October food news: Carroll Gardens got its Nordic bakery, Park Slope got Caputo’s bagels on the fifth and then a Georgian bakery, a smash-burger shop and a frozen-yogurt shop, Williamsburg got Eyal Shani’s Naked Tomato on the Wharf, Birdie’s froyo and Tartine co-founder Chad Robertson’s Altbau bakery, Bay Ridge a kunafa café, Cobble Hill a Yemeni honey shop, Prospect Heights a ramen shop and Crown Heights a bakery next door to Bottega. A long list is still coming, from a Yemeni coffee house at Pacific and Smith Streets to Alison Roman’s corner store on Montague Street, and the month opened with a run of closings, from Chip City’s cookie shops to a Prospect Heights favorite.
Smør Bakery, the Nordic-inspired bakery with shops in the East Village and Williamsburg, opened its Carroll Gardens location at 361 Court Street, at the corner of President Street: pastries, coffee, breakfast and lunch, plus a to-go window.
Caputo Bagels, from fifth-generation Brooklyn baker James Caputo, whose family’s Caputo Bake Shop closed in Carroll Gardens after more than 120 years, and restaurateur Rafael “Rafi” Hasid, opened at 81 Fifth Avenue, near Prospect Place: hand-rolled sourdough bagels, cream cheeses, smoked fish, sandwiches, pastries and coffee. Open weekdays 7am–3pm, weekends 7am–4pm.
Voodoo Queen Soul Kitchen opened at 147 Fifth Avenue for lunch and dinner, Sunday to Thursday 11am–11pm and Friday and Saturday until 1am. Brunch starts in November.
The team behind Nobody Told Me opened Booth’s Extra Fine at 62 South 2nd Street: steaks, chops, chilled seafood and martinis, per Eater NY.
Clifton, New Jersey’s Yaffa Coffee & Kunafa opened its second location at 8405 5th Avenue, serving Palestinian kunafa made fresh to order alongside specialty drinks, pastries and desserts.
Sheba Bees has opened on Atlantic Avenue, right below Yemen Cafe at 176 Atlantic, selling Yemeni Sidr honey with tastings and tea service, Brooklyn Heights Blog reports. Artwork and crafts sold there support Ukrainian artists.
SSRP has opened at 565 Vanderbilt Avenue, in the former Chuko space: a ramen shop from the team behind Ozakaya and Nourish. The name stands for Slurp. Sip. Repeat. The classic tonkotsu ramen is $23.
Birdie’s, the West Village frozen yogurt and candy shop, has soft-opened at 76 North 4th Street.
The bakery at Sesilya, a Georgian restaurant and bakery from owner David Kitiashvili, has opened at 254 Fifth Avenue at Carroll Street; the restaurant will open later, Park Slope Pulse reported.
Bottega, the café at 215 Rogers Avenue, has opened a bakery and market next door with laminated pastries and fresh-baked breads.
Skinny Louie, the Miami-born smash-burger spot, opened its first Brooklyn shop at 218 Flatbush Avenue: smash burgers, shakes and combos, open until 1am Sunday to Thursday and 3am Friday and Saturday.
16 Handles, the self-serve frozen yogurt chain, opened its Park Slope shop at 148 7th Avenue on October 24, run by the owners of the Cobble Hill location.
Eyal Shani (Miznon, Shmoné) opened Naked Tomato at 476 Kent Avenue on Williamsburg Wharf: Shani favorites plus counter dishes such as chicken skewers and green beans in lemon garlic vinaigrette, and a kitchen counter with its own menu. Dinner only from 4:30pm, closed Mondays and Tuesdays; reservations on Resy.
The Block Coffee, an independent coffee shop pouring Devoción coffee, is open at 257 3rd Avenue, 7am to 5pm.
Altbau, the bakery and café from Tartine co-founder Chad Robertson, opened at 184 North 8th Street, inside a restored Williamsburg warehouse with a mill and studio upstairs.
The team behind Francie is opening a Southern Italian restaurant at 132 Broadway. It is now aiming to open in October, according to The Strong Buzz; its own site still says coming soon.
