PARK SLOPE — Sweet Melissa Patisserie bid an abrupt farewell to the neighborhood last week after seven years in business on Seventh Avenue and First Street.
A sign appeared in the bakery's window Tuesday morning saying it would be closed temporarily because of an electrical problem, but on Thursday, a new sign announced that Sweet Melissa was closed permanently.
In the handwritten note, owner Melissa Murphy said the business had struggled since the economic downturn five years ago.
"We are very sad to leave the neighborhood and have many cherished memories of serving you and your families… All we ever wanted was to make you yummy things that made you happy," Murphy wrote. Emails seeking further comment were not returned.
The bakery — which served pies, tarts, scones, breakfast items and sandwiches — opened a Cobble Hill location in 1998 but closed it in 2012 due to rising rents. Murphy opened the Park Slope outpost in 2006.
Other comings and goings on the neighborhood retail and restaurant scene include the following:
Beva, a children's boutique specializing in hand-knit clothes, toys and other gifts has opened at 421 Seventh Ave. and 14th Street. The space was previously occupied by the linen and bath store Banyo. Beva is owned by two sisters, Betty Borak and Eva Hernandez, who run Rainbow Studio knitwear design. Borak said the store plans to partner with its next door neighbor, A Shoe Grows in Brooklyn, to host special events for kids.
Sushi Katsuei opened recently at 210 Seventh Ave. and Third Street, in the space formerly occupied by Casa Ventura. It's already won a positive review from Chowhound for its omakase — items selected for diners by the chef. "Highlights included a Japanese red snapper (madai), a squid, a seared tuna, uni, a fatty tuna roll and a few others...The ingredients were all impressively fresh and even more impressively prepared," Chowhound wrote.
The Soup Bowl has started its annual temporary residency in the spot occupied by Uncle Louie G's frozen dessert stand during warm weather at 319 Seventh Ave., near Ninth Street. Sign up for the email list to get alerts about daily specials such as chicken pot pie with cornbread crust.
