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Pink Tea Cup Hopes to Bring Celebs and Soul to Fort Greene

By Janet Upadhye | April 4, 2013 1:47pm

FORT GREENE — Pink Tea Cup regulars Oprah Winfrey, Bill Cosby and Whoopi Goldberg have a new reason to visit Fort Greene.

The West Village's soul food staple is opening a new location on Lafayette Avenue and Cumberland Street — and owner Lawrence Page is jazzed about the possibilities.

"We're not trying to just make a buck in Fort Greene," he said. "We are looking to create a lifestyle of jazz, good food, and soul culture."

The restaurant, best known for its gravy-smothered pork chops and celebrity clientele, originally opened in 1954 in the West Village. The original owner, Charles Raye, who is now in his 90s, sold the restaurant to Page after a slump in business. Page then moved the eatery twice, finally settling at 538 Sixth Ave.

But a six-month lapse in the restaurant's liquor license, according to Black Enterprise, left the beloved Pink Tea Cup bankrupt.

Page is at it again, though. He recently applied for a new liquor license for his Fort Greene location, which will be located at 120 Lafayette Avenue, and is planning on a summer opening.

"We want to create a laid back atmosphere where clientele can sip drinks and listen to poetry readings or music," he said.

Community Board 2 members voted Wednesday night to approve Page's liquor license and encouraged him to serve drinks until 4 a.m. on weekends saying the "neighborhood needs more places like this."