CROWN HEIGHTS — Much ink has been spilled about Franklin Avenue as a trendy spot to eat, drink, shop or take a Valentine’s Day date, as New York Magazine recommended last month.
But three blocks away, Nostrand Avenue is quietly attracting a slew of new spots — including a French brasserie, two new bars and three coffee shops — with 10 new businesses opening within 10 blocks north of Eastern Parkway this season.
Of the 10 new businesses that have opened this winter or are planning openings on Nostrand this spring, all but one — a new UPS store off the avenue on Bergen Street — are food-and-drink spots.
Among those, three are second locations of nearby local businesses. The Washington Avenue bar Bearded Lady plans to open a yet-to-be-named bar at 722 Nostrand Ave. near Prospect Place, according to a liquor license application. And from Franklin Avenue, the owners of popular coffee shops Little Zelda and Breukelen Coffee House are respectively opening Two Saints, a coffee shop-and-bar, and Breukelen Brasserie, a small-plate French restaurant and bar.
The trend doesn't surprise Ryan Condren, head of retail leasing at CPEX Real Estate, which has included Nostrand Avenue on its annual report of Brooklyn retail corridors for years.
“As these neighbors all gentrify, from Prospect Heights over to Crown Heights … if you just look at where the train lets out, running along Eastern Parkway, there’s a reason why Vanderbilt was first, Franklin was second,” he said. “As Franklin has really gotten expensive in the past year or two, it’s just natural for people to go to the next train station.”
He said he sees Nostrand Avenue as the next "restaurant row."
"I’d almost compare it to Smith Street fifteen years ago," he said.
Overall, that influx of restaurants is a good thing for the neighborhood, said Atim Oton, the chair of the economic development committee at Community Board 8 in Crown Heights, and the decade-long owner of the Franklin Avenue business, Calabar Imports. But Oton says she's looking forward to seeing the avenue attract businesses other than restaurants.
“I’m happy that the new businesses are opening. It changes the dynamic and brings more people into the neighborhood," she said.
"But it really — for lack of imagination, I don’t know what it is, or risk — no one wants to try another category,” she added, saying the neighborhood could really use services like a gardening supply stores, a plumbing business, houseware shop or florist.
Click around on DNAinfo New York's map of new Nostrand businesses to see what’s coming to your block and read below to get the details on each new business:
OPENING SOON
To-be-named bar, 722 Nostrand Ave.
The owners of Washington Avenue bar Bearded Lady have plans to open a new space with a bigger menu and rear seating at this location near Prospect Place. The proprietors applied for a full liquor license in February with the local community board, which was approved. When open, the new spot will have 35 seats inside, 32 seats in a backyard space, a kitchen twice the size of Bearded Lady’s and hours of operating seven days a week, according to their application.
Breukelen Brasserie, 710 Nostrand Ave.
The team behind Franklin Avenue’s Breukelen Coffee House plan to open this small-plate French restaurant, coffee shop and bar on the corner of Prospect Place and Nostrand on April 1. The owner said he hopes to price everything on the menu below $10.
Colina Cuervo, 759 Nostrand Ave.
This soon-to-be coffee shop located near St. Johns Place will serve Latin-influences dishes like baked empanadas, said its owner Jorge Salamea, who hopes to open the shop in March. Colina Cuervo will serve Counter Culture coffee and snacks from Salamea’s “favorite local place,” he said.
Little Trini Cafe, 735 Nostrand Ave.
The father-and-son team behind the street cart business Carl’s Famous Doubles plan to open a brick-and-mortar shop this spring, serving traditional Trinidadian food with American classics. It’s unclear when exactly the shop will open; originally, they said early February, but the storefront is still closed despite new “Little Trini Cafe” signs hung outside.
Two Saints, 753 Nostrand Ave.
The owner of Franklin Avenue coffee shop Little Zelda is opening up this coffee spot and full bar on the corner of St. Johns Place and Nostrand soon, serving to the caffeine-loving set by day and the cocktail-loving set by night. Two Saints was originally supposed to open in late 2014, but the proprietors said in mid-February it would be open “within the next few weeks” in a Facebook post.
UPS store, 1080A Bergen St.
A new UPS retail store is set to open tentatively in “late March,” a rep from the company said, setting up shop in a one-story building just off Nostrand on Bergen Street. It will be the first UPS outpost in the neighborhood; currently, the closest UPS store is located on Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Heights.
OPENED
Chika Mexicana, 814 Nostrand Ave.
This Mexican food spot opened up next to Lula Bagel in December, serving standard fare like burritos, tacos and quesadillas for between $3 and $6. The co-owners said they wanted to open the shop because of a lack of a good Mexican spot on the avenue.
King Tai Bar, 1095 Bergen St.
This new bar with “a “1940’s Miami Beach” vibe opened on Friday, March 6 just off Nostrand on Bergen Street in a one-story, garage-like building gutted and renovated by its new owners, local architect Palmer Thompson-Moss and his business partner Dane Risch. The new spot aims to be “an elegant, unpretentious place to have a drink and a snack,” they said.
Nostrand Fresh Coffee, 665 Nostrand Ave.
This new coffee spot and cafe opened in December, taking the place of a seafood restaurant near the corner of Prospect Place. The eatery is open seven days a week.
Taqueria Milear, 752A Nostrand Ave.
Serving a large menu of “authentic Mexican food” like tostadas, flautas and tamales, this taqueria opened in February in a hole-in-the-wall spot between Park and Sterling places.