A new coffee shop is coming to 535 Carlton Avenue, its windows already painted with “Best Friend — Coming Soon” art. No website or opening date yet, so consider this one to watch.
Breads Bakery, the Manhattan chain best known for its chocolate babka, is coming to 470 Kent Avenue. The date is still to be announced.
A Greek frozen yogurt shop is going into 294 Bedford Avenue, promising the thick, tart style with protein and probiotics and a toppings bar. No opening date yet.
A seasonal café and restaurant is taking over 577 Lorimer Street, the former Pomp and Circumstance space, with a fall opening promised on its site.
The Caribbean-inspired restaurant with two Hamptons locations is taking over the former Plymouth Deli space at 90 Henry Street — roti and doubles alongside smash burgers, fried chicken, salads and smoothies. No opening date yet.
Nino Coniglio of Williamsburg Pizza and Lucky Charlie’s is opening an old-school red-sauce restaurant at 616 Metropolitan Avenue: bone-in chicken parm, coal-oven pizza and an Italian-import bar. Early fall.
A seasonal French restaurant at 138 North 8th Street from Eleven Madison Park and Carbone alumni Max Aronson and Harrison Geller, with a retractable glass facade. November.
Justin Wands is replacing Gus’s at 215 Union Street with a laptop-free café of single-origin pour-overs, laminated pastries and evening cocktails. Opening November 1.
Danielle Sinay, a local mom and former journalist, is turning the old Blue Light Speak Cheesy space at 158 Green Street into a family-friendly café, small grocery and community room — breakfast and lunch to start, with grilled cheese and tomato soup for the little ones, diaper-bag essentials on the shelves, and events for kids and grown-ups. Opening this fall; no date set yet.
La Mestiza, a Latin American-inspired bakery and cafe by day with vinyl and wine at night, will open at 154 Carlton Avenue this fall, according to the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership.
The local sandwich-shop chain is opening a second Williamsburg location at 319 Kent Avenue, the former Mekelburg’s, according to Greenpointers. No date yet.
A restaurant and fresh fish market is coming to 7812 Fifth Avenue, its signage already up. No opening date yet.
Anthony Falco, the former director of pizza operations at Roberta’s in Bushwick who went on to advise pizzerias in more than 23 countries, is opening his first pizzeria of his own with partner Mateo Vivas at 276 Grand Street, the former June’s House of Crystals, Grub Street reports.
After 20 years on Montague Street, Lantern has closed, and its owners plan to reopen the space as Khiao Savoey, a Thai restaurant, according to a liquor license application filed with Community Board 2, Pineapple Street reports. The menu filed with it lists pad thai and green curry alongside lobster tail and soft-shell crab.
NAKO, the coffee and snacks cafe at 18 Columbia Place in Brooklyn Heights, is opening a second location at 385 Smith Street, on the corner of Smith and 3rd Streets in Carroll Gardens, it announced on Instagram. No opening date has been announced.
First Bloom, the grocery and corner store Alison Roman opened in Bloomville, New York, in 2023, is coming to Montague Street, The New York Times reports. A job listing for the Brooklyn location describes a coffee program, a small café with prepared foods and a retail floor with produce. No opening date has been announced.
The Yemeni coffee-house chain, already in Greenpoint and on Caton Avenue, has its sign up at the corner of Pacific and Smith streets; the windows are still papered and no opening date is posted.
Chip City closed all 24 of its shops at once, Brooklyn’s included, citing “significant macro-economic headwinds.”
Wayward Fare, the wood-fired Mediterranean restaurant, closed; the chef says he is working on something new for the space, according to Eater NY.
Errol’s Caribbean Delights is closing after more than 25 years at the corner of Flatbush Avenue and Hawthorne Street; its owners, both in their 80s, plan to retire, News 12 reported.
Lingo, the Michelin Guide restaurant at 27 Greenpoint Avenue, is closing after service on Sunday, October 25, with plans for a new concept, according to Greenpointers.
