MotherSister Brooklyn

According to Clinton Hill Blog, a Bigelow Chemists-style place called Teleos Apothecary is opening in the neighborhood soon. There’s a kerfuffle in the comments section about whether an organic, holistic health care place is what the neighborhood really needs. What I’ve always wondered about Fort Greene and Clinton Hill is (1) why do we have multiples of certain luxury businesses, such as bagel places (now 3), boutique wine shops (3, with a 4th coming soon), doggie stores (2, down from 3), and hair/nail salons (at least 6 I can think of effortlessly) when there are plenty of more basic shops that would be welcome here; and (2) why don’t the existing practical businesses (grocery stores, pharmacies, hardware stores) step up their game to keep up with the changing demographics of the neighborhood?

Really, I’m asking. Can someone tell me? This holistic health care spot, for example — it’s a pharmacy. It’s a pharmacy selling organic goods, herbs, and homeopathic remedies, but it’s still a pharmacy (just one that won’t fill your Western doctor’s prescriptions, apparently). The owner of this new holistic place says she doesn’t intend to sell anything with “synthetic” ingredients, but even Bigelow and Ansonia in Greenwich Village aren’t that pure — they got rent to pay. Can this neighborhood sustain a Elephant-style pharmacy? Likewise to the guy thinking of opening an all-green cleaning supplies store: His neighborhood competition is Karrot, the Mets and Associated, Greene Farm, Target, and Fresh Direct, not to mention other nearby stores also dedicated to green products. Sometimes I think people are reading too many New York Times articles to garner ideas for their business plans.

On the other hand, existing local businesses certainly deserve the competition. Customer service is notoriously bad in NYC, especially in Brooklyn, and some Fort Greene/Clinton Hill retailers and restaurants have behaved like they have captive consumers for too long. Why don’t Greene Pharmacy, Prospect Drugs, Behren’s Pharmacy, Fine Care Pharmacy, or Myrtle Pharmacy simply start selling homeopathic remedies and hire a staff member who knows something about them? Why doesn’t Beezu actually sell basic and commonly needed children’s clothing and toys instead of, like, the same five overpriced things (in different colors, mind) by the same three suppliers? Why don’t the Mets and Associated improve their fruit and cheese sections? Perhaps I shouldn’t question; after all, they’re committing some of the major business mistakes, and yet their doors are still open, so obviously they’re servicing somebody just fine.

In any case, I for one don’t mind the principles of retail experience finally coming to the neighborhood, as long as it trickles down from the frivolous places I’ll browse but rarely buy in to the stores I actually need on a day-to-day basis.

The Scamp and I have established a summer Saturday morning constitutional that usually includes a walk through Fort Greene Park and the farmer’s market for bread and eggs. Along the way today, we stumbled across this cute little cafe, Bidonville, on Willoughby between Carlton and Adelphi.

When we stopped in, I immediately recognized the (gorgeous, French-speaking) woman who greeted us from around the neighborhood; she and her husband own the cafe, which just opened on Wednesday and still seems to be coming together. So far, they have a small selection of croissants, muffins, and pastries, tea, and coffee; Sefu, the manager, said they plan to offer sandwiches and focus on the coffees. A good thing, too, because for all the cafes in the neighborhood, not many serve coffee worth the trip. (I used to work in an espresso bar — when that was a new concept, however pretentious — and my best girlfriends are Italian and half-French, so I’m admittedly picky about what constitutes good coffee and espresso.) The Pillow Cafe and now the very “French Greene” Bidonville — nice to have options.

[ETA: Apparently I missed Dana Rubenstein’s Brooklyn Paper column from a couple of weeks ago — yet another new cafe on the horizon, on DeKalb Avenue. What on earth is going on with Fulton Street that for all the new business development in the nabe, precious little of it is happening on the southern edge (except for ugly, overpriced condos)? Is it the Atlantic Yards? Or, um, the methadone clinic?]

So this is what goes down at the Masonic Temple on Lafayette Avenue!

Who knew?

So I guess I should finally get rid of my old Veliis menu: Epoca, an Italian restaurant, has opened in its place (773 Fulton St., btw S. Portland and S. Oxford sts.; 718/596-9070). The Hub brought back copies of the menu — no, they’re not delivering yet — and nothing leaps off the page as being especially unusual or must-try. But if they really nail what’s listed, including a house lasagna and spinach risotto, it will be nice to have a solid Italian option in the nabe. (Yes, I know there’s Locanda Vini e Olii. I love their bread soup, but they don’t use butter or salt, people. That’s for a special mood and a better person than I am on a regular basis.) The inclusion of a burger as one of their two beef dinner entrees gives me pause, however. Oh, and it’s yet another cash-only spot. (Why, why?)

The news that Choice Market is now delivering and expanding to a second location on Greene Avenue made me even happier than the news that the folks who own Pequena, Maggie Brown, and Olea are taking over the old Bodegas space on Fulton Avenue. The food’s delicious (even if the service sometimes is lacking), and the crowds remind me of the funky Fort Greene I moved to eight years ago.

When I first saw She’s Gotta Have It in ‘87, I knew that I’d eventually live in Brooklyn; any place that contained a creature as free as Nola Darling was the place for me, I figured. Lisa Jones proclaimed the nabe “two steps over” in one of her Village Voice columns (”Dirt and Overness,” 1992), and by the time I finally landed here in ‘99, Erykah was gone and the finger snapping at the Brooklyn Moon had quieted, though I did catch a couple Moshood street shows. Bye-bye Video Basket, bye-bye Octagon Hardware…hello Corcoran.

The Fort Greene/Clinton Hill area is still a rainbow, even if sometimes it seems there’s a noticeable difference once you’ve crossed Clinton Avenue. The Hub and I still occasionally see Joie Lee on her bike, riding up the tree-lined streets on warm days. Really, there’s only so nostalgic I can be; in 1999, I was someone else’s displacer. Colson Whitehead summed it up well in this 2004 essay, which I like to re-read when I’m feeling a little too righteous about my little twig on this tree.

Some sad news: The great Willy Bee’s Family Lounge in Williamsburg is closing on June 30.

Willy Bee’s was a smart idea — a combined cafe and playspace, with a great community atmosphere. I’ve long hoped that someone would open something similar here in Fort Greene/Clinton Hill; so strong was my “I wish I’d thought of that!” reaction when I discovered it that I definitely considered it myself. (And who knows? If I find an angel investor, maybe I will.)

Word is that the current hope is for someone to buy Willy Bee’s and continue the name and concept. Fingers crossed.