Zelda's Coffee/wine bar coming to Franklin Ave. btw Sterling and Park

xlizellx

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.

whynot_31

Place is to be called Zelda's

dailyheights

Thanks, was wondering! I updated the post title.

ap

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!

ingenuity-jen

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.

whynot_31

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!

ilovefranklinave

some photos and verbiage: http://ilovefranklinave.blogspot.com/2012/03/zeldas-coming-this-saturday.html

whynot_31

Opens this Saturday, March 10th!

ilovefranklinave

Photos finally working: http://ilovefranklinave.blogspot.com/2012/03/zeldas-coming-this-saturday.html

whynot_31

Grand opening today!

whynot_31

Now with beer and wine. For those looking for a quiet, sedate place in the neighborhood to type and drink a glass of wine....

ingenuity-jen

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.

mha

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.

epiclylaterd

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.

whynot_31

Businesses only need enough customers to survive.

jack krohn

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.

whynot_31

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.

homeowner

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.

whynot_31

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.

tsarina

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.

mr. met

MHA said:

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.

bitter much?

(who complains about bodegas on every block? there are bodegas on every block in basically every borough on NYC.)

xlizellx

mr. met said:

(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.

mha

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....

whynot_31

xlizellx said:

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.

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.

whynot_31

Thursday, July 19th

brokelyn wrote: Here is a free Thursday thing to add to your calendar that contains all of the following: caffeine, alcohol, cookies, cheese and charcuterie plates, fun, mysteriously intriguing strangers and awesome music. Little Zelda Coffee Shop and Wine Bar in Crown Heights, a recent addition to the up-and-coming neighborhood, has started weekly sing-alongs of iconic albums. Previous Sing-Alongs have featured Weezer’s Blue Album, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, The Smith’s The Queen Is Dead and Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. And this week (tomorrow) they’ve chosen The Beatles’ classic Abbey Road.

Starting at 8:30 a bunch of really cool people convene to sing an album together in its entirety. Who doesn’t want to enjoy Ringo’s only drum solo and belt out “Octopus’s Garden” while sipping on craft beer and noshing on some espresso shortbread?

As an added bonus, barista Eli has promised to do his best George Harrison impression on the kazoo, which is something you don’t want to miss.

No worries if you don’t know all the words – lyric sheets written by Lennon-McCartney are provided.

Little Zelda, 728 Franklin Ave., Prospect CROWN Heights, Thursday at 8:30pm (recurs every Thursday)

http://brokelyn.com/come-together-over-tea-new-coffee-shop-hosting-classic-album-singalongs/

whynot_31

Little Zelda would like to add liquor to its present wine and beer lic.

The SLA & Sidewalk Café Review Committee will meet on Monday, June 2, 2014 at 6:00 PM at CNR-Center Light Health Care Center, which is located at 727 Classon Avenue, Brooklyn, NY (between Park and Prospect Places).  

whynot_31

A customer from Little Zelda was featured on Humans of NY today.
 

Brooklyneya

This was from 2012. The post on HONY today was a woman sitting in front of Little Zelda reading a book.

whynot_31

fixed.   I mostly posted to dust off this thread.   

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....