The restaurant formerly known as W – located at 2812 Ocean Avenue and Avenue X – has changed its name to Le Bouchon. It’s got new owners to boot.
We’re not quite sure why the old owners decided to bail, and calls to the restaurant went unanswered. But from what we can gather with a little online research, the new guys bought into the place at the end of 2009. They kept up with the W brand until just a few weeks ago, when the new sign went up.
Just as W did, they’re pushing French and steakhouse food at upscale prices. Though we haven’t tried the food there, our favorite thing on the new menu is the “Galamâ” – a gussied up spelling of the Brooklynese pronunciation of calamari. Cute.
Thanks to Arthur Borko and BrooklynQ for the tip.
Photo by BrooklynQ
Looks like our prediction about Walgreens and Duane Reade closings around Southern Brooklyn is coming true even faster than we thought it would. A Kings Highway Duane Reade store closed just two weeks ago, and a reader then told us that the Duane Reade location on Avenue J and East 16th Street also closed.
Now word is coming in from tipster extraordinaire BrooklynQ that the Walgreens at 1721 Avenue U (between East 17th Street and East 18th Street) is closed for business.
The closing shows that the chain is not at all timid in shuttering newly-constructed facilities. This particular location was previously the last bastion of our beloved local chain Morris Discount, which Walgreens purchased in June 2008. Since it took up the property, it seems work on it has been never-ending, with a storefront expansion a year ago, and finally a reconstructed facade just finished within the last few months.
And now… it’s closed. For good. A whole lot of work for nothing, and a storefront not so easily adjusted for non-Walgreens uses. What will happen to the newly-completed Bragg Street Walgreens, which sits in spitting distance from the high-traffic Duane Reade Nostrand Avenue location? We don’t know, but if they shut it down it means an entire new construction goes to waste…
But back to 1721 Avenue U – be advised that pharmacy records have been transferred to the Duane Reade at 1417 Avenue U.
A reader sent us this photo and a note saying Century Mart of Avenue U, located at 2309 Avenue U, appears to be closed for good. The Asian food market has served the neighborhood for several years, and there didn’t seem to be any advance notice about its closure. We tried calling the business’s number, but found it was disconnected.
In the window of the store is a sign advertising commercial lofts for rent on the second and third floors of the building, but no information about the ground-level business. Could it be temporary? Keep an eye on this space and let us know if you see any changes.
Just a month after we corrected naysayers and pointed out this spot is doing just fine, the final commercial tenants of the residential-retail development on Ocean Avenue and Avenue Z are either open or gearing up to open.
The latest to welcome customers is Voyage Unisex Hair Salon, another in a long line of spiffed-up Sheepshead Bay hair salons offering the works (including manicures, pedicures, waxes and all kinds of stuff I don’t know anything about). To celebrate their grand opening, they’re doing all haircuts for the supremely mediocre price of $15. They’re also hiring, so if you have good hands and a penchant for taking aerosol fumes to the head, give a call.
The other new business, which is not yet open and is only heralded by a cardboard sign in the door, is Chipp Neapolitan Pizza (and thank you, BrooklynQ, for catching this and sending the photo). With two buses stopping in front of the store and no other pizzeria for several blocks, the business should do very well.
Good luck to all the new businesses of the now totally booked development.
From Courier-Life:
A crew of thieves with a birds-eye view of Sheepshead Bay broke into two stores last week.
Workers at Viva, which is on Sheepshead Bay Road between Jerome and Voorhies avenues, said someone cut through the roof on Aug. 11 and removed an undisclosed amount of cash from the register. Workers said that thieves entered the store the same way on Aug. 4.
On Aug. 9 thieves made it to the roof of the Leah Discount, which is on Nostrand Avenue between Avenues T and U, and tunneled their way inside, taking $950 in cash, police said.
Looks like local business owners need to start considering ways to make their rooftops more secure. Any ideas?
Here’s another burglary report from this week’s blotter:
A woman spotted two thieves breaking into her Sheepshead Bay home on Aug. 12.
The woman said that she was sitting in a rear bedroom in her Avenue Y home, which is between E. 11th and E. 12th streets, at 9:45 pm when she heard a noise and saw a beam from a flashlight pass by her door.
She went to investigate and found two thieves in her alleyway. They had just left the home through a kitchen window after stealing her laptop computer, police said.
Photo and tip by Arthur Borko
When Walgreens bought up the New York City-based Duane Reade chain in February, the growing corporate giant said there were no immediate plans to close any of the branches. But we knew better, and publicly worried that the number of stores that competed with their new sister branches would cause the company to shutter locations.
Well, six months later and that fear is becoming a reality. The corporate overlords are starting to cut back on redundant services. The Kings Highway Walgreens branch near Coney Island Avenue is now shuttered. Presumably because it competes with two other pharmacies with the same ownership – one across the street and the other on Kings Highway and East 14th Street.
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Sneaker Corner's old look - Source: Google Maps
Three businesses on and around Nostrand Avenue are fixin’ up the joint, including Brooklyn’s Sneaker Corner, which redid its storefront. The decades old business at 3570 Nostrand Avenue has a new look with a real sign on the way. It’s old sign has been a Sheepshead Bay fixture with a lot of character, so I look forward to see if the new sign will be an improvement to this rather dreary stretch of Nostrand Avenue businesses.
Currently closed for renovations are two Avenue U businesses a few blocks shy of Nostrand Avenue. Pizzeria Del Corso (3003 Avenue U) has been closed since at least last week with a sign in the window informing readers of the work going on inside. No word on when it’ll reopen. Also, Jay & Lloyd’s Kosher Deli at 2718 Avenue U is shuttered for repairs. We’ll let you know when the area’s only kosher-style deli is reopened. I hear good things about this place, but never had the chance to try it. I’ll remedy that when doors are open again.
Screenshot from iShopBrooklyn.com
In an effort to bolster neighborhood economic centers across the borough, Borough President Marty Markowitz has launched Shop Brooklyn, a partnership with more than 190 Brooklyn businesses to offer back-to-school and other promotions.
The problem is, none of the businesses are in the Sheepshead Bay area, and only a smattering are in Southern or Eastern Brooklyn.
We found just five establishments in the seven area codes that cover Sheepshead Bay and nearby communities.
Keep reading to find out what’s wrong with the Borough President’s planning, and see which (somewhat) local stores are participating.
Residents living along the border of Sheepshead Bay and Marine Park now have a new store to pick up their Coca-Cola, canned beans and candy bars. GRA Convenient opened last week on the corner of Avenue U and Haring Street.
Stocked with the usual bodega merchandise, the owners are waiting for their permits to sell booze. There’s a sandwich counter for people to sit and eat the store’s Boar’s Head sandwiches, but don’t look for ham – it looks like they’re keeping halal. (An employee said it will be a “mixed” store, but the display was conspicuous in its absence of pork products.)
The space was previously occupied by Car Toys U.S.A., which sold automotive accessories.
No, it’s not the same photo from yesterday. It’s a brand new photo taken around 4:00 p.m. today. Look close. Really, really close.
KamaSutra, the scandalous ‘sex shop’ we told you about this morning, did indeed make good on its promise to Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz. The did change their 1717 Sheepshead Bay Road window display. But only a careful eye would notice.
Keep reading after the jump, to see more photos (sorry, too provocative for our front page) and find out what changed.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The photos after the jump show closeups of some of the items in the window display. Some may consider the images graphic. The images may not be safe for viewing in a work environment.
Find out what’s still in KamaSutra’s display, and what’s not.
