably open in the fall, according to Greg Curley, the Cake Shop co-owner behind the Windsor Terrace venture. Curley says he and his partner hope to have “low-key” performances but that it’s not going to be a full-blown venue like Cake Shop. What it will definitely be, we think, is some new-school competition for Farrell’s.
Photo of Universal Video by ickyinbrooklyn; Cake Shop pic by small_device; Tiny’s photo by roboppy .
As a resident of the block, I don’t appreciate the ugly line of American flags put up by the McFadden Bros Bar (Oh yeah, it’s a “veteran’s club”) or their obnoxious pro-war Republican politics. The Farrell’s crowd are the same people–they don’t live in the neighborhood, at least anymore, as they all drive in to go to these bars, get drunk, and drive back to where ever they’ve “moved up” to. Farrells could have been a cool old-school bar if they didn’t serve beer in styrofoam cups and tear up the beautiful tiled floor to replace it with pergo.
This sounds like a great plan! I’m also excited that a new wine store is oepning up on PPW, where a pet supply store used to be. (Their temporary location is on 16th, near the subway entrance.) There’s a really cool-looking stained glass sign at their store front, which they discovered during the renovation. Go PPW!!
the owners of CakeShop are really great and it’s exciting to hear they are bringing something new and fresh to the neighborhood. WT is lucky to have them! i am only crossing my fingers their next spot is in fort greene!
I lived in Windsor Terrace for a while and loved the neighborhood for what it was. I never went into Farrell’s, which didn’t seem likely to be a friendly place for my queer Puerto Rican woman self. However, I’d rather see it be the only bar on that strip than see Windsor Terrace start getting the LES treatment. Maybe one new bar like this one won’t have a tremendous affect on the character of the neighborhood, which had a small-town, almost suburban feel that I actually really liked. But trendy hipster establishments tend to beget more trendy hipster establishments, so we’ll see.
Anyone who knows WT already knows this so I suppose Im speaking into the ether but the large majority of WT residents don’t step foot in Farrells no less agree with the regulars’ political/socio-economic viewpoints. Get a grip people – one old bar does not represent the lifestyle of the entire area.
farrell’s is what it is, and it’s not going anywhere, which is great because it’s a true neighborhood institution.
this new place won’t be competition for farrell’s; it will be a welcome presence for a growing number of people like me who think it’s a drag walking all the way down the hill to bars on 5th ave.
Yay Cakeshop! This will be great!
“Your self consciousness might be feeding your perceptions. Most families have a gay family or friend regardless of race, religion, other classification… Yes – even presumbably lower middle class Irish, Italian, Polish….families are known to love andkeep their gay relatives. Grow Up.”
That doesn’t invalidate the gentleman’s observation about mouth-breathing homophobes. Get real.
Sounds like a debate between people with the disposable income to buy beer in bars rather than picking up a quart at the deli and bringing it home.
There are other folks living in Windsor Terrace too. Hope the laundromats don’t disappear.