BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — A popular frozen yogurt shop on Marcus Garvey Boulevard shuttered its doors for the season this week.
Brooklyn Swirl at 445 Marcus Garvey Blvd. and MacDonough Street closed on Nov. 1 to take a break for the winter, marking the first time in the store’s four-year operation that it won’t be open for business in the colder months, according to owner Jean Alerte.
“I was a little sad the next day, it felt weird,” Alerte, 34, said, adding that with the exception of bad weather, the shop has always opened seven days a week.
The owner decided on the hiatus to spend more time with family after the birth of his son this year, he said.
Additionally, he felt closing during the slower months would be better for business.
“He was the biggest reason,” Alerte said of his 9-month-old son. “More important than the business side of it, I don’t want to miss his first steps.”
Alerte, who is also the CEO of business consulting group ACA Branding Agency, will focus his time teaching entrepreneurship to middle school students throughout the city until Brooklyn Swirl re-opens in the spring.
The closure was first reported by The Brooklyn Reader.
“I think every business has to evaluate their plan and make it work,” he said.
“Because we want to stay in business as the community keeps changing, we don’t want to go out of business so that somebody else can come in, we want to be able to sustain. I just want to be smart.”
The shop, known in the neighborhood for its sweet treats including crepes, yogurts topped with fruit and more, will open again on March 4.
Alerte plans to add gelato and a wider variety of smoothies to the menu, and the shop will be available to be rented out for private events during the break.
Brooklyn Swirl has hosted several gatherings in the past, ranging from children’s birthday parties to book signings and movie screenings.
For more information, visit the shop’s website here.
