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I was walking home on Franklin Avenue today when I saw construction happening on Franklin between Sterling and Park (more specifically between the "psychic" and Stork). I poked my head in and saw nice white tiles, a bar area, and an espresso machine. A guy, who turned out to be the owner, came over to me to introduce himself. He said it will open in about 2 weeks and will be a coffee/pastry/bread place and then hopefully by the summer they'll have their paperwork together to become a small wine bar in the evenings. ...and when I say small, I mean small.
Since moving here my coffee options (outside of bodegas) went from zero to soon four just on my walk to the train and I believe it can be supported. We shall see.
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Place is to be called Zelda's
Thanks, was wondering! I updated the post title.
I met the owner, Michael, a few months ago when he stopped by the Built in Brooklyn Craft Fair at LaunchPad. Nice guy. He had just signed the lease and said he envisioned it as a coffee/sandwich shop by day and a wine bar by night.
As for the name "Zelda," I believe it's his baby daughter's name. Cute!
Wishing him all the best!
This is great news. I've been looking for a coffee place that's open past 7 or 8pm in the area, and if he's successful with the wine bar portion of the business, it means I can probably get a late night latte too.
Washington Ave supports two micro coffee places (Penny Cafe and Coffee Bites), so I predict the owner of Zelda's can make a living if s/he works equally hard.
Lots of competition out there. Coffee drinkers in CH get choices!
some photos and verbiage: http://ilovefranklinave.blogspot.com/2012/03/zeldas-coming-this-saturday.html
Opens this Saturday, March 10th!
Photos finally working: http://ilovefranklinave.blogspot.com/2012/03/zeldas-coming-this-saturday.html
Grand opening today!
Now with beer and wine. For those looking for a quiet, sedate place in the neighborhood to type and drink a glass of wine....
I went last week: very friendly service, good coffee. (Got an almond milk latte to stay.) Would definitely go back, the menu for the cheese plates and breads looked good.
Yet another example of hipster uncreativity. There are already like a gazillion coffee houses on the Ave, and now, here comes another.... Sort of hypocritical to kvetch about a bodega on every block but to applaud the presence of a coffee shop on every block.
I'm not that great at math but I'm pretty sure 3 coffee places isn't the equivalent of a "gazillion." So tired of people overusing the hipster buzzword.
Businesses only need enough customers to survive.
There are now so many coffee houses in the PH/CH area that I often cry when deciding where to buy my cup. Thank God for the bodegas and hair salons. That way, I merely nibble on my Babe Ruth bar while contemplating which weave would best suit the shape of my head.
Jack-
I've never actually wondered what I would like in a weave until I read this. Now, I have something to think about. Thanks.
Went to Zelda's for the wine portion and have purchased tea during the coffee time. Tea was great. Large, relatively inexpensive for a fancy tea($2.00) and tasty. Wine selection was good, but I found the small tables, ottomans, and bankettes to be uncomfortable and clearly designed for younger, slimmer folks who can fold themselves into small spaces. Us old, husky people need real chairs so we can wallow.
Its probably going to be a wash for me. I'll probably spend more $s during the day, than at night when I can find good wine and a good chair at other places on the avenue.
I hope the businesses that cater to the young along Franklin Ave either adapt to their customers as they get older, or replace them with new, young people.
As time goes on, I suspect I will gravitate toward the businesses that serve older people.
zelda's is a tiny store front and hence there is limited capacity to put in sofa's and comfy chairs. They work with what they have.
bitter much?
(who complains about bodegas on every block? there are bodegas on every block in basically every borough on NYC.)
Agreed. I only complain about bodegas when in other cities. Because there are so few bodegas elsewhere and it drives me INSANE. I want at least one on every block.
Amazing -- Mr. Met calls me bitter and implies he's a great purveyor of the bodega establishments but on another thread -- http://www.brooklynian.com/forums/topic/omg-not-another-99-cent-store -- he's ready to boycott the presence of another 99 cent store on a street where there are already so many, in the words of the author of that thread.
Hypocrisy, and irrational behavior doth not a good argument make....
I have no car, so if the Bodegas disappear, I'll either move, or order from that website SOAP.
However, 7-11 is going to open a lot stores in NYC. ...They are sort of like a bodega.
Thursday, July 19th
http://brokelyn.com/come-together-over-tea-new-coffee-shop-hosting-classic-album-singalongs/
Needless to say, since 2012, the operator has opened a bagel place and bookstore on Franklin, as well as Two Saints on Nostrand.
That's a lot of capital invested. At this point, they seem profitable enough to stay open....